Final Fantasy XIII

 PlayStation 3
User Score
7.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 2976 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,797 out of 2976
  2. Mixed: 513 out of 2976
  3. Negative: 666 out of 2976
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  1. DanH.
    Mar 12, 2010
    4
    I'm as big a Final Fantasy fan as they come. So, you can imagine my excitement when this game finally came out. One of the two reasons I originally bought the Playstation 3. And... the game fell flat on it's face. I may be a huge fan of the series, but I will not blindly accept this garbage they sold us. There is no exploration in this game. Here is the formula: fight mobs > I'm as big a Final Fantasy fan as they come. So, you can imagine my excitement when this game finally came out. One of the two reasons I originally bought the Playstation 3. And... the game fell flat on it's face. I may be a huge fan of the series, but I will not blindly accept this garbage they sold us. There is no exploration in this game. Here is the formula: fight mobs > fight boss > LOST cutscene (flashback). On top of that the story is incredibly boring and elementary with characters who are strongly influenced by Japanese Anime stereotypes... I had to hold back the vomit while playing this game. I want to know what pill these other reviewers took before playing. The only redeeming part was the experimental battle system which could still use some work.… Expand
  2. NoneNone
    Apr 9, 2010
    4
    More of an action game than an RPG. No exploration. Very guided character building. Extremely linear "hallway" maps. Poor storytelling and writing. You'll need to read the volumes of text in the in-game database to have even a basic understanding of the story. The battle system is the only the developers seemed to have spent time on gameplay-wise. You'll be fighting battle More of an action game than an RPG. No exploration. Very guided character building. Extremely linear "hallway" maps. Poor storytelling and writing. You'll need to read the volumes of text in the in-game database to have even a basic understanding of the story. The battle system is the only the developers seemed to have spent time on gameplay-wise. You'll be fighting battle incessantly from beginning to end. Overall, a poor outing. Would have worked better as a 9-hour action game than a 40-hour epic since the game's only strength is the battle-system.… Expand
  3. ChristopherC.
    Mar 14, 2010
    4
    How oh how in the world could any self-respecting Final Fantasy Fan call this hyperactive/repetitive action mess a true Final Fantasy game? This game has nothing of the deep heart-felt aspects that have always defined the Final Fantasy series, slowly bringing you into the world and story and characters so that you never want to ever leave. I'm afraid this is the death-knell for the How oh how in the world could any self-respecting Final Fantasy Fan call this hyperactive/repetitive action mess a true Final Fantasy game? This game has nothing of the deep heart-felt aspects that have always defined the Final Fantasy series, slowly bringing you into the world and story and characters so that you never want to ever leave. I'm afraid this is the death-knell for the series, and the trend of most video games in general. It is as if the developers now think that just throwing more hyper-kinetic activity at the player will hold the gamer's attention (especially if the little young gamer's Ritalin is wearing off. Heaven forbid they should have a moment to look around and absorb the nuances of the game, we might lose their MTV attention span.) Or, let's give them better graphics and that will make up for the lack of any real substance. I'm convinced that if there is a smart developer out there who's listening, try putting out an old-school graphic game but with a story and world that Square-Enix has now lost their way to create. You will make bank now that Final Fantasy is giving up the mold that first put them on the map and gave them their repected reputation (mostly Square). Hell, I can go back and play not only old-school FF but Grandia or Zelda and have WAY more fun than what passes for a fantasy RPG on the new generation consoles. Somebody please capatilize on Square-Enix's folly! Final Fantasy is about wanting to spend more time in the Final Fantasy world, but there is NOTHING about this game that will make you truly care about the characters or stories. Besides the major mistake of trying to build drama through flashbacks; which any writer will tell you is not the most effective way to build character sympathy, through exposition and the characters having to explain themselves and their motives; but the folklore of the world itself is BORING despite what other reviewers are claiming. Taken objectively, after every cutscene/character interaction, the upshot of the whole drama was dully repeated with the phrase, "We are enemies of Cocoon." Boring, and nothing epic here, unless you want to geek out debating the difference between a Fal'cie and and L'cie (I don't even care about the spelling!) However and above all, the worst offense this game puts on the true Final Fantasy Fan is the inability for the player to feel a true part of the experience. You cannot explore, interact (unless you call standing in front of a NPC and listening to them rattle on as interactive), cannot shop and customize to a "feel-able" degree, and CANNOT EXPERIENCE THAT YOU ARE TRULY POWERFUL AS YOU GAIN NEW SKILLS/MAGIC/STRENGTH. In a true Final Fantasy game you level up and then get to go try out your new power and revel in all your awesomeness. In this waste slapped with a number 13, the action takes precedence and is so fast you cannot tell if your leveling up really made any difference at all and definitely does not contribute to any real strategy. I just gained the skill to do such and such, why can't I sit back and SEE IT! (Yes, I know you get to see Launch, one of the few, but it grows beyond tiresome after the thousand's time.) The music, which to me is intergral to the Final Fantasy experience, and I own every soundtrack available, is as throw-away as a meal at a fast food restaurant, enjoyable for a moment and then entirely forgettable. For those of you who felt FF had lost it's beating heart with 12, and the wooden, expressionless, character-less Vaan, just standing there like a dork, this lack of heart applies to the Brittany Spears pop soundtrack of 13. I remember creating multiple save points on my old systems to go back and re-watch/enjoy the cut-scenes and music, not this time. I know I was ruined for future FF games, for despite all it's flaws, FF 10 was the first RPG I had experienced. Bear with me those of you who hated on 10, you cannot deny that it had heart. It is one of less than a handful number of games that has actually brought tears to player's eyes because the game knew how to hook the player emotionally. Final Fantasy without the emotion is not Final Fantasy. Period. If this game had come out from a different developer and under a different name, I would maybe rate it a 6 for technical achievements such as the graphics and lip-synching to English audiences, that is objectively impressive. But, those of us who have played all of the previous games and supported the Final Fantasy series for years, we may be witnessing the destruction of what made the games so unique, powerful, and worth waiting years for them to release in the West. Now there is talk from the developers about the interest in a FF13-2 which is probably all we have to look forward to as well as more multiplayer online stuff. Do any of the true fans remember not being able to wait to get home and fire up the console to go back to that FF world that was so incredible you stayed up all night and went to work the next day without sleeping? That has been lost somewhere along the way in trying to out develop other developers with graphics, gore, bust-lines that bounce realistically, and anything else they think will appeal to the kids that have to use Mom or Dad's credit card to pre-order their games. Last thing I wish to say, if you are a true Final Fantasy Fan, be careful about supporting this game with such high rankings because you are voting with Square-Enix to give up what made Final Fantasy so special. Hell, even Advent Children was emotionally touching. Please don't support the execs deciding what we want to see in future FF games. Think about it. I encourage all who agree to also write and vote in the hopes that maybe somebody who can make a difference, either within Square-Enix or another rogue developer who wants to grab for the carrot of a true fantasy RPG that we have not so far seen on the next generation consoles, will see it and make a difference. Peace.… Expand
  4. JesseC
    Mar 19, 2010
    4
    The problem I have with FF13, is that it claims to be an RPG, but pulls that off terribly. This game has value in of itself, for what it really is, but it is far from being an RPG. Also, it sets expectations, being a title of the Final Fantasy series, that it was not able to live up to. This title felt more like a random, no-name JRPG that could have been randomly picked up at any game The problem I have with FF13, is that it claims to be an RPG, but pulls that off terribly. This game has value in of itself, for what it really is, but it is far from being an RPG. Also, it sets expectations, being a title of the Final Fantasy series, that it was not able to live up to. This title felt more like a random, no-name JRPG that could have been randomly picked up at any game store, on discount, rather than another epic produced by Square. Sorry, but because of all this, I'm going to have to give it a 4.… Expand
  5. RyanM
    Mar 30, 2010
    4
    I've played the game to completion over 60 hours. What an irritating mess. The characters are all terrible and horribly translated from Japanese (unless they sucked this bad in the JP version too). Why does every character have to either grunt, sigh, or moan while onscreen? Why can my group of 3 take down a 20 ft tall turtle monster, but in the following cutscene they walk ten steps I've played the game to completion over 60 hours. What an irritating mess. The characters are all terrible and horribly translated from Japanese (unless they sucked this bad in the JP version too). Why does every character have to either grunt, sigh, or moan while onscreen? Why can my group of 3 take down a 20 ft tall turtle monster, but in the following cutscene they walk ten steps and are all out of breath. This game sounds like a porno if you're just listening to the characters voice tracks. The writing is horrid, I never want to hear the words L'Cie, Fal'Cie, Pulse, Cocoon, or Focus, ever again. On top of all that, the sound effect they use for the characters footsteps is way too loud and is the identical sound for all characters and the same for all surfaces. It sounds like a minor gripe I guess, but you'll be listening to the same sound on repeat for 60 hours (well maybe 40 hours if you subtract all the non-interactive scenes). You do nothing but press the X button for the first ten hours. After that a reasonably designed combat system is slowly introduced to you like you're some kind of retard who's never played a game before. Seriously, there have been 12 other FF games, half the fun is figuring out the battle system. I'd give the actual gameplay elements a 7 or 8 because of the beautiful presentation, but the "Movie" part of the game drags it down to a 4. This is a terrible, poorly translated, nonsensical, anime with very pretty graphics. I've played every FF game since FF2 on the SNES and I've never been so generally annoyed by FF characters. There is no point in the story where you're given any reason to care about any of them. You never give a shit about the Cocoon they're trying to save, it seems like a crappy place full of d-bags. I'd blow it up and go live on Pulse, at least I'd get to wander around and hunt monsters there. In summary, this game is a beautiful mess. It's an ok linear J-RPG stuck to a conceptually interesting story with the worst characters and voice acting since Resident Evil 1 (Ok, maybe not that bad, but...). A lot of the action you'll be watching is completely out of your control and is extraneous to the story and the characters. It's like they had a rough outline of a story, then the art department made a bunch of cool cutscenes, monsters, and character models, then they tried to fill in the gaps with a hackneyed script and linear stitched together dungeons. Easily the worst FF I've ever played.… Expand
  6. JoeR
    Mar 11, 2010
    4
    OMG what a disaster, awful characters that will get on your nerves, a mediocre story, unsurprising cinematics and 0, I repeat 0 feeling that you are actually in an RPG adventure this felt more like an interactive movie. This is my goodbye to J-RPGs specially the ones from Square-enix, Im a Bioware guy now.
  7. GoogooG.
    Mar 25, 2010
    4
    Bought my PS2 and PS3 systems to play FF games.. just finished the game am am left with a decidable dirty taste in my mouth as if the Square team have just shoved a large phallic salami down my through and told me to swallow because this is good. im all for experimentation but this is just cud, yes spat out, reworked, Spat out and reworked one more time before final packaging. I remember Bought my PS2 and PS3 systems to play FF games.. just finished the game am am left with a decidable dirty taste in my mouth as if the Square team have just shoved a large phallic salami down my through and told me to swallow because this is good. im all for experimentation but this is just cud, yes spat out, reworked, Spat out and reworked one more time before final packaging. I remember seeing my first final fantasy game and being blown away, how it pushed the envelope it was jaw dropping , now i wouldnt drop my pants to piss on it . Yawn you lazy poor excuse for a FF development team. Battle system was interesting though .good job on that. next time maby we can interact with the world before being mindlessly thrown into battles or mindless running in straigth lines. Dear sqaure please rent some games that were made in the last 3 years and play them see if you can learn something called immersion either that or give me my money back.… Expand
  8. ArkonBlade
    Jul 12, 2011
    4
    i heard such mixed reviews from my friends and other on this game that i waited awhile to buy it and since sqaure's track record hasnt been very good lately on RPG's. the first thing ill say is wow the graphics are fantastic it looks amazing . then you start playing and you are like huh? what the hell is going on? and after 7 hours i was still asking myself that . the combat system justi heard such mixed reviews from my friends and other on this game that i waited awhile to buy it and since sqaure's track record hasnt been very good lately on RPG's. the first thing ill say is wow the graphics are fantastic it looks amazing . then you start playing and you are like huh? what the hell is going on? and after 7 hours i was still asking myself that . the combat system just sucked and sucked so hard . honetsly this makes FF8's combat system look kinda good . the ability to control only 1 charicter just burned me . when i play a RPG i want 100% control on what my party is doing . not i control the leader which by the way swiches up every 30 minuites and annoyed the living hell out of me and have my other 2 party members doing what they want. so what they have instead is this switch tactics mode which feels so very very very very very off and HORRABLE! i mean usaully i can get through a crappy combat system if the story is solid like FF8 i mean that combat system in that game sucked but the charicters and story are very well done and i could get past that . but after 7 hours of going WTF IS GOING ON!? i couldnt do it any more . i mean the charicters seemed like they might get intresting and they wernt badly voice acted at all but after 7 hours i just couldnt care any more .… Expand
  9. Seraphy
    Aug 16, 2010
    4
    Gamepro descriped this game best: "a long hallway toward an orange target symbol on your mini-map that triggers a cutscene, a boss fight, or both. Frankly for the first six chapters I thought this game had longest tutorial ever, with total lack of towns, exploration or people to talk to. In short anything fun. There are some good points in the game of course. Story isn't horrible, it isn'tGamepro descriped this game best: "a long hallway toward an orange target symbol on your mini-map that triggers a cutscene, a boss fight, or both. Frankly for the first six chapters I thought this game had longest tutorial ever, with total lack of towns, exploration or people to talk to. In short anything fun. There are some good points in the game of course. Story isn't horrible, it isn't anything to write home about either, and combat is much improved, however all together game is just bad even with all the improvements. If you want to play final fantasy I suggest you play any other number from I-XII, they are all better than this one.… Expand
  10. lgndsgn
    Aug 24, 2010
    4
    Before buying FF13 I knew of two crushing facts about it - no overworld map/controllable airship and extremely linear gameplay. One of the main reasons I bought a PS3 was for this game, so even after learning of the disappointments I still gave it a try. Now I've been an rpg fan for a long time. Playing through Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy 6, and Secret of Mana were some of the mostBefore buying FF13 I knew of two crushing facts about it - no overworld map/controllable airship and extremely linear gameplay. One of the main reasons I bought a PS3 was for this game, so even after learning of the disappointments I still gave it a try. Now I've been an rpg fan for a long time. Playing through Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy 6, and Secret of Mana were some of the most memorable expereices I've had. These games have a certain charm, a certain soul, that I believe Square has lost. Indeed, the brilliant minds behind these games are no longer working together (Sakaguchi, Amano, Uematsu, etc.). FF6 I believe was the pinacle, with my enjoyment declining with each subsequent release. There's something quite endearing about the old overhead-view and world maps. You're able to take it all in, your imagination turns, and you feel a real sense of the universe that's being portrayed. But now because of cut-scenes, fixed viewpoints or locations, and flashy graphics we're given a much more controlled and limited environment. With that said, I did enjoy FF7 and I wish they would have stuck with that format at least. I honestly cannot comprehend how they thought taking away a free-roaming world and airship travel would be received well by fans. Actually, I'm sure they realized it wouldn't be, but instead did not care and opted to appeal to a newer generation, thus making more money. Overall, this Final Fantasy is not for me, and I am ok with that. But it is a shame that the days of Final Fantasy as I knew it are gone.

    Ok, as far as FF13 goes... after 15 hours of playing I have completely lost interest. The story is the only reason I played this far, though at this point I feel as though I understand it enough to not continue with it. The major things that prevent me from finishing are the core gameplay (as I mentioned earlier) and the characters. The characters have stupid names. There I said it. Vanille, Snow, Lightning... Anyone of those is fine by itself but all 3 together? They act too childish. And with all their action, vibrancy of colors, their whining and shouting, I am somehow still left with a vapid taste in my mouth; not to mention how annoying some of the voices are. Most everything about this game comes off as way too contrived. Another thing that has not sat well with me since it was introduced are fight scenes, or cut-scenes in general. This is just a way of making the game more presentable and easier to consume by the masses, who by and large appreciate this and find it entertaining. I do not. I am not a huge movie/television fan to begin with so it does not appeal to me in the least. Maybe a few cut-scenes here and there are fine (like with FF7), but when it's done as much as it is in FF13 you feel as though you're playing an interactive movie, and in an essence that is really what it has become. So if you are new to Final Fantasy, I urge to to take a look at the older ones (or older Squaresoft games like Chrono Trigger or Secret of Mana), and try to have some patience and imagination and I am sure you will find a much more rewarding experience.    … Expand
  11. Tridus
    May 20, 2011
    4
    This game got high praise because of its name, and because it's got very shiny graphics. As a game, it fails. Player involvement is minimal, and uninteresting when it does actually need you. There's no exploration at all, and for most of the game not even a need to go any direction other then forward. As a corridor simulation it's great, though.
  12. nmaxw63
    Jan 14, 2011
    4
    What a waste of money. Only a FF fanboy could like this drivel.
    Amazing graphics. Silly story. Mindless combat (kept waiting 4 combat 2 get interesting). Annoying cliched characters. Good voice acting.
    Worst rpg in long time. Dragon Age is way better. Hell, Eternal Sonata is better (combat has element of strategy).
  13. MOGEnrique
    Apr 10, 2011
    4
    Final Fantasy XIII is probably one of the biggest disappointments of the 7th generation of gaming. Role-playing elements are inexistent, combat mechanics are anything but innovative, you need very little strategy and tougher enemies are beaten with the same formula you use with weaker ones. Its level design is simplistic and uninspiring. The story is cliche and boring, so as theFinal Fantasy XIII is probably one of the biggest disappointments of the 7th generation of gaming. Role-playing elements are inexistent, combat mechanics are anything but innovative, you need very little strategy and tougher enemies are beaten with the same formula you use with weaker ones. Its level design is simplistic and uninspiring. The story is cliche and boring, so as the characters. Everything is told with cutscenes making the player feel that there's a wall between him/her and the game world. In-game visuals are average at best and the soundtrack is forgettable. Square Enix's only purpose to make Final Fantasy XIII was to tell a story but forgot it was supposed to be a game.… Expand
  14. GooGooguru
    May 18, 2011
    4
    Having Played Several FF games over the years i was deeply disappointed in this title, Bland uninteresting Story, Forgettable uninteresting characters, Unengaging Combat that practically plays the game for you.. color me unsatisfied
  15. Le_Shorte
    Mar 3, 2013
    4
    I can't stand to play more, and I've gotten about 6 and a half hours in. I don't need to explain my rating, as every other review giving this a mediocre rating contains exactly what I would say.
  16. Cell1e
    Apr 1, 2013
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I was exceedingly disappointed with this game, I thought the Final Fantasy games were supposed to be wonderful experiences. This sure wasnt.
    Initially I enjoyed the pretty graphics but pretty soon into the game I started to get annoyed with the linear corridors and wave after wave of awful same monsters. The character teams keep switching but the monsters and gameplay sure didnt. Only one way to level and it was to fight thousands of pointless and exceedingly boring monsters. No other form of leveling. The system for improving weapons was complicated and risky and really unrewarding too. The only shops were machines, no other npcs or interactions, I can't understand how this game could call itself an rpg.
    I got really tired of Vanilles squeals and noises during gameplay and her awful accent. Snow was an ass, Hope a misery and the only characters I could enjoy using were Sazh, Fang and Lightening (even tho for most of game she was a leaving the kids to fend for themselves)
    There was no difficulty setting in the game and some of those boss fights got really hard, for a first playthrough I found things getting really stressful as I tried to work out where I had gone wrong in my levelling and weapon development. Looking online I read you have to grind, grind, grind.... (Grinding should never leave mmos, never heard of any good single players with grind, should be able to level with gameplay quests and crafting) Money really hard to get, again the answer to that problem? More grind!
    So to sum up this isnt a game, its an exercise in futility with excessive and painful grinding, a poor story and poor character development enabling little or no emphathy for the existing characters. Totally NOT worth the money and I would not recommend anyone to buy this.    … Expand
  17. Ignatius_Reilly
    Jun 29, 2011
    4
    Final Fantasy is dead. This game is proof. It's a boring slog through one long corridor with little to no attention from the player. Everything is dumbed down to the point where an 8 year old could beat it with both hands tied behind their back. The storyline is needlessly complicated and just non sensical and all of the characters are insufferable. The creative well at Square Enix hasFinal Fantasy is dead. This game is proof. It's a boring slog through one long corridor with little to no attention from the player. Everything is dumbed down to the point where an 8 year old could beat it with both hands tied behind their back. The storyline is needlessly complicated and just non sensical and all of the characters are insufferable. The creative well at Square Enix has been dry for a long time and this game shows it. Long gone is Sakaguchi and all that is left is a bunch of amateurs drowning in a kiddie pool. This series has become a joke.… Expand
  18. DrBrogbo
    May 11, 2012
    4
    This is not what Final Fantasy is supposed to be. If anything, this is Final Fantasy for Dummies. There is no exploration, no leveling up, and no incentive to keep playing. The story is boring, the gameplay is UTTERLY linear, and the characters are annoying. Not only that, but it is way WAY too easy at first, then takes a drastic jump in difficulty. As for the individual characters, HopeThis is not what Final Fantasy is supposed to be. If anything, this is Final Fantasy for Dummies. There is no exploration, no leveling up, and no incentive to keep playing. The story is boring, the gameplay is UTTERLY linear, and the characters are annoying. Not only that, but it is way WAY too easy at first, then takes a drastic jump in difficulty. As for the individual characters, Hope is so annoyingly whiny he should be named Shinji, Vanille sounds like she's making sex noises all the time, Snow says stupid idiotic one-liners like "Heroes don't quit!" ALL THE TIME, Lightning goes through mood swings you wouldn't believe, and Sazh... well, I liked Sazh. He was funny, and the only character that didn't actively annoy me. I could forgive this game its shortcomings if the battle system actually required much input, OR if you could actually explore the beautiful environments, OR if it were more focused on gameplay and less cutscenes, OR if it were actually fun. Honestly this game came across as nothing more than Squenix trying to make a movie but failing, and then deciding to turn it into a game. If this is the big fantastic HD Final Fantasy game people have been clamoring for for years, then give me PS1 graphics back. Maybe then, a little more effort could be put into the gameplay. A mark of a good game is one that I can't wait to play again. THIS game, however, I can't wait for Gamefly to receive so they can send me my next game. Now excuse me while I go play a real RPG, like Xenoblade.… Expand
  19. JawnMan
    Feb 8, 2012
    4
    Final Fantasy XIII is the worst Final Fantasys I have played. I started out with IV and each Final Fantasy follows certain JRPG conventions that have stuck throughout not only the series but also other games because they work. Final Fantasy XIII ditches these conventions to create a more mainstream experience. This makes for an extremely dumbed down game with none of the excitement fromFinal Fantasy XIII is the worst Final Fantasys I have played. I started out with IV and each Final Fantasy follows certain JRPG conventions that have stuck throughout not only the series but also other games because they work. Final Fantasy XIII ditches these conventions to create a more mainstream experience. This makes for an extremely dumbed down game with none of the excitement from past titles and a whole lot of boredom. The list of why this game is bad is so long that it makes me angry just thinking about it. The plot is boring. The characters are uninteresting and the only thing theyâ… Expand
  20. Kowachi
    Aug 13, 2012
    4
    Final Fantasy XIII is awful.

    I consider myself a FF fan, but I am not a hardcore fan. I
  21. KezarHighwind
    Feb 7, 2013
    4
    Final Fantasy XIII is a mess. That simple. It has not only changed the face of the series, but has also damaged the image of the JRPG to the world. With an amazing concept of the floating world above Gran Pulse, where the people have been enslaved by god-like beings called the fal'cie, amazing a beautiful art, as well as memorable and majestic music, the game itself was only destined toFinal Fantasy XIII is a mess. That simple. It has not only changed the face of the series, but has also damaged the image of the JRPG to the world. With an amazing concept of the floating world above Gran Pulse, where the people have been enslaved by god-like beings called the fal'cie, amazing a beautiful art, as well as memorable and majestic music, the game itself was only destined to fail. Then, what happened? Aren't these things enough to make a good game? No, they aren't. Final Fantasy XIII is one of the most awful and annoying RPG's I've played. Indeed, the game can only be compared to a cheap iOS game in modern days. The story is so boring and confusing, that people can't even get what are Lightning and friends talking about. Not to mention the gameplay, which, again, was a good concept terribly executed. These new Final Fantasy titles are sinning of having extreme complexity, which it is supposed to be good, but this case is not. The gameplay is boring, frustrating and hard for both, simple gamers and hardcore RPG gamers, like me. The great factor that joined all these together, is the linearity of the game. You, are practically not playing at all, as 2/3 of the entire party is played by the AI. The linearity is described by Motomu Toriyama and Square Enix as a "story driven game", but don't cheat on me, it's like if you were playing a visual novel. I can't save much of Final Fantasy XIII, except the great wasted music, as well as the nice visuals, but this time Square Enix, that didn't save your game at all.… Expand
  22. Bradan
    Jun 26, 2013
    4
    I'm a bit biased because I'm a FF fanboy but I dont think it's as bad as people make it out to be, but it's still pretty bad. But before I start a review a bit of a warning: DONT TOUCH THIS GAME IF YOU PLAN ON PLAYING IT ON XBOX. It takes the tiny bit of enjoyability out of the game. The reason? It's not in HD. The box claims it is but thats a lie. Here's a link to an explanation:I'm a bit biased because I'm a FF fanboy but I dont think it's as bad as people make it out to be, but it's still pretty bad. But before I start a review a bit of a warning: DONT TOUCH THIS GAME IF YOU PLAN ON PLAYING IT ON XBOX. It takes the tiny bit of enjoyability out of the game. The reason? It's not in HD. The box claims it is but thats a lie. Here's a link to an explanation: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-final-fantasy-xiii-face-off

    The ps3 version easily contains the greatest cutscene graphics I've ever seen in a video game. As for everything else....its pretty bad. I enjoyed the story and managed to suck up the awful battle system to continue with the story but it really is the only redeeming quality other than the cutscenes. But therein lies the problem, you must first suffer through the battle system to experience the story. Actually, calling it a battle system is unfair. It's not a battle system it's an interactive cutscene where you just mash the X button. Square added an "auto battle" button which essentially ruins the point of playing a video game. You're not really playing the game, the game is playing itself.    … Expand
  23. darkprophet
    Nov 26, 2013
    4
    tldr XIII's concept of a beautiful gem that just happened to be covered in a steaming pile of fecal matter by whoever "assisted" with its development that almost completely obscures the excellent core idea. It is not a game because there is no actual fun involved in playing it or watching the non-plot character interactions.

    Attention to the story in its current form is only    tldr XIII's concept of a beautiful gem that just happened to be covered in a steaming pile of fecal matter by whoever "assisted" with its development that almost completely obscures the excellent core idea. It is not a game because there is no actual fun involved in playing it or watching the non-plot character interactions.

    Attention to the story in its current form is only recommended in extremely small doses with copious amounts of drugs and/or alcohol, otherwise a loss of faith in humanity and a urge to destroy Japan may occur. The only cure to this is to play FFXIII-2 which will remediate all of these urges except for the realization that it is what XIII SHOULD and COULD have been.

    Extended Cut Review
    This game makes me seethe and writhe in frustration because of all the wasted and lost potential. Where to begin?

    Frustrating, arbitrary and grueling battle system.
    The "easiest" enemies later in the game take 10-15 minutes each simply due to the vast amount of hp and their damage output. If you don't use autobattle and make it basically a interactive movie with minor control, then combat in this game will be beyond frustrating and irritating. My girlfriend and I are both veterans of the final fantasy series which is to say, since the original game, and into chapter 11 we reached a point where there was literally no reason for bashing our heads against the mechanical system despite a deep desire for both of us to get to the end of all the plot threads dangled. Don't get me started on Eidolon battles and certain bosses if you did not build exactly the way the devs wanted you to, hope you like hearing Vanille and everyone's death cries.

    Plot, coherence, and narrative or lack thereof
    There is a intruiging plot backbone in the background which is never fully explored or explained except for a fully formed codex at the start of the game which is interesting but completely detached from the narrative of the game. The character interactions in plot scenes are top notch and compelling, as characters should be, but in the rest of the game they are reduced to mere stereotypical archetypes with completely nonsense exchanges, "observations" and no true character development.

    Nothing is explained about why the events that occur occur, even when many examples clearly contradict the game's existing lore and established narrative. Why do the characters get sent where they do and then come back? Never explained, ever. The only explanation to many things that contradict everything else is "power of friendship", which is unacceptable without some further establishment or explanation.

    Pacing
    The main criticism of the game from the community has been its pacing. The 30 hour tutorial is not a exaggeration and it is just as frustrating as it sounds, given you only truly "start" the full open proper game in the last 3 or 4 chapters of chapter 13. Compounded with the resounding question of "why are we here?" that is never truly answered, giving any thought to the game will give you aneurisms.

    Music and Sound
    The basic battle theme made me want to gouge out my ears. There were a couple of themes that were great, like Snow's, but some of them were completely discontinious like Sazh's. The repetitive battle effects and character combat lines were made worse by the ridiculious length of the battles.Overall, I preferred to listen to something else.

    I do not understand why this game is rated inferior to Final Fantasy XIII-2, which is superior to it every way. There was clearly a great conceptual idea that was handed off to a team of incompetent monkeys for implementation of certain core parts who butchered them completely. There were at least two main character writing teams, one for plot events (the great one) and one for side conversations the trash one), which held no standard continuity between the two. Final Fantasy XIII-2 is a vast improvement upon the two, with a streamlined battle system that SHOULD have been, a unified narrative, characterization, and a incredible soundtrack.    … Expand
  24. vank
    Feb 21, 2014
    4
    This game was an unfortunate attempt to pander to the LCD of gamers. I have (a slipping) faith in Square Enix, and like to see merit in most anything they produce. Still as a longstanding fan of the Final Fantasy series, and after waiting for years for something to come out after FFXII, this came, at the very least, as a disappointment to me. To me, what makes an RPG good: round, humanThis game was an unfortunate attempt to pander to the LCD of gamers. I have (a slipping) faith in Square Enix, and like to see merit in most anything they produce. Still as a longstanding fan of the Final Fantasy series, and after waiting for years for something to come out after FFXII, this came, at the very least, as a disappointment to me. To me, what makes an RPG good: round, human characters that are able to be identified with; an intricate story that is mysterious (not confusing!); the ability to customize characters; a sort of real-world verisimilitude (shops, inns, money); a requirement for a player to carefully consider his game-play actions that is challenging yet manageable; and an extensive world that allows for exploring and revisitation. FFXIII had very little of these qualities. The story was hardly engaging for me (I didn't give a damn about the l'Cie and that... and I still don't know what Orphan is all about?); the characters were distant and a player doesn't really get to see enough of them to begin to identify with them (Yeah, Lightning, you're an icy wench, we get it); and the biggest irritation was the game play, specifically the battles, which is supposed to be the part where the gamer has most control and actually "plays" was simply a holding down of a singular button to continually select "auto-battle." It wasn't fun, and will probably only be remembered to me as the worst FF game I've ever played.… Expand
  25. bigboss1964
    Nov 21, 2015
    4
    Final Fantasy XIII

    Game-Play:The game-play is turn based but not traditional I usually like that kind of game-play but the way they made it is very frustrating and i got bored quickly but I kept playing it because I am a huge final fantasy fan but in the end there was nothing special in the game-play. Story:The plot is boring with a ton of uninteresting characters and it was one of    Final Fantasy XIII

    Game-Play:The game-play is turn based but not traditional I usually like that kind of game-play but the way they made it is very frustrating and i got bored quickly but I kept playing it because I am a huge final fantasy fan but in the end there was nothing special in the game-play.

    Story:The plot is boring with a ton of uninteresting characters and it was one of the few times that I complain about a game be to long this game is 50 hour long only for the story.

    Graphics:This is the part that the game is amazing .

    Notes:The FF-XIII is just an eye candy nothing more nothing less if you are a huge Final Fantasy Fan buy it at a big price drop like 70 or 80 % to everyone else rent it if you want play it .This game is just below average.    … Expand
  26. chris_1_s
    Sep 19, 2014
    4
    I can honestly say this is the worst Final Fantasy game I've ever played.
    - The story was completely broken and made little sense.
    - I personally found the characters to be dull, uninspired and had very little back story.
    - Pacing in the game wasn't very good.
    - You had to go searching the datalogs for any kind of exposition.
    - Visuals were nice though.
  27. Noin007
    Jan 4, 2015
    4
    The CGI was absolutely amazing.
    The musical score was straight up beautiful.
    There's nothing else good I have to say about Final Fantasy XIII. The characters' personalities are bland as can be. The character designs are bland and yet completely over-produced at the same time that just scream that they're trying so hard to look like they're not trying too hard. The story is told quite    The CGI was absolutely amazing.
    The musical score was straight up beautiful.
    There's nothing else good I have to say about Final Fantasy XIII.
    The characters' personalities are bland as can be.
    The character designs are bland and yet completely over-produced at the same time that just scream that they're trying so hard to look like they're not trying too hard.
    The story is told quite possibly worse than any I've ever seen in a video game, and the story itself isn't even good. Basic story telling elements are completely left out and you're given an in-menu encyclopedia to read if you want to know what things are.
    I recommend this game to only the hardest of hardcore fans.    … Expand
  28. Aelvir
    Aug 19, 2015
    4
    It is straight-on insulting to be considered an RPG. The battle system is nothing more than a dummed-down pseudo real-time battle system. In the sense that its just turnbased while they move around on their own. And the worst of all is they restrict you to only one person to control. You can only control the party leader but guess what? You can choose who the party leader is. ..near theIt is straight-on insulting to be considered an RPG. The battle system is nothing more than a dummed-down pseudo real-time battle system. In the sense that its just turnbased while they move around on their own. And the worst of all is they restrict you to only one person to control. You can only control the party leader but guess what? You can choose who the party leader is. ..near the end of the game. Whoop-de-freakin' do. And Masashi Hamauzu does god-awful music in this. Blinded By Light is the only thing remotely close to decent song in the game. We couldn't have Takeharu Ishimoto do the music again? No, no, we had to put this random guy no one knows of. The game layout is nothing more than a straight hallway. It's even more insulting that SQUARE thought this would sell and not Saga 3 DS, saying Saga 3 wouldn't sell very well That's a pure insult .Play FFXII or Saga 3. They are far better.… Expand
  29. Necroatoan
    Jul 10, 2017
    4
    The linear level design, and boring combat made this game very hard to play. The characters were unique, but none of the resonated with me. The graphics were amazing, but that loses its effect once you realize that the environment cannot be explored. This was the only Final Fantasy I ever struggled to finish. Even the Final Fantasy MMO's had better story lines.
  30. egoBorder
    Aug 9, 2021
    4
    Certainly the worst in the series. This game has a ton of problems (alongside some genuinely great ideas) but the most urgent one is the story and writing. The entire game feels like it was written by a teenager trying to impress an infant. But not only are the themes uninteresting, the dialogue is rotten too. It makes it hard to latch onto any of the characters, so you're just stuckCertainly the worst in the series. This game has a ton of problems (alongside some genuinely great ideas) but the most urgent one is the story and writing. The entire game feels like it was written by a teenager trying to impress an infant. But not only are the themes uninteresting, the dialogue is rotten too. It makes it hard to latch onto any of the characters, so you're just stuck with people you don't like on an adventure you won't enjoy. Gameplay? Well, the game id the very definition of the word "linear." Most progression is locked behind the story, so it is literally impossible to understand the mechanics fully until near the end of the game. Like, the last 5% of the game so I hope you're patient. And the game world appears interesting but you only experience it in long corridors, making it impossible to connect to it as a location. Bizarre choices like this make FF13 a charmless experience, save for a few quality aspects like the soundtrack. None but the most curious need apply.… Expand
  31. ZXSth
    Feb 4, 2023
    4
    To see such a legendary franchise create such a pretty-looking yet abysmal game was shocking. I recall playing this game for about 30 minutes before recognizing my own immense boredom and frustration. This was one of the first games I played that I would have truly considered to be "bad," and was taken aback by my own boredom.

    If you have enjoyed other Final Fantasy games, you might    To see such a legendary franchise create such a pretty-looking yet abysmal game was shocking. I recall playing this game for about 30 minutes before recognizing my own immense boredom and frustration. This was one of the first games I played that I would have truly considered to be "bad," and was taken aback by my own boredom.

    If you have enjoyed other Final Fantasy games, you might find this marginally tolerable. Otherwise, do yourself a favour and give it a pass.    … Expand
  32. DarkwingSchmuck
    Mar 3, 2022
    4
    The worst single-player game in the mainline Final Fantasy series, Final Fantasy XIII is a misfire in nearly every way. From its immense lack of self-awareness, to its bland cast and sterilized story, Final Fantasy XIII feels like it was manufactured by machines into a heavily focus tested, cynical corporate product. The one area with any sort of promise is its battle system, which isThe worst single-player game in the mainline Final Fantasy series, Final Fantasy XIII is a misfire in nearly every way. From its immense lack of self-awareness, to its bland cast and sterilized story, Final Fantasy XIII feels like it was manufactured by machines into a heavily focus tested, cynical corporate product. The one area with any sort of promise is its battle system, which is completely ruined as the system's are drip fed to you through 20-hours worth of tutorials. Final Fantasy XIII is a bore.… Expand
  33. MrZ
    Mar 25, 2010
    3
    Attention gamers! Want to win your battles by outmatching and outwitting your enemies? No need! Just select 'Libra', mash 'auto-battle' and watch the pretty colours fly. Want any sort of say in the powers of your characters? Forget it! Hold down X and the thinking is done for you. Want hours of entertainment exploring a fantastical, otherworldly universe? Ever Attention gamers! Want to win your battles by outmatching and outwitting your enemies? No need! Just select 'Libra', mash 'auto-battle' and watch the pretty colours fly. Want any sort of say in the powers of your characters? Forget it! Hold down X and the thinking is done for you. Want hours of entertainment exploring a fantastical, otherworldly universe? Ever considered holding the left joystick in the 'up' position for hours on end instead? If you fancy doing nothing for ages and paying a few hours of wages for the privelege, then FFXIII is you. By a bored and previously avid FF fan. Apparently it gets better around the 25 hour mark. Usually the reward for 25 hours of play is something other than relief of boredom. As someone who got into gaming mainly because of FFVIII, I am in disbelief. Looks nice, though. Then again, so do flowers and fairies and lots of other boring crap.… Expand
  34. JohnJ
    Mar 12, 2010
    3
    FF 13 does a great job of playing itself. The developers leave absolutely no room for the gamer to take ownership of the beautiful world they created. Graphics are the only positive. Story is average. Gameplay is absolutely terrible. As a long-time FF fan, I do not expect it to possess the open ended Fallout 3 or Mass Effect style. But the groupthink developers completely dropped the ball FF 13 does a great job of playing itself. The developers leave absolutely no room for the gamer to take ownership of the beautiful world they created. Graphics are the only positive. Story is average. Gameplay is absolutely terrible. As a long-time FF fan, I do not expect it to possess the open ended Fallout 3 or Mass Effect style. But the groupthink developers completely dropped the ball this time around. They must have been supremely confident in their vision of the game, because they leave no room for anyone else to jump into the fun.… Expand
  35. MattiasP
    Mar 14, 2010
    3
    I really, really wanted to like this game. But after 13 hours of play I finally gave up and threw away my controller in disgust. FFXIII is the worst title in the series and possibly the worst game I've played in ages, and that's saying something considering I've played most of the previous Final Fantasy titles and enjoyed them immensely . No amount of pretty graphics can I really, really wanted to like this game. But after 13 hours of play I finally gave up and threw away my controller in disgust. FFXIII is the worst title in the series and possibly the worst game I've played in ages, and that's saying something considering I've played most of the previous Final Fantasy titles and enjoyed them immensely . No amount of pretty graphics can hide the fact that FFXIII is a tedious, shallow and linear game that flounders in its own horrible game design. While the Final Fantasy games have always been linear by nature, FFXIII takes this to an entire new level. 90% of the time you just run along a single corridor or path, moving from point A to B, fighting monsters along the way. At point B either fight a boss or see a cutscene/cinematic. If that wasn't bad enough the new combat system is downright horrible. While there are a new interesting ideas (such as Paradigms and Staggering), they are sadly so badly implemented that the final thing makes you want to cry. For the majority of the fights you'll only use two or three of the available Paradigm roles, making the majority of them extremely underused. In addition, the game automatically controls your companions and most attacks can be automated through auto-chaining. The game does such a good job at this that for the most time you can win simply pressing the X button at all times. The combat ends up as a tedious, dumbed down affair that feels more like some kind of Tekken game. Heck, even your summons (Eidelons) are controlled by different controller combinations, like special moves. I get the feeling that Square Enix wanted to create a more action paced system suited for a new generation of idiot gamers used to 1st person shooters. Tactics and brains are not required. If that wasn't bad enough, the story moves at a snails pace. Even after 13 hours nothing of interest has happened except for some boring flashbacks. No interesting plot twists, villains or events. It's more fun to watch paint dry. The characters are also for the most pretty uninspiring. Lightning feels like a female copy of Cloud or Squall from the previous titles. Vanille is so damn annoying that I wanted to bash her brains in and toss her cold, dead body from a cliff. Suffering hours of her silly giggling and overly cutesy voice made me grind my teeth. The only character I did like was Sazh, perhaps because he doesn't come across as so convoluted. However, the major problem with FFXIII is not what's there. It's what's missing. Square threw away everything that makes a good roleplaying game. In fact, I can't even call FFXIII a roleplaying game. It's more like a cinematic fighting game, and a bad one at that. There are no towns to explore. No buildings to poke around in. No silly or interesting NPCs to talk to. No mini-games. No really well-hidden secrets. Nothing. The game feels shallow, empty, void. So barren and desolate that the pretty graphics are more like window dressing rather than something that could immerse you into an interesting world. Since I can't really interact with the world in any real sense it ultimately also means that I don't care for it. What made the previous titles so engaging compared to FFXIII is that they immersed you into the world, the protagonists and the plot in such a grand way that you felt part of it. FFXIII makes me feel disengaged from the world of Cocoon, like I'm some kind of voyeur. The world is abstracted into tiny details that end up being explained in the games Datalog. FFXIII may look pretty, sound great and it will dazzle you with its cinematics. But in the end it's like eating cotton candy. All sugar, but no filling.… Expand
  36. IsaacS
    Mar 14, 2010
    3
    Bad points: Chaotic combat system halfway between action and turns, totally linear, absolutely no sidequests except some "hunting" missions, no relevant NPCs, no cities, no exploration, cliched characters, hours and hours of cutscenes. Good points: Good graphics, sorta good story. This is not my Final Fantasy, this game is just the peak of current generation problems: Nice graphics, bad Bad points: Chaotic combat system halfway between action and turns, totally linear, absolutely no sidequests except some "hunting" missions, no relevant NPCs, no cities, no exploration, cliched characters, hours and hours of cutscenes. Good points: Good graphics, sorta good story. This is not my Final Fantasy, this game is just the peak of current generation problems: Nice graphics, bad everithing else. Totally not recommended unless you like 60 hour movies.… Expand
  37. JimmyC
    Mar 15, 2010
    3
    Most of the reviewers have already narrowed it down but I needed to vent my frustrations for the game to more than just my wife who could care less about my video games so here it goes. The exploration is a joke. You run down corridors fighting packs of monsters trying to get in a pre-emptive strike over and over again. Battles consist of figuring out the right tactic for the right Most of the reviewers have already narrowed it down but I needed to vent my frustrations for the game to more than just my wife who could care less about my video games so here it goes. The exploration is a joke. You run down corridors fighting packs of monsters trying to get in a pre-emptive strike over and over again. Battles consist of figuring out the right tactic for the right monster and switching up your healer when your health is low. Eidolons are outrageously hideous but they are fun to use and fight with. The characters in the game are so insanely over-the-top anime cliche that I couldn't play the game after Vanille joined my party. I only played a few hours but I have never been so disappointed in my life at a video game besides possibly Fable 2. Anyway, trading it in today on God of War 3. The whole game was awful.… Expand
  38. SeanG
    Mar 16, 2010
    3
    The accessory & weapon upgrade system in this game is completely broken and they did a terrible job implementing it. Thats the main reason I stopped playing. Because at chapter 11, I was stuck. I had put experience in accessories that were quickly trumped by better random drops. No refund for experience spent. And my weapon, I upgraded it to the second level, but then found much better The accessory & weapon upgrade system in this game is completely broken and they did a terrible job implementing it. Thats the main reason I stopped playing. Because at chapter 11, I was stuck. I had put experience in accessories that were quickly trumped by better random drops. No refund for experience spent. And my weapon, I upgraded it to the second level, but then found much better weapons later I wish I could've upgraded instead, but with the vast lack of upgrade materials and lack of incoming GIL, you get terribly stuck. Plus, I found out there are ways to combine accessories to make better ones, but I found that out online in a forum, not in the game , so there I am retrying Bahamut and Carbuncle 7x each , when I could've upgraded my weapons and gear earlier in the game had they properly informed me. For all the hand holding early in the game, the complete silence on upgrading is a slap in the face. And furthermore the catalyst upgrade system is horrible. Why cap it? Why prevent me from moving on? If you just kept the CP tiered up, the rewards are diminishing for the amt of CP you are getting in the earlier chapters. Overall, I give the game a 5 for the graphics and battle system, but a 1 for the horrible story, horrible characters, horrible upgrade system and linear "on rails" progression system.… Expand
  39. RyanK
    Mar 16, 2010
    3
    One of the worst RPGs I've ever played. Boring, poorly written, and terribly paced. The only grace is pretty graphics, but if you want pretty graphics only, then look out your window for free! The gaming press is easily fooled into thinking that nice graphics mean a quality game. As usual only Wired, Edge and Destructoid look at a game through an adults critical perspective. The One of the worst RPGs I've ever played. Boring, poorly written, and terribly paced. The only grace is pretty graphics, but if you want pretty graphics only, then look out your window for free! The gaming press is easily fooled into thinking that nice graphics mean a quality game. As usual only Wired, Edge and Destructoid look at a game through an adults critical perspective. The others may as well have been written by children dazzled by colorful lights.… Expand
  40. HerrS
    Mar 17, 2010
    3
    Just a turd dressed in a very expensive and fancy dress, visually stunning, FMV's are mind blowing, but thats about it. No character development, or too much(Whine whine its hopeless). Characters are based of Anime sterotypes (The annoying 'I cant be bothered to watch this' kind.), No proper towns or sidequests till late in the game is a glaring oversight for any RPG that Just a turd dressed in a very expensive and fancy dress, visually stunning, FMV's are mind blowing, but thats about it. No character development, or too much(Whine whine its hopeless). Characters are based of Anime sterotypes (The annoying 'I cant be bothered to watch this' kind.), No proper towns or sidequests till late in the game is a glaring oversight for any RPG that wants to actually invite the player in and encompass them into the game world. They should of just re-made FF7 to be brutally honest.… Expand
  41. MarcusB.
    Apr 16, 2010
    3
    Notice that in Gaming Ages's Review they gave it 100, but none of it was about the gameplay Ok the graphics were great, and the normal battle theme was awesome. That's it, that's where i my praise ends for this game. They tried their best to cover up cliche character choices. I'm gonna compare it to the Tales of Series, partly because Tales of is good and also because Notice that in Gaming Ages's Review they gave it 100, but none of it was about the gameplay Ok the graphics were great, and the normal battle theme was awesome. That's it, that's where i my praise ends for this game. They tried their best to cover up cliche character choices. I'm gonna compare it to the Tales of Series, partly because Tales of is good and also because it is nearly diametrically opposed to every FF has. In Tales of they use many character cliches that FF has, but they do interesting things with the cliches, not cover them up. Pre-emptive Strick completely broke the battle system in most cases. This game got as close to being the Real time battle system as possible without being the same. When i heard about Final Fantasy having a real time battle system i was genuinely hyped, it ment i could start enjoying those graphics as i "controlled" the character instead of just issuing orders. But it turned out it was just the ATB system with a real time element. i.e ATB but you run over to hit them... I lost all hope in this game, ATB system ment i had to wait even more to attack and why the f*ck can't i start queuing my next attacks while i'm doing my current attack. The menu also decides to wait a menacing second each time i open something to fade it in or move it over to the middle. Tales of's menus left me mastering them so much i could fully change all the skills my characters were using and completely change are strategy we used in 20 seconds. Why can't i change the abilities my teammates use, i really hated it when my npc's would use magic phys attacks with magic attacks when the enemy has phys resist... STOP FOCUSING ON GRAPHICS PLEASE. PLEASE. I BEG OF YOU.… Expand
  42. JoshB
    Apr 26, 2010
    3
    Do you want to see what Final Fantasy would be if it was one of the most frustrating, boring, and underachieving games of all time. Look no further than Final Fantasy XIII. Sure the graphics are fantastic but that does not mean squat if you change everything else about the franchise that is great and make it all inferior. Thank you for ruining Final Fantasy and making me waste my money on Do you want to see what Final Fantasy would be if it was one of the most frustrating, boring, and underachieving games of all time. Look no further than Final Fantasy XIII. Sure the graphics are fantastic but that does not mean squat if you change everything else about the franchise that is great and make it all inferior. Thank you for ruining Final Fantasy and making me waste my money on what I thought was going to be a quality product. Opening up the exploration at Chapter 11 is pathetic and I am just glad I could sell this back before I waste any more time getting to that point.… Expand
  43. RubenG
    Mar 17, 2010
    3
    I have been a lifelong Final Fantasy fan & had been anticipating this game for so long now. I was so excited to get it only to be met with total shock & disappointment. Everything I loved about the series was stripped away. Square Enix promised us a reboot of the series which gave me hope for a great game that more would enjoy but they went the other way. They stripped the franchise of I have been a lifelong Final Fantasy fan & had been anticipating this game for so long now. I was so excited to get it only to be met with total shock & disappointment. Everything I loved about the series was stripped away. Square Enix promised us a reboot of the series which gave me hope for a great game that more would enjoy but they went the other way. They stripped the franchise of anything that was good & left us with just pretty graphics. Sadly unlike most people including some of these "Professional" reviews....I don't care about graphics, that's not what makes a game, it is the gameplay & story, which this game is severely lacking in. This is easily one of the biggest disappointments to me the 26 years I've been gaming & also this is easily the worst Final Fantasy in the main series, perhaps in the future they should go back to the classic way the game should be, or else they will lose me as a fan forever.… Expand
  44. LarryD
    Mar 23, 2010
    3
    The extreme linearity was a gamble that bet the farm on the narrative and characterizations being worthwhile enough to hold it all together. Sadly, the story is an abject failure. The first 20 hours are filled with painstaking cutscenes that attempt to humanize consciously-unlikeable archetypes, as well as occasional dropping clues to an overarching mystery. By game's end, you will The extreme linearity was a gamble that bet the farm on the narrative and characterizations being worthwhile enough to hold it all together. Sadly, the story is an abject failure. The first 20 hours are filled with painstaking cutscenes that attempt to humanize consciously-unlikeable archetypes, as well as occasional dropping clues to an overarching mystery. By game's end, you will hate the characters even more and, even worse, realize there was no mystery to speak of--the overarching conflict was just that bland, simplistic and irrelevant. The villain (insomuch as any villain could be argued to exist) has no impetus or motives to speak of. Not even lazy and cliche motives like "evil" or "nihilism"--nothing. The plot and characters compare unfavorably even with the half-hearted, pot-smoker effort of something like Bad Dudes.… Expand
  45. ChrisJ
    Mar 28, 2010
    3
    Yes Square, I understand your intentions for making the game linear. I just don't understand why'd you have to make it so crappy. Graphics are great (the UI especially), music is OK (far from the best). The overall story seems good, but the characters are trite and all dumbasses. I don't care about the world because I'm not exploring it. Hitting X over and over and Yes Square, I understand your intentions for making the game linear. I just don't understand why'd you have to make it so crappy. Graphics are great (the UI especially), music is OK (far from the best). The overall story seems good, but the characters are trite and all dumbasses. I don't care about the world because I'm not exploring it. Hitting X over and over and maybe the left bumper once and a while is hardly groundbreaking. and I wouldn't mind grinding if I had other stuff in the game to do! This is a disaster of a Final Fantasy! Like another poster stated, BioWare is doing things right.… Expand
  46. PlutoniumTiger
    Oct 23, 2010
    3
    You know I can understand why some people would see the Environmental linearity as a plus; it keeps the action rollicking along at a fair pace. Okay. Sure, I can accept that. But what I most certainly do not understand is how anyone could not take issue with (perhaps their Zombies?) the phased linearity of the character progression. No sane person would enjoy constantly using the same 3You know I can understand why some people would see the Environmental linearity as a plus; it keeps the action rollicking along at a fair pace. Okay. Sure, I can accept that. But what I most certainly do not understand is how anyone could not take issue with (perhaps their Zombies?) the phased linearity of the character progression. No sane person would enjoy constantly using the same 3 skills for hours.… Expand
  47. spi280
    Dec 31, 2014
    3
    bland characters, a crap story that requires you to read through tons of flavour text to even understand it and of course you probably already know that every level is very linear. the only positive thing this game has going for it are its great music and how the cutscenes are very well animated.
  48. Angeredsoul
    Jun 7, 2011
    3
    So finally picked this game up after waiting for it to drop in price after reading alot of reviews. I thought they might have been just final fantasy haters. But 6 hours in, and I am about ready to snap this disc in disgust. Annoying characters, terrible story, and so damn linear its not even funny. In fact I can't think of any point up till now where I've had to make a choice story wise.So finally picked this game up after waiting for it to drop in price after reading alot of reviews. I thought they might have been just final fantasy haters. But 6 hours in, and I am about ready to snap this disc in disgust. Annoying characters, terrible story, and so damn linear its not even funny. In fact I can't think of any point up till now where I've had to make a choice story wise. The combat isn't too bad and I like the system they have implemented, just a shame that everything else fails. Shame Square-Enix.… Expand
  49. Caestus
    Mar 4, 2013
    3
    Unbelievable that SE released something like this. Its just going straight running from one cutscene to another and auto battling enemies. The story is not worth to mention, characters are annoying as hell and the soundtrack is the worst, that I ever heard in a Final Fantasy game. The graphics are not that bad though.
  50. Jho88
    Jul 14, 2011
    3
    This is definitely my least favorite final fantasy game, and I've played them all. I had previously felt that FF12 was a real let down, and playing this made me sincerely miss 12. It was that bad. None of the characters were interesting at all, Vanille was annoying as hell to listen to, the plot was not particularly interesting, nor was it told very well, and the music was not at allThis is definitely my least favorite final fantasy game, and I've played them all. I had previously felt that FF12 was a real let down, and playing this made me sincerely miss 12. It was that bad. None of the characters were interesting at all, Vanille was annoying as hell to listen to, the plot was not particularly interesting, nor was it told very well, and the music was not at all memorable (which to me is perhaps the biggest let-down since the music of the previous games was arguably the best part). There were no towns to explore, shops to visit, NPCs to interact with, side quests to perform, or other basic RPG elements. The leveling system was really dumb: the tried to give the illusion of choice by having a pathway with branches so you could either pick like HP+200 or Str+50 for example, but each branch was only 1-2 elements long, so it's not like you could choose different ways to specialize your characters. The battle system was horrible because you really couldn't tell what was going on. Often I would upgrade a weapon or learn a new spell and try to use it in battle to see how much damage it did, but there are so many numbers flying all over the place it was really hard to tell who was doing how much damage with what. It basically devolves into mashing 'X' and switching to a more defensive paradigm if you're getting hurt too much. For all final fantasy games until this one, when the game was over I felt sad for a little while, like I wished it would continue because I missed the characters and places. When this game ended, I was glad I would never have to touch it again. I felt like I had finished a homework assignment. "That's done, now I can go do something fun." Please don't waste your money on this crap, and don't let square enix think it's okay to butcher their series like this.… Expand
  51. dz9
    Jul 22, 2011
    3
    Starting off my review, I must say that the reason why I give this so low of a score is not because Square made changes to FF that took the franchise in a different direction... it's because the changes they made were terrible. I understand Square has to evolve FF to a more action styled experience to accomodate to the times and to compete with bioware games... so it was no surpriseStarting off my review, I must say that the reason why I give this so low of a score is not because Square made changes to FF that took the franchise in a different direction... it's because the changes they made were terrible. I understand Square has to evolve FF to a more action styled experience to accomodate to the times and to compete with bioware games... so it was no surprise that the turn based style was more active. Although they evolved the game, they should not have completely left everything that made FF so special; guided yet open exploring, deep engaging characters, incredible story, immersive world, and strategic gameplay... And only one of those was even close to being fulfilled. The characters were all cliche's: Lightning was the tom-boy, Fang was the clone of Lightning, Hope was the vulnerable child, Snow is the jar-head, Panille is the free spirit, and Sazh is the only character who contains depth. That is honestly all they tell you about the characters, and that's also all you need to know. As for story, the story was not BAD, mainly because it wasn't even really there, the story is vague and barely engaging at all, and the pacing is awful. The only real story development is actually character development, which I have already stated that the characters are uninteresting empty shells. As for the open world? Simply put...THERE IS NONE. The world the game puts you in looks nice enough and on the exterior seems amazing but due to the lack of characters, story, and the extremely linear feel of the game... the seemingly awesome world is reduced to nothing. The gameplay is really the only place the game shows innovation. Don't get me wrong, it's far from perfect, but for Square's first "crack at it," it presents a good milestone for them to improve and perfect in later titles. The main drawback to the gameplay is the level up system, you are held back to "level up" by milestones in the story. Example: You cant excede level 1 warrior until you reach the next chapter even though you have enough crystal points. And for the game mechanic titled "Paradigm," it promotes side jobs but the level up system punishes you for venturing into side-jobs... it's extremely counter intuitive. For example: For Lightning to level up her warrior to level 1 costs 10,000..... but for Lightning to level up Sentinel to level 1, will cost 1,000,000. This by itself does not RUIN the combat , but all the minor flaws with the combat do add up. The Good: Although graphics are nothing more than scenery, the game is gorgeous and presents a lot of detail in design. And square does-in-fact show a few innovative ideas which however werent entirely capitalized on. The Bad: Simply put... Square takes away everything that FF fans and RPG fans alike would expect. If this game was any other RPG game, i would give the game a 5.5/10, because it does have a few fun moments and amazing graphics. But for the final fantasy game it was suppose to be, it's barely worth a rent at redbox… Expand
  52. lorddavy
    Aug 26, 2011
    3
    The worst game quality/price that i had ever played. Only graphics game. Really hard end it. In the beginning i was expected, some hours later i was deathly bored. Frustrating pay more than 100 euros for it + guide. The worst buy in my life.
  53. ArcticZombie
    Nov 18, 2011
    3
    Industry leading graphics, really good music (minus that disgusting fruity-pie song that was "popular" for a bit), and some really great menus and options. But why the failing score? For starters; the cast is completely forgettable. The story is predictable and poorly dialogued. And the game is very much on rails most of the time. The inventory system overall feels overly-simplified.Industry leading graphics, really good music (minus that disgusting fruity-pie song that was "popular" for a bit), and some really great menus and options. But why the failing score? For starters; the cast is completely forgettable. The story is predictable and poorly dialogued. And the game is very much on rails most of the time. The inventory system overall feels overly-simplified. Actually, the main problem here is: everything essential about this game seems too streamlined and simplified. I've been hoping since FF8 that the series would grow in complexity and challenge, and offer me an even bigger open-world to explore. But what's happened is that SE is only interested in making things "more accessible" to gamers. In this case it shows. And it shows way too much. No open-worlds to explore, just graphics, graphics, graphics. A boring, cheesy, lame-charactered snore-fest that should have never been included in the Numbered Series of FF. Not where games (especially RPGs) should be headed. It's an interactive movie with battles tacked on, with a weak character building system and world. This game broke my faith in the franchise. The final nail in the coffin for me.… Expand
  54. nabushi
    Jan 10, 2012
    3
    I played this game for 25 hours. I really wanted to enjoy it. Even after i had heard that it was linear, with no real overworld, I still wanted desperately to believe this was a great addition to a great series of games. Once i got to the 25 hour mark, i realized that I could not go on deceiving myself. The story of the game was fairly engaging, but to understand all of the things goingI played this game for 25 hours. I really wanted to enjoy it. Even after i had heard that it was linear, with no real overworld, I still wanted desperately to believe this was a great addition to a great series of games. Once i got to the 25 hour mark, i realized that I could not go on deceiving myself. The story of the game was fairly engaging, but to understand all of the things going on, there was an encyclopedia that was there to basically enhance your knowledge of the world that you found yourself in. As i spent more and more time reading these entries, I did not feel a connection growing with this world, rather it felt like boring reads that added nothing real to the game. When I play RPG's i tend to enjoy overleveling myself. this allows me to enjoy the story of the game without having to worry about the combat as much. When I discovered that there were caps to how powerful your characters could get at any given point in the game, it was upsetting. The combat itself was much less engaging than just about any other game i have ever played. I found myself analyzing my enemy, and selecting auto-attack over and over again, as the game would pick the best abilities to use anyway, and my input was hardly needed. this removed me further from the actual game, and made me feel more like i was watching a movie than playing a game. One of the things that really hooked me when I started the game was the graphics, but once the allure wore off, i began to realize that amazing graphics, while nice, did not make up for horrible story and gameplay. Square likes to change things up between Final Fantasies, and they definitely did that here. I will not condemn that, they did something innovative and new, even though it did not work out.… Expand
  55. Abstractpurpose
    Oct 30, 2012
    3
    Here is a game riding in on all the fame and glory of the final fantasy series. A legedary rpg franchise with core elements weve come to expect. Towns with npcs stores with weapons and gear not to mention the large story and history filled worlds.....all of which are absent from this entry. Only having controll of 1 character is the first of my dissapointments followed immediately by theHere is a game riding in on all the fame and glory of the final fantasy series. A legedary rpg franchise with core elements weve come to expect. Towns with npcs stores with weapons and gear not to mention the large story and history filled worlds.....all of which are absent from this entry. Only having controll of 1 character is the first of my dissapointments followed immediately by the healing after every battle factor. In past games youd stock up on phoenix downs potio.s and ether before setting out giving it the true feeling of a journy to come. This game simply heals you entirely after winning the fight which is a serious downgrade to the nature of the game. Next is the summons being transformers.... And of course the fact that the game is 1 set path with no towns or npcs. All stores are on the save cubes making it feel more like shopping at amazon than an ff game. These are just basic rpg elements to emmerse you in the world but dont exist at all here. I wonder how many people noticed that various soundtracks from every ff game ever made were absent as well. The story was ok but several enemies that looked to be interesting only showed up once removing the feeling of having that non final boss arch enemy. Another dumb down factor us paradigm shift. In previous games the class system provided you with the meens to build or use prebuilt classes so you coukd structure the most efficient team. However with paradigm shift everyone can be every class all at the flick of a button mid fight. The combat system LITTERALLY plays itself. Set everyone to ravager and stagger the enemy then switch to assult and kill them. This meens boss fights can be won without looking at the screen when rotating between the 2 with a full medic paradigm in between. Auto attack lets your character do the most effective attacks without you ever even having to think. The game has lost all the rpg elements created a combat system that requires no thought a healing system removing the need to stock items and the lack of a mana bar to pay attention too. Its the perfect final fantasy for any 2nd grader with downsyndrom… Expand
  56. MusicxxAddicted
    Sep 10, 2013
    3
    I only played it once, can't believe we had to wait for... how long? Oh yeah, FOUR YEARS to hear about a decent new FF game! This game makes me wonder why Squeenix made this the main title instead of Versus aka FFXV. This piece of sad gaming history is flung into the darkest corner of gaming history and will only be remembered for showing game designers how NOT to make games. As a cherryI only played it once, can't believe we had to wait for... how long? Oh yeah, FOUR YEARS to hear about a decent new FF game! This game makes me wonder why Squeenix made this the main title instead of Versus aka FFXV. This piece of sad gaming history is flung into the darkest corner of gaming history and will only be remembered for showing game designers how NOT to make games. As a cherry on top of this rotten pie *whispers* I was happy it was finally over.… Expand
  57. MisterNoodles
    May 17, 2013
    3
    I have played only a few Final Fantasy games. So ya this was terrible compared to the one other Final Fantasy game. The gameplay was crappy and you felt like the game was almost playing itself. The only real positive to this game was the story. It was the ONLY thing keeping me going. It would have gotten a ZERO if it wasn't for that story. Now in opinion the best part of the game is theI have played only a few Final Fantasy games. So ya this was terrible compared to the one other Final Fantasy game. The gameplay was crappy and you felt like the game was almost playing itself. The only real positive to this game was the story. It was the ONLY thing keeping me going. It would have gotten a ZERO if it wasn't for that story. Now in opinion the best part of the game is the story, but this story could not carry the game...… Expand
  58. Yukari
    May 3, 2013
    3
    This is game is just aw full! Yes it has amazing graphics but the rest is just wrong. The story is so bad and beside the characters are very well design their personality is just aw full and annoying. The game play is linear and the battle system it looks like it has been butcher. It makes me so sad to talk bad about a Final Fantasy game but it's one is just.....god aw full!!
  59. CptThreepwood
    Feb 27, 2014
    3
    As a long time FF fan I was really looking forward to this game when it was first released. FF XII was a huge disappointment so I was expecting that this game would definitely be an improvement. Sadly, I was wrong. I could not adjust to any of the characters at all. I played this game for 40 hours, didn't finish it and the only character I started to like after several hours was Lightning,As a long time FF fan I was really looking forward to this game when it was first released. FF XII was a huge disappointment so I was expecting that this game would definitely be an improvement. Sadly, I was wrong. I could not adjust to any of the characters at all. I played this game for 40 hours, didn't finish it and the only character I started to like after several hours was Lightning, once she stopped acting like a total b*tch. One character is total pointless to the story, and the other characters just don't make sense. Years later I found out that if I had kept playing, there would have been a turn in the story and all the characters (except for the earlier mentioned one) would have made sense. but I never reached that point. Maybe I got spoiled by FF VII, IX and X which I played when I was quite younger, but FF XIII was easily the worst I have played. Anyways, I can recommend to give FF XIII-2 and Lightning Returns a shot! You don't really need to finish the first game to get the main plot because unsurprisingly they manage to summarize the whole story of FF XIII in a few sentences during the beginning of second game.… Expand
  60. kmj856
    Oct 5, 2013
    3
    This is not a good FF game. The first 40 hours are spent running in a complete straight line, reading mountainous piles of extra text to try to figure out what's going on and who all these people and different factions and organizations are. The game won't open up for you until you've run in a straight line for 30-40 hours.
  61. MarcinOS
    Dec 27, 2013
    3
    The worst part of the Final Fantasy series ever. The game is just boring. I'm a big fan of the Final Fantasy series, but I'm completely disappointed. Music is weak, what surprising, since each part of the FF can boast a fine soundtrack. Gameplay worse. Just constantly press the X button and directional buttons. The game is very linear. Characters are boring too, without expression No mapThe worst part of the Final Fantasy series ever. The game is just boring. I'm a big fan of the Final Fantasy series, but I'm completely disappointed. Music is weak, what surprising, since each part of the FF can boast a fine soundtrack. Gameplay worse. Just constantly press the X button and directional buttons. The game is very linear. Characters are boring too, without expression No map of the world is a huge minus. The only plus is the graphics and cut scenes, but the locations are boring for me. The title has sold so well probably only because we all flew to the magic of the series. I also I regret.… Expand
  62. dmasz91
    Jan 23, 2017
    3
    There are so many more negative things than positive about this game. I've been a long time FF fan and I lost interest in the game within the first day of playing it. It's so linear, and the story plot is so boring and doesn't make any sense at all, making it just horrendous compared to the previous FF games in the past. The only thing that makes it bearable is the flashy graphics, butThere are so many more negative things than positive about this game. I've been a long time FF fan and I lost interest in the game within the first day of playing it. It's so linear, and the story plot is so boring and doesn't make any sense at all, making it just horrendous compared to the previous FF games in the past. The only thing that makes it bearable is the flashy graphics, but still there are way too many long cut-scenes. The characters don't seem to have a goal that makes sense. I kept asking myself, 'what is their goal'? It's cool to get to summon eidolons, but there was no real tutorial on how to use their moves in gesalt mode with regards to the arrow pointer. the crystarium thing is also very linear. You're not truly getting control over their special abilities because by the time you can level up their abilities, you've pretty much filled out all the slots anyway. Another big negative factor is that there's no more free-roaming like an RPG, no world map to travel and explore. There aren't even good treasure finds along the path. It's just as bland as it gets, maybe made for an even younger audience to play. The only thing that was positive about the game is that you can see your enemies in the path rather than having invisible enemies pop up every so often, which was always annoying, but it's such a disappointment and not worth buying. I don't know if they've improved the FF games since this one, but i would definitely recommend skipping over this game. I agree with what other negative reviews are saying, it was annoying to not be able to level yourself up more if you have trouble beating a boss.… Expand
  63. Signas501
    Mar 22, 2015
    3
    Final fantasy XIII introduces the newcomer lightning, as she and several other characters attempt to raid the city of cocoon. After destroying the cities core, (and several flashbacks and future insights) you are able to freely roam the world, meeting new members to the group along the way.
  64. ZeroTrunks
    Feb 8, 2016
    3
    Linear game play, poor camera controls, undigestible story, and a script so bad I wanted to skip through all cut-scenes to reduce the feeling of a drill being forced through my head. The game basicly plays itself and is so unbalanced that if you die, you simply respawn as if the fight didn't occur. Some of the characters are just reprints of Squares older work Lightning = Cloud, Snow =Linear game play, poor camera controls, undigestible story, and a script so bad I wanted to skip through all cut-scenes to reduce the feeling of a drill being forced through my head. The game basicly plays itself and is so unbalanced that if you die, you simply respawn as if the fight didn't occur. Some of the characters are just reprints of Squares older work Lightning = Cloud, Snow = Zell, Sazh? I don't know what they were doing there...

    It is obvious that this game was handled poorly by the director who had a difficult time getting reigning in all the departments under the same banner. This game is rushed, and is starting a trend that SquareEnix does not know what they are doing in the gaming world anymore. This game deeply saddens me, and makes me nauseous thinking about what has become of my childhood.

    The only redeeming thing about this game are it's beautiful graphics and some of the new monster concepts and models.

    Overall a very difficult game to endure D-    … Expand
  65. Nidave
    Jan 12, 2017
    3
    Worst game in the series.

    I remember how hype I was for this game when it released only to get disappointed 5 chapters in. It also didn't help that this game was a straight line from chapter 1-11.
  66. ArcCoat
    Jun 12, 2019
    3
    Boooooorrrrriiiinnngggg.

    This game is extremely linear, the battle system is uninteresting, the story is an incomprehensible boring mess, the characters are some of the worst cast that I've seen in video game history. The only good thing about this game are the graphics, but I would rather play a low graphic game with great content than a high graphic game with bad content. The game    Boooooorrrrriiiinnngggg.

    This game is extremely linear, the battle system is uninteresting, the story is an incomprehensible boring mess, the characters are some of the worst cast that I've seen in video game history.
    The only good thing about this game are the graphics, but I would rather play a low graphic game with great content than a high graphic game with bad content.

    The game starts to open up eventually, but only towards the very end of the game and the sound track is not too bad.

    Conclusion: 1 point for effort, 1 points for graphics and 1 point for good soundtrack.    … Expand
  67. MazrimTaim14
    Nov 3, 2019
    3
    What. A. Mess. Of. A. Game

    Main Character was offputting which showed the emo type characters of Cloud and Squall are better off in text based dialogues and cutscenes. The archetype suffered in the current cutscenes where can see nuances of their facial and body expressions. Story went needlessly convoluted halfway thru and this time the linear progression is more damning since we    What. A. Mess. Of. A. Game

    Main Character was offputting which showed the emo type characters of Cloud and Squall are better off in text based dialogues and cutscenes. The archetype suffered in the current cutscenes where can see nuances of their facial and body expressions.

    Story went needlessly convoluted halfway thru and this time the linear progression is more damning since we keep on changing perspectives over and over with the characters leaving no impression in me since we just go from pt a to pt b then change characters.

    Battle system was refreshing and challenging which is one of the positives i get from this game.

    Making a bad entry into the final fantasy series is understandable since we can't get all hits but not only doubling down but TRIPLING down on this mess of a title really breaks the momentum of the series. Relegating it from the top of the echelon of great series.    … Expand
  68. caiomachi
    Jul 5, 2020
    3
    Pros:
    • Characters
    • Story
    • Graphics
    • Innovative battle system
    • Bosses

    Cons:
    • Too linear
    • Too long
    • Too many boring and repetitive mob battles
  69. TriforceGem
    Mar 29, 2021
    3
    I have been a Final Fantasy fan for a long time. I pointedly ignored the FF13 franchise when it was being touted as the "Fabula Nova Crystallis." It was obvious they were trying to find the same success as the FF7 franchise and all the games and media around that story.

    I decided, after returning to FF12 and completing it, to give FF13 a try. I gave it a good long try, 29 hours, and I    I have been a Final Fantasy fan for a long time. I pointedly ignored the FF13 franchise when it was being touted as the "Fabula Nova Crystallis." It was obvious they were trying to find the same success as the FF7 franchise and all the games and media around that story.

    I decided, after returning to FF12 and completing it, to give FF13 a try. I gave it a good long try, 29 hours, and I finally realized what this game is: a multi-million dollar auto-battler. Hallway fights. Cool upgrades/leveling, but extremely grindy to get anywhere decent (especially with the items, holy crap). Story, unimportant and boring. I want to like this game, but I found myself, eyes glazing over, thinking "no one cares" while story dialog happened. I will not finish it. It is just so boring and the story is just monotonous exposition and data logs.

    What a terrible game.    … Expand
  70. Avsky
    Apr 11, 2010
    2
    Not since "Two Worlds" has a game left me feeling like my money would have been spent contracting herpes. This game is merely a battle mechanic wrapped around a horribly pathetic and flat story, filled with ridiculously flat characters I have no desire to identify with, not that the developer gives you a reason to do so in the first place. There is no depth to either the characters OR the Not since "Two Worlds" has a game left me feeling like my money would have been spent contracting herpes. This game is merely a battle mechanic wrapped around a horribly pathetic and flat story, filled with ridiculously flat characters I have no desire to identify with, not that the developer gives you a reason to do so in the first place. There is no depth to either the characters OR the story. The game is a linear as can be, removing pretty much any hint of player choice and customisation including the ability to choose your battle teams. The music is bland, the characters are bland... the only thing this game does right is offer a visual feast - but that alone can't carry a game.… Expand
  71. James
    Mar 9, 2010
    2
    Wow, this is by far the worst Final Fantasy game I have ever played and I've played every game from and including FF7, how it is scoring so high is beyond me. The only good thing I can say about it is that it looks incredible, and it does. It;s probably the best looking console game I've ever seen, but that is where the praise ends. Everything that was great about the franchise Wow, this is by far the worst Final Fantasy game I have ever played and I've played every game from and including FF7, how it is scoring so high is beyond me. The only good thing I can say about it is that it looks incredible, and it does. It;s probably the best looking console game I've ever seen, but that is where the praise ends. Everything that was great about the franchise has been stripped out and replaced with either nothing at all or a bit pile of dumbed down blandness. The combat system is boring and shallow grind, meh is the perfect word to describe it. The world is a joke, it's just a series of corridors that you just have to keep grinding through. And when the world does open up (after 20 painfuly dull hours) it's just so underwhelming and WAY too little too late. Then theres the so called class levelling system, I say so called because in comparison to the FF games that came before it, not to mention every other RPG that you can buy today, it's beyond a joke. No real tactical choice can be made, just which of the available classes you want to spend your points in first. Even the camera controls suck ass, the crapness of this game go's all the way to the smallest detail, it's just that bad. If the developers were going fo a bland, grinding, boring JRPG with all of the awesomeness of the previous games removed and the memory of all that awesomeness completely shat on then the score of 8.3 is well deserved. The fact that this steaming pile of s**t is the first Final Fantasy game for this generation of consoles is just sad.… Expand
  72. EthanL
    Apr 3, 2010
    2
    This game had many great things going for it and a huge number of wonderful creative ideas and developmental risks that gave it such huge potential. But ultimately it had to be marked down as a huge disaster for one very simple reason. It seems to push the player to want to stop playing. The game takes forever to get anywhere, and the paths in between are littered with massive numbers of This game had many great things going for it and a huge number of wonderful creative ideas and developmental risks that gave it such huge potential. But ultimately it had to be marked down as a huge disaster for one very simple reason. It seems to push the player to want to stop playing. The game takes forever to get anywhere, and the paths in between are littered with massive numbers of pointless battles that serve only to slow down the game even further. And even if you get past all that once you figure out the convoluted systems. Once you get to anything remotely interesting, suddenly the game throws at you horribly impossible fights with no way guide or method to deal with them effectively. These become horrible experiences of torture where there is simply no way to progress without insane bonuses, micromanagement, and ridiculous item use.… Expand
  73. help_ma_boab
    Apr 1, 2011
    2
    Poor game. To call it a game is an insult to the modern video game. I played FFX and FFXII and loved them both. I'm not one of these anti-progress types who insists that games from 20 yrs ago are better. As I said, I loved FF XII and the main reason I bought the PS3 was this game. In the meantime I played Oblivion and thought 'this is amazing, just think how amazing the new FF could be!!'.Poor game. To call it a game is an insult to the modern video game. I played FFX and FFXII and loved them both. I'm not one of these anti-progress types who insists that games from 20 yrs ago are better. As I said, I loved FF XII and the main reason I bought the PS3 was this game. In the meantime I played Oblivion and thought 'this is amazing, just think how amazing the new FF could be!!'. It could have been amazing but it was terrible. It's basically a nice looking, barely interactive movie with a poor story. The player's input into this game is so limited. You follow the line on your mini map fighting utterly boring battles, just waiting for the next cut scene, waiting for the game to come alive. Never once did I give up hope that all the mundanity was a pre-cursor for an explosion of the usual FF charm, ingenuity, beauty (more than surface beauty), incredible story, characters. I had faith but I was horribly let down. This is nothing more than a badly acted soap opera. Awful.… Expand
  74. takeoky
    May 14, 2011
    2
    The dream that Square ever has brought us, definitely it has over. There isn´t trace of the great components that que has make great games. Since we see a game play very rigid, sometimes the battles are funny, but there no more. Linear as a few, the game weary, bore and tire. The composition of the BSO is only his salvation of burn.
  75. Pauliina
    Oct 14, 2011
    2
    After playing IV to X of Final Fantasy series, I must say that I had such high expectations of this...
    But sadly, the game was just a long long, long movie :/ Played about 5 hrs, then quit.
  76. SolidLinkSnake4
    Nov 4, 2011
    2
    Final Fantasy should be called Final Corridor XIII or Final Hallway XIII. This game is so linear and doesn't live up to the previous Final Fantasy titles at all. Never get this game. Wait for Kingdom Hearts 3 or Final Fantasy versus 13 , because this game is horrible.
  77. risky
    May 15, 2012
    2
    Final Fantasy 13 is a real disappointment. The characters are despicable and flat. Actually, if you would take a typical JRPG character, peel away all the game-specific personalization, cast some cheesy american voice actors and put on some typical japanese RPG clothes, you would end up with the characters of FF13.

    The story linearity is so frustrating you're ending up hitting X    Final Fantasy 13 is a real disappointment. The characters are despicable and flat. Actually, if you would take a typical JRPG character, peel away all the game-specific personalization, cast some cheesy american voice actors and put on some typical japanese RPG clothes, you would end up with the characters of FF13.

    The story linearity is so frustrating you're ending up hitting X frenetically to get by the battles just to see if there's something else at the end of the tunnel. But there isn't. The voice acting is depressing and unrealistic, the satiric FF humor is completely gone and there's no sign of trivia nor exciting hidden quests nor interesting plots besides the main one. Sure, the graphics are stunning at first and the battle sequences really look gorgeous, but it's all emptied out during the first gaming hour and you end up on some kind rave from the 90s where absolutely everything glows, twinkles and sparks, leaving absolutely no surprises visually.

    The only positive thing with Final Fantasy XIII is that the next installment (besides FF13-2) will be better. Really, this is feels like something put together just to show off what the crystal tools for PS3 are capable of.    … Expand
  78. Anebriate
    Jan 15, 2014
    2
    This is one of the worst games I have ever played. How in God's name it has a 7.7 user score on this site is completely beyond me.

    I've heard it said that it gets better towards the end, but something this bad can't be redeemed, regardless of how it ends. Every character is a pathetic cliche. The battle system is rigid, formulaic, tedious and repetitive. In fact, that describes the    This is one of the worst games I have ever played. How in God's name it has a 7.7 user score on this site is completely beyond me.

    I've heard it said that it gets better towards the end, but something this bad can't be redeemed, regardless of how it ends.

    Every character is a pathetic cliche. The battle system is rigid, formulaic, tedious and repetitive. In fact, that describes the entire game--a 10-20 minute jaunt through poorly-balanced, often unavoidable encounters against a handful of boring enemies followed by a cut-scene, ad infinitum, all in one giant straight line from point A to point B. I was bored after 30 minutes of this.

    The graphics earn it 2 points, even though the hand all look like turds. The fact that they released this game to the public as it is means they aren't even trying anymore. The fact that they are making this cesspool a trilogy means something is horribly wrong with the world.    … Expand
  79. GrumpyTheNick
    Mar 13, 2013
    2
    I have been a Final Fantasy fan since I was 10 years old. I was very excited about this game. Needless to say, I was disappointed. Square-Enix no longer exhibits any sort of real inspiration. This game suffers from a number of problems stemming from this one factor. The battle are pretty, but after you become familiar with the patterns it becomes a boring and uneventful slog. The story isI have been a Final Fantasy fan since I was 10 years old. I was very excited about this game. Needless to say, I was disappointed. Square-Enix no longer exhibits any sort of real inspiration. This game suffers from a number of problems stemming from this one factor. The battle are pretty, but after you become familiar with the patterns it becomes a boring and uneventful slog. The story is mediocre and linear in the extreme. There is little to no exploration or discovery of any kind until near the very end of game, by which point you no longer care. And the characters...Oh, the characters. I would rate a few of them as the most stupidly annoying I have ever encountered in a game. The JRPG melodrama in FFXIII is incredibly cloying and is absolutely terrible. If you care about a solid, interesting, experience, don't play this game.… Expand
  80. cidgrad01
    Dec 10, 2013
    2
    Jim Sterling from Destructoid called this game a “pompous and masturbatory affair, creating seemingly to promote the developer’s ego first, and the player’s enjoyment second”. Speaking as someone who has been a rabid fan of the series since the very first one on the NES, I’ll say two things: Jim is exactly right, and playing this game broke my heart.

    The one and only positive I can give    Jim Sterling from Destructoid called this game a “pompous and masturbatory affair, creating seemingly to promote the developer’s ego first, and the player’s enjoyment second”. Speaking as someone who has been a rabid fan of the series since the very first one on the NES, I’ll say two things: Jim is exactly right, and playing this game broke my heart.

    The one and only positive I can give FF13 is that it has gorgeous visuals. That’s what the 2-score in my review is for. It fails in every other category so badly that it feels like some other company trying to make a knock-off FF game (think Sony’s Legend of Dragoon for PS1) rather than an officially sactioned entry into the series. It doesn’t deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as classics like IV, VI, VII, or X. It’s unbelievable that Squeenix is granting an unprecedented two sequels to this game while utterly ignoring, for years on end, pleas from their fans to do a modern-day remake of 7, 6 or even 5.

    Why is it so bad? Let me count the ways. First of all, the story is weird & stupid. I stopped caring about it early on and didn’t like any of the characters. Secondly, there is practically no exploration. Almost the entire game is a brutally linear affair, and I mean that quite literally as areas tend to shuffle you through a completely straight path. No exploring towns, no buying weapons from the weapon shop, no hidden dungeon areas with secret chests, etc. Things finally open up at one point, but not for 30 or 40 hours or so and even then, it’s a relatively small environment that is boring to travel through. The music, usually a dependable staple of the series, is terrible as well. I mean, they put words in the chocobo song. Good grief, why? There isn’t a single memorable track.

    Gameplay is terrible, as well. There’s not a whole lot of thinking involved and it almost plays itself. The summoning system is truly bizarre (I did a facepalm when I saw the Shiva motorcycle; seriously, WTF is that about?) and the worst the series has ever seen. I played this game for a good, long while, about 75% through, before giving up on it in disgust. To give you some idea of how bad this game is, I didn’t care much at all for the story of FF12, either, but I still had fun with it. FF13 never gave me a moment of enjoyment. The entire package is dull & uninspired and I’m sorry to have wasted money on it.    … Expand
  81. PandaWhisperer
    May 5, 2014
    2
    Final Fantasy XIII felt like a punch to the face for some old school Final Fantasy fans like myself. Final Fantasy characters, although fantasy, used to be relatable. Sorry to get sidetracked; in FF7, Cloud never achieved his dream and coped with this throughout the game. He stole someone else's identity, he broke down, and eventually accepted this and recovered. Cloud was a complexFinal Fantasy XIII felt like a punch to the face for some old school Final Fantasy fans like myself. Final Fantasy characters, although fantasy, used to be relatable. Sorry to get sidetracked; in FF7, Cloud never achieved his dream and coped with this throughout the game. He stole someone else's identity, he broke down, and eventually accepted this and recovered. Cloud was a complex character with flaws; I believe that is a huge reason FF7 was so successful and critically acclaimed. The majority of characters in XIII were shallow and one note. Everyone seemed like they had one singular reason to carry on with the story. This story became bland very fast. There is very little exploration, meaning that the story was critical to pull off; sadly this was not the case. The main reason I am writing the negative review is that this was the first Final Fantasy game that was released that just didn't seem very much like a Final Fantasy game to me at all. Sure, FF12 was a huge departure from where the series started, at least I could understand these changes (although, I felt like FF12 was a way to shift the console fan-base to their MMO's for more profit). Many of the decisions in XIII simply confuse me. There was very little redeeming value here. Lost Odyssey felt more like a Final Fantasy game than this one.… Expand
  82. Reaperplot
    May 30, 2014
    2
    Final Fantasy XIII can summed up with two words; pretentious and lack-luster.

    Graphics were technically good, but mechanical, failing to produce an atmosphere. The game play was incredibly linear, driven along by a story which acted more like a train headed to Auschwitz, than an adventure. The combat in the game was the most disappoint aspect of this game for me, there was no skill    Final Fantasy XIII can summed up with two words; pretentious and lack-luster.

    Graphics were technically good, but mechanical, failing to produce an atmosphere. The game play was incredibly linear, driven along by a story which acted more like a train headed to Auschwitz, than an adventure.

    The combat in the game was the most disappoint aspect of this game for me, there was no skill involved, it was as though the developer thought their audience had lost all ability to play video games, and that they were starting with a group wholly unfamiliar with the concept of gaming.

    I hope that this game goes down in history as one of the worst games ever made.    … Expand
  83. Nioji
    Jun 2, 2014
    2
    I think FFXIII is the worst RPG I ever played. Why ? Well, the story-telling is AWFUL. Not a single character explains anything about the universe, and the reason why the Big Bad want to destroy the world (no spoilers, it's a JRPG) is only explained in a sub-entry inside the game's Codex. The Paradigm Shift system destroys all the preparation of a job-based RPG, since you can change jobsI think FFXIII is the worst RPG I ever played. Why ? Well, the story-telling is AWFUL. Not a single character explains anything about the universe, and the reason why the Big Bad want to destroy the world (no spoilers, it's a JRPG) is only explained in a sub-entry inside the game's Codex. The Paradigm Shift system destroys all the preparation of a job-based RPG, since you can change jobs during a fight. The characters are all annoying. don't buy this game. Seriously.… Expand
  84. TornadoCreator
    Jul 16, 2014
    2
    This games gets a 2 for being technically functional, that's the best I can say about it. Final Fantasy XIII Is an insult to the franchises heritage and an obvious lazy cash-in by Square Enix who've clearly given up long ago.

    Gameplay wise, there really isn't any. The game isn't just linear, it's a straight f*cking line. You walk down a corridor for about 80 hours, that's it. There are    This games gets a 2 for being technically functional, that's the best I can say about it. Final Fantasy XIII Is an insult to the franchises heritage and an obvious lazy cash-in by Square Enix who've clearly given up long ago.

    Gameplay wise, there really isn't any. The game isn't just linear, it's a straight f*cking line. You walk down a corridor for about 80 hours, that's it. There are no towns, no NPCs, no side quests, no exploration, no collectibles, no intrigue... nothing. Crash Bandicoot is less linear than this game. Add in that character customisation is a joke, and combat is so convoluted that you can win everything without even paying attention and you have the most boring game ever. The first 40 hours is a tutorial explaining how the game plays itself, which you can ignore as you can win all the combat by just mashing the X button for the most part. Some people claim the combat opens up in the late game but that's simply not true, it's still just as broken then and once Lightning learns the move 'Army Of One' you can pretty much kill anything through a combination of poisoning and using that one move. There's more tactical decision-making in tic-tac-toe.

    So what about the story? What story?! What passes for a narrative is only explained through hidden away data longs that you're not prompted to read, and even with this mountain of poorly written exposition, the story is still an incomprehensible mess with plot holes you could drive a plane through, inconsistencies as standard, character motivations that make no sense, and a world setting that's not explained or explored in any way; mainly because you never actually go there because you never leave the damn corridor.

    This is a painfully bad game, don't waste your time on it.    … Expand
  85. Cleanshooter
    Oct 17, 2014
    2
    This is one of the worst games in the series. If you enjoy running through endless tunnels (this game coined the phrase "ultra-linear"), a combat system that requires next to no user interaction, characters with little depth and a story line you won't care about because you just want the entire affair to end... and STUNNING VISUALS then get the game.

    Otherwise don't waste your time or    This is one of the worst games in the series. If you enjoy running through endless tunnels (this game coined the phrase "ultra-linear"), a combat system that requires next to no user interaction, characters with little depth and a story line you won't care about because you just want the entire affair to end... and STUNNING VISUALS then get the game.

    Otherwise don't waste your time or money... the only reason I played it is because I'm a fan of the franchise.    … Expand
  86. var_stark
    Feb 2, 2016
    2
    I simply can't believe what i'm reading in the possitive comments.... First of all this game is linear as hell, it destroyed everything that made FF franchise make history, the RPG component, this is not an RPG this is an action game like Metal Gear Rising, more like a hit and run. It's Ok but it's not what final fantasy used to mean. "Oh but in final fantasy X you almost didn't have anyI simply can't believe what i'm reading in the possitive comments.... First of all this game is linear as hell, it destroyed everything that made FF franchise make history, the RPG component, this is not an RPG this is an action game like Metal Gear Rising, more like a hit and run. It's Ok but it's not what final fantasy used to mean. "Oh but in final fantasy X you almost didn't have any NPC or exploring" Excuse me? That's simply not true, X was one of the last properly made FFs even XII had a very clear exploration, crafting and leveling compound while the only thing that changed was the combat, this game changes the way you playd final fantasy almost completely. You don't even have the feeling of discovery anymore, even combats are rearanged, when you enter a new chapter you could even look up a guide and know exactly wich enemies are waiting for you and in what order.... please. What about the live your own adventure, what about discovering the world for your own, the whole game has no point in calling himself final fantasy, it could as well be called some Japanese medern pop action title instead "LIGHTING ULTRA ROBOT ADVENTURE ELECTRIC SONATA" yeah, that would be appropriate.

    To the point, it lacks all kind of exploration, the game is a path you must follow, items and enemies will appear suddenly, they are just there, waiting for you one by one... yeah you have some shortcuts you can take if you don't want to battle. So no NPCs, the shops appear just in the savepoints...

    The combat is not bad, in fact that's all the game is about, combat and trying all the different classes and combinations, is good for me, it kinda looks like turn based combat just with a lot of camera movement ( you cannot move the character though) and real time turn based fight, i mean, you have your cooldown and you can just give him like 3 commands at once, instead of stop, think what would each character do wait for the enemy attack.... yeah, it's not bad, i would have like to control and customize my team but.... i just fear what will be next. Changing your formations plays an important roll in the fights but its a piece of cake, since the attacks are almost automatic you just have to wait for the right time to change between the aggresive formation, healing formation, condition formation.... it's a game moew about waiting than planning, as the previous, yes, they were turn base but at least you were taking risks each time your turn arrived and so you have to plan how to deal maximum damage and survive at the same time, and i think you really got fond of the characters even if their plots weren't really interesting, but here linking a character or not just depends on the story itself, i don't even like vanille, it's so annoying but if at least i could controll her properly well maybe i would appreciate her as a healer, but like this is just like, well yeah, this girl that just.... heals me automatically... and talks with a high pitched voice.

    The story its ok, intense and memorable, but in general this game seems to have the urge to excite continuosly, not even one single shot is steady and peacefull, even the most dramatic scenes the camera is like," wow wow wow, so exciting, look, its so exciting, i can't stop moving, look a bird!!!! oh my god, so exciting, everything is so epic.!!!! " STOP, god, let me enjoy the plot, sometimes you just don't care about what they're saying because everything wants to be so fast paced...

    Anyways, for me is just another action game, but not a final fantasy game. Seriously change the name of the saga, so you can avoid being constantly compared to the old games.    … Expand
  87. Lion7
    May 7, 2015
    2
    This game lacks depth or engagement. Even the earlier Final Fantasy games--where you are generic heroes gathering crystals--have more to them than this week long movie. You don't even get the pleasure of hearing Nobuo Uematsu's work.

    I played this game as a part of the Playstation Now service, and I still feel like I was ripped off for playing a "free" game. I would not pay for this    This game lacks depth or engagement. Even the earlier Final Fantasy games--where you are generic heroes gathering crystals--have more to them than this week long movie. You don't even get the pleasure of hearing Nobuo Uematsu's work.

    I played this game as a part of the Playstation Now service, and I still feel like I was ripped off for playing a "free" game. I would not pay for this game.

    STORY: That's all there is, and it's not even very good at that. Hours of watching the characters interact through various rendered cutscenes and FMVs. They don't even do a good job with that. Out of your six main characters, only one really has an interesting personal story. The rest waver between deciding if they want to fight back against their overlords, or buckling from the pressure of being mankind's hated enemy by doing it. Their personalities are about as generic as their names (Snow, Hope, Lightning...) and the buildup to fighting one of the major antagonists... I honestly forgot who he was and why we were fighting him at that point.

    GAMEPLAY: What little there is, is rather boring. The formula for the first half of the game boils down to this: Cutscene, maneuver down a small hallway-like map, reach a save point, enter a "boss battle". To switch it up, your party is broken down into 2-3 sub-parties who repeat the formula. 10 hours into the game (I still hadn't unlocked the ability to make your own party yet) I was actively trying to avoid fights, because they weren't entertaining at all.

    There was a joke that this game should be called Final Hallway 13. I definitely agree. 20 hours into the game I gave up. I couldn't remember any of the areas I had been through, and they're one-path treks through a generic forest, junkyard, or ice land. Even the cities set you down one track and your characters can't interact with them at all.

    BATTLE: The battle system is a neat interpretation of the ATB System, but the problem is, aside from a handful of tough battle here and there requiring a MED character, you can get through the game with little trouble using just COM/RAV/RAV and a small stack of Potions. Because of the role-shifting nature of the class, the lack of control over your party members, and that everyone can do just about anything, the genericness of the characters is further compounded. Everyone can be a warrior, a black mage, and a subset of a white mage.

    MUSIC: One of the few Final Fantasy games not composed by Nobou Uematsu. The battle theme is catchy, and variations of the main theme are done nice. There are some annoying pieces throughout the game, but overall... it's alright. Blinded by Light (Lightning's theme, main battle theme) is the earworm of the game, and after hours of hearing it, I still like it.    … Expand
  88. alfok
    Jun 30, 2016
    2
    Boring, Repetitive, Lineal
    Is the worst title of the saga, Dunno why have that score...
    basically the only thing u need to do is pressing 3 buttons and go forward, damn even the worst game I remember have more entertaining than this... The only "good" thing us the graphics, but even that dont matter a little when you have this dumb storyline and linear gameplay.
  89. LaiusBunansa
    Jul 11, 2015
    2
    I have played every single FF main installment and I daresay that this could provide an alienating feeling to new comers. I barely finished this game due to boredom. This is blasphemy to the great FF legacy and another proof that Graphics cannot lift the game wholly. I cannot even freakin imagine why did this had its own saga.
  90. Tyrus
    Sep 7, 2016
    2
    I'm replaying this game again after initially buying it, playing all the way through, and then not remembering ever having hated a game so much.
    I thought I'd give it another shot. It's not any better.
    A hyper linear game, you spend most of your time for the first half merely walking forward and pressing X. Eventually, you have a little bit of strategy involved. Very little. By the    I'm replaying this game again after initially buying it, playing all the way through, and then not remembering ever having hated a game so much.
    I thought I'd give it another shot. It's not any better.
    A hyper linear game, you spend most of your time for the first half merely walking forward and pressing X. Eventually, you have a little bit of strategy involved. Very little. By the second half of the game, every fight become long, tedious, and unavoidable. The entire combat system is really based on micro managing, since you don't actually select moves for more than one character, and the game will auto-pick those for you, too, since there are few anyway, and there isn't a whole lot of tact required.
    And as those fights get longer and longer, there's extremely little you can do to speed things up. You can't really grind like in other games, because your stats quickly max out for the moment you're in. I get WHY they do that, forcing you to actually play the battles rather than get overpowered for them, but then you end up on boss fights, where all you're doing is saying, "Fight... heal... fight... heal..."
    The monotony it's intended to break up isn't broken up.
    I can't fathom anyone liking this game. I've never met anyone personally who did. I get that there are positive reviews, but this game is the crown jewel of the new class of Square Enix games that just want to be pretty, and not have any guts or substance. 12 bordered on that, but managed to get enough moving around, enough thought by the player to manage to be a good game. 10 was TOO much character switching, but it was passable. This is just an awful, linear, boring game. The story is as convoluted as a political conspiracy theory. It's an awful game, and I'll give it the 2 that I did because it was made by a professional company, it DOES have good graphics, and honestly, because it's in the Final Fantasy franchise, which I've been playing for just about 30 years now.
    But this game is simply awful. I again find myself only getting through it to say that I did, again. And that's not a good reason. I should really stop myself.    … Expand
  91. Broyax
    Apr 15, 2017
    2
    Je donne tout de même 2 points pour la direction artistique, certes parfois à la limite du mauvais goût mais la plupart du temps, c'est fort dépaysant. On ne voit nulle part ailleurs des trucs pareils, décors, effets... aussi maniérés et précieux et avec autant de couleurs ou des costumes et monstres complètement chtarbés. Et techniquement c'est du beau travail.

    Pour le reste, la    Je donne tout de même 2 points pour la direction artistique, certes parfois à la limite du mauvais goût mais la plupart du temps, c'est fort dépaysant. On ne voit nulle part ailleurs des trucs pareils, décors, effets... aussi maniérés et précieux et avec autant de couleurs ou des costumes et monstres complètement chtarbés. Et techniquement c'est du beau travail.

    Pour le reste, la niaiserie est à vomir, les dialogues d'une bêtise à se tirer une balle et la musique à se pendre. Les combats qui ne sont ni en temps réel ni en tour par tour consistent à appuyer sur X pendant de longues heures pour éventuellement s'intensifier de longues heures plus tard en zappant d'une attaque à l'autre aussi vite que possible comme dans un jeu de merde en stratégie temps réel afin d'éviter que l'un des ados ne reste plus de 0,5 s sans rien faire, ce qui le mènerait à une mort stupide.

    Quant à l'histoire, entre de nombreuses cinématiques à piquer un roupillon et des combats abrutissants, on se demande quand elle commence. On se demande même parfois s'il y a une galette dans le lecteur et ce qu'on est en train de faire, à perdre son temps devant une telle, une abominable japoniaiserie.    … Expand
  92. BarelyLewd
    Mar 15, 2019
    2
    The second worst FF game I have ever played only eclipsed by ffx-2, stay far away from this game, this game suffers from the linear story, the awful characters, the below average voice acting, and the terrible terrible battle system, stay far away from this **** sandwich, trust me you don't want it.
  93. SporadicDeviant
    Dec 6, 2019
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is not a troll review. This is me explaining why I hate this game.
    The game is linear, that's not a surprise. Linearity is not a bad thing, in and of itself. The problem is the tedium that comes with FFXIII's linearity. The main thing you do in this game is walk forward, fight, walk forward, fight, watch cutscene, walk forward, fight, walk forward, watch cutscene, walk forward, fight, walk forward, watch cutscene, fight, walk forward, and on and on. It gets tiresome. Even after the game "opens up", 25 hours into the game, the gameplay loop is still the same. Just replace "walk forward" with "walk around".
    The battle system is laughably bad. Square tries to make combat strategic with the paradigm system, but with the autobattle function and the Diversity paradigm, you can make it through 95% of the enemy encounters in the game with no trouble. The fact that combat boils down to "press x" multiple times doesn't help FFXIII's tedium issue.
    The story is a mess. The game expects you to read paragraph upon paragraph of lore found in the pause menu instead of properly telling the story in game. Character motivations change on the spot, and the characters themselves are either annoying or forgettable.
    There is one exception, Sazh Katzroy. He's is without a doubt the best thing about FFXIII. He's charming, his motivations are clear and never change, he's the only character in the game that acts like a real person, and he's just a relatable, sympathetic character. I also have to give the writers credit for holding off on revealing that Sazh has a family until after the player can get to know him as a character. Other stories would just shove a character's family into the player's face and expect the player to get automatically invested in the character, but they showed restraint, and that's commendable. Sazh might just be in my Top 5 favorite Final Fantasy characters ever, he's that good. Aside from the good visuals and great music, Sazh is the lone bright spot of the game.
    If you genuinely like this game, that's fine. There's nothing wrong with liking this game or any game that most (or half) of the people don't like. Understand that there is a reason why FFXIII gets a mixed reception. Like Far Cry 2 and The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword, FFXIII decided to try to experiment with its mechanics. Unlike Far Cry 2 and Skyward Sword, in my opinion, FFXIII did not succeed in doing so.    … Expand
  94. DrunkC
    Mar 10, 2010
    1
    For an RPG, it would be an 8 for a FF game a 1. This game takes the FF formula and throws it out the window, with linear gameplay, poor characters and story and minimal exploration. Content was cut to make it on the 360, and SE wouldn't spend the extra cash to put another disk and give all users (PS3 and 360 alike the full experience). Only people who like this game are FF For an RPG, it would be an 8 for a FF game a 1. This game takes the FF formula and throws it out the window, with linear gameplay, poor characters and story and minimal exploration. Content was cut to make it on the 360, and SE wouldn't spend the extra cash to put another disk and give all users (PS3 and 360 alike the full experience). Only people who like this game are FF fanboys/girls, SE new motto, call it FF and watch it sell.… Expand
  95. BrettJ.
    Mar 12, 2010
    1
    I really dislike this game. For the comments related to this having some of the best graphics, you really need to go outside and play another game in your life, this must be your first one. Metal Gear Solid 4 which came out 2 years ago has better graphics, Killzone 2 last year has better. Crysis for PC came out 3 years ago has better... the list goes on and on. An extremely average I really dislike this game. For the comments related to this having some of the best graphics, you really need to go outside and play another game in your life, this must be your first one. Metal Gear Solid 4 which came out 2 years ago has better graphics, Killzone 2 last year has better. Crysis for PC came out 3 years ago has better... the list goes on and on. An extremely average graphics engine, nothing is going on in the environment, other than character models which look ok, everything looks generic and bland. A pathetically linear game for a jrpg. I have nothing against a linear game if its done well, but this is ridiculous for a game put into this genre. This is not a FF game. If it didn't have the name slapped on it, all these high scores would be no more than a 4. Blind love for the series is getting ridiculous. The battle system is ok, but it gets old. Unless your a 5 year old girl, you wont like the characters or plot (which is the same garbage we've seen 500 times before). Pass on this. It was only made for money, nothing more. I'm done with SquareEnix for good... there simply crap. Bioware can have my money now.… Expand
  96. CoreyB
    Mar 24, 2010
    1
    I have played and loved all the Final Fantasy games since FF7 (with the exception of FF11). The series has long been the gold-standard in the JRPG genre; it's one of the few series where I am willing to buy the game the day it comes out without checking any reviews. All this is to say I'm biased towards liking any Final Fantasy and being forgiving towards the series flaws. Yet, I have played and loved all the Final Fantasy games since FF7 (with the exception of FF11). The series has long been the gold-standard in the JRPG genre; it's one of the few series where I am willing to buy the game the day it comes out without checking any reviews. All this is to say I'm biased towards liking any Final Fantasy and being forgiving towards the series flaws. Yet, despite this, all I can say is that FF13 is an incredible disappointment. While all the Final Fantasy games have been somewhat linear, FF13's linearity is oppressive. The battle system is awful; it involves no strategy, you don't even choose the specific attacks 95% of the time. The story is melodramatic, cliched, and completely unengaging. The characters are static and impossible to like. The only thing going for this game is the gorgeous graphics. All in all, this is an abomination that does not deserve the title of Final Fantasy. Absolutely awful.… Expand
  97. G1
    Apr 13, 2010
    1
    It's sad to see how far the genre has fallen. To think that over 10 years ago, in FF7, you had romance minigames and a worldmap, and now I have a single corridor to run down and grind through monsters.The entire game is an on-rails collection of fights followed by cutscenes where one character is feeling emo/depressed, and the other (usually younger) gives them a pep talk. Character It's sad to see how far the genre has fallen. To think that over 10 years ago, in FF7, you had romance minigames and a worldmap, and now I have a single corridor to run down and grind through monsters.The entire game is an on-rails collection of fights followed by cutscenes where one character is feeling emo/depressed, and the other (usually younger) gives them a pep talk. Character gets depressed/angry, then broods throughout most of the level, and finally a pep talk at the end of the level.The story, dialogue, and characters are like a bad anime.… Expand
  98. UUSKA
    Dec 25, 2012
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I tried hard to like this game but no, FF13 is meant for people who like movies where they can interact a little, if you like to play an j-rpg where you actually are holding the controls this isn't for you, this game was meant for people who decide oh golly what is on the television while hitting the x-button on the controller.
    Even though you can choose paradigm's later on it still has so little impact, there is no reason to do anything else than choose a good paradigm then auto-attack to win since it takes a lot longer to stack different attacks, and since the AA chooses the best ones automatically there is no need for that.

    Characters.... you hate almost everyone one of them since most of them are irritating and annoying, Hope is this whiny brat who is such a huge mama's boy, vanille is this girl who accidentally smashed his happy pills with depressants and hogged everything in. Snow is just a normal brute who got brain of an oyster. Now this is only 3 of the very boring.
    in conclusion they did character design wrong, i'm supposed to remember, but instead you gave me these champs that you want me to like but tried too hard.
    And the early part where hope see's his mom dropping to her death is not sad it is fu**** irritating first you see she is dropping hope is like NEJ! then after snow drops no biggie. in later of the game you can see hope blaming snow for killing his mom...... mind-blown... genius story telling.

    Story:
    They say you can forgive a lot of a game if it has a good story. I call bs on this one. I like a good story in a video game. I can forgive some story if the game-play is good and vice versa. but the problem is story is told so boringly. if they would throw me constantly with a flowing story i would appreciate it. Here it is part of a story followed by a loooooong and i mean LOOOOOOOOOOOONG corridor with nothing in it, you get baddies, some random lines, but there is no main plot inserted here. The only reason why there are long a** corridors is.... there is none. it feels like busy work. but on with that in a sec.
    so in the end. the story would maybe been good. but i just could not play long enough to enjoy it.

    Game-play:
    Simply.... there is none. As for roaming there is nothing. Only hallways, long hallways.
    Battle system? there is no challenge, all you do is hit x. but sometimes on boss battles you get a hard blow on your squad so what you do? if i remember right.. R1 up X X X X X R1 down X X X X... Repeat that for like 40 or 50 times and bam you win the boss battle. As i said there is no challenge, and boss battles don't differ in any way... Or maybe in one way. they are 100 times longer.

    In the end. you don't control the game, you just watch it from a distance ask if you can do anything you pat the game 3 times in the head and sit back.

    Overall:
    It delivers nothing, if you can see i typed something wrong on the details THAT is just because that is the impact this game has left me... absolutely nothing.
    In games i respect quality over quantity. I hate when there is little quality and so much useless content. Wonder where the 1 singer star comes from?
    There is nothing good in this game. characters are forgettable, story is told slowly, graphs were nothing extraordinary (dunno why people praise this game for graphs). music is horrible AND forgettable. Leveling up system is busy work, the interaction of merchants and shopkeeper's have been deleted. EVERYTHING i love bout j-rpg's is gone in this game. This is no j-rpg, this is an slightly interactive document, a boring one that is
    and the challenge is all gone, POOF TO THE GULAG, boss appears, you die. you did not save? no worries since there was a checkpoint 10 ft away and you can keep all your stuff and exp.....
    There is no penalty
    Wonder where the 1 point comes from?
    the 1 point comes from the battle themes violin part, i actually liked that. But i'm a sucker for violin played themes.

    So who can i recommend this movie? People who don't have anything ANYTHING at all to do.
    Retards
    Casual gamer's, those kinds of casual players who think solitaire is hardcore.    … Expand
  99. jonathanM21
    Jan 3, 2011
    1
    Se claims the disappointment with this game is western audiences expecting open worlds. In truth this is a bad game even for JrPG and FF fans. So linear, confusing and boring story, battles that require you only to monitor classes if you wish, horrible characters...its all so bad. I want to love it but I can't . Skip this.
  100. JHango
    Jan 28, 2011
    1
    I feel exactly the same way like Igndsgn
    Final Fantasy has lost they soul. The last good Final Fantasy was FF9, and FF8 was a total crap, a little better them this ridiculous FF13.
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Awards & Rankings

37
#37 Best PS3 Game of 2010
2
#2 Most Discussed PS3 Game of 2010
3
#3 Most Shared PS3 Game of 2010

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
83

Generally favorable reviews - based on 83 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 73 out of 83
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 83
  3. Negative: 1 out of 83
  1. RPG Fan
    81
    As an RPG, it is an excellent experience that provides a beautifully crafted world and engaging battle system. However, as a Final Fantasy game, it falls short of expectations somewhat.
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  2. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    90
    Ten hours in you might have doubts, but stay with it and you'll be smitten right through to the frankly unbelievable end. [Apr 2010, p.104]
  3. Everyeye.it
    85
    An unexpected Final Fantasy. The 13th chapter has a great story and some of the most incisive characters of the whole series, and even the battle system works very well, being deep and complex (even if you control only a single character). But on the other side the overwhelming linearity of the plot, the absence of cities to explore, and the small amount of side quest will disappoint fans' expectations.
    Read full review
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