Read Mixed User Reviews for Final Fantasy XIII on PlayStation 3

JD

Mar 19, 2010

5

Worst Final Fantasy ever. Don't get me wrong, I'm a fanboy for sure, but this has got to be the worst in the series. First, it isn't a "game" per se, since you can get through the whole game mostly using "x" and a few directional keys. Second, the RPG element has been removed. It is hard to believe that Final Fantasy has been dumbed down to pretty graphics and awful, boring Worst Final Fantasy ever. Don't get me wrong, I'm a fanboy for sure, but this has got to be the worst in the series. First, it isn't a "game" per se, since you can get through the whole game mostly using "x" and a few directional keys. Second, the RPG element has been removed. It is hard to believe that Final Fantasy has been dumbed down to pretty graphics and awful, boring gameplay. This is basically a game for the attention deficit disordered millenial generation, and I'm afraid for the future.… Expand

16 of 24 users found this helpful

Mattaclysm

Mar 29, 2011

7

FF13 is an average RPG put in an amazing environment. The graphics are hands down some of the best on consoles and the visuals are very nice in a lot of areas. Character models and people look good as well. What's ruined is that most areas are mainly narrow paths which I feel is a step back from FF12. Battle system is unique. Square has been trying to keep Final Fantasy's fresh ever sinceFF13 is an average RPG put in an amazing environment. The graphics are hands down some of the best on consoles and the visuals are very nice in a lot of areas. Character models and people look good as well. What's ruined is that most areas are mainly narrow paths which I feel is a step back from FF12. Battle system is unique. Square has been trying to keep Final Fantasy's fresh ever since 1 by adding new elements in every game and the Paradigm battle system is one of the worst idea's I think they've ever come up with. It becomes stressful and confusing mixing , matching and switching these to fight certain enemies, bosses and marks. What was wrong with the whole Attack Magic Item Defend style that they felt they needed to get rid of. The story isn't good. Though I don't think it's bad either. I had trouble getting into it for the first 15 hours or so which was about half of the game for me. I also was highly disappointed by the music it seemed like they used about 4 tracks in the whole game each had some form of rehash remix, which I felt got old after a while.
I agree that Final Fantasy 13 is not as memorable as the older FF but it is the prettiest and probably one of the best looking games of this gen.… Expand

KritU

Mar 9, 2010

5

I need to re-score this game. I gave the Japanese version a 0 for doing such a horrible job. I had a high hope it would help if I understand the story. Yes it did. I like FF13 a lot better. However, it's still far from being my favorite RPG. Still wouldn't make it to the top 10, heck it wouldn't even make the top 100 most favorite RPG of mine. Square-Enix, next time, please I need to re-score this game. I gave the Japanese version a 0 for doing such a horrible job. I had a high hope it would help if I understand the story. Yes it did. I like FF13 a lot better. However, it's still far from being my favorite RPG. Still wouldn't make it to the top 10, heck it wouldn't even make the top 100 most favorite RPG of mine. Square-Enix, next time, please just keep FF as a turn base, k? I love innovation but this is what I call "not true to to series".… Expand

9 of 12 users found this helpful

ChrisS

Mar 10, 2010

5

I can live with XIII. It is a very pretty game. But the epic feel, the interactivity of previous titles is just not there. Square got scared of the market. They see games like halo and MW2 in the west selling a bazillion copies, and want a piece of that mass market appeal. Mass market = we need to idiot proof our game. 2 equip slots, 2 stats. No running around to buy your items, the store I can live with XIII. It is a very pretty game. But the epic feel, the interactivity of previous titles is just not there. Square got scared of the market. They see games like halo and MW2 in the west selling a bazillion copies, and want a piece of that mass market appeal. Mass market = we need to idiot proof our game. 2 equip slots, 2 stats. No running around to buy your items, the store is at every save point. No towns for most of the game. Hell you don't even talk to npcs anymore, they just mumble something when you get near them. There is more but others have listed it all I know. This was an effort to make a Final fantasy game have a wider mass market appeal, this was an effort by Japanese devs to capture the western console market. In doing so however they have removed most of the things we loved about the previous FF games. They have produced a very pretty movie with some interactive scenes. FF needs to go back to its roots again. We need a real JRPG from them. Else they are going to loose the fans that made the series what it is, while gaming on the whims of the fickle modern gamer. Whos tastes change like the seasons. What i fear is that when Dragon Quest 9 comes out this summer on the DS, if it does not sell really well, they are going to use that as justification for the continued dumbing down of Final Fantasy.… Expand

8 of 11 users found this helpful

ChrisT

Mar 21, 2010

5

This game is a huge disappointment. I've played over 20 hours so far and the game isn't just linear, but the beginning of the game starts with you running forward for 10 hours, I really don't care for linear games, since I've played games like Xenosaga. After the running forward for a few hours, we get to a few right turns, left turns, but it's always just run This game is a huge disappointment. I've played over 20 hours so far and the game isn't just linear, but the beginning of the game starts with you running forward for 10 hours, I really don't care for linear games, since I've played games like Xenosaga. After the running forward for a few hours, we get to a few right turns, left turns, but it's always just run straight forward. You can literally AFK a boss in this game, I've done it twice. I went downstairs to get food, ten minutes later, the boss is dead. The characters are annoying as can be, the little boy Hope is a whiny little emo brat who blames the entire group and won't take responsibility or finish his sentences. He's also a racist bigot. Snow won't stop talking about being a hero and his girlfriend, everything he says has to do with them, he never brings up a new topic. The game is confusing as hell in the beginning because you have no idea whats going on, they give you terms, but don't define them until way later. I only played this game for story, I typically don't care for gameplay too much, as long as it isn't boring, but the story is such a bore, half the characters you play as piss me off. That being said, Square Enix doesn't listen to their customers, Bioware and Bethesda do. Since the next gen consoles came out, JRPGs have been failing and western RPGs and Sandbox RPGs have been dominate, theres a reason for that, it's because they listen to their customers.… Expand

8 of 11 users found this helpful

Matt

Apr 15, 2010

5

Good visuals. Annoying battle system. Not being able to move your AI characters out of aoe attacks cripple the battle system. A fight that should be easy can turn into a disaster if the AI places characters to close to the enemy. Convoluted story. Annoying characters. Tedious battles. Crappy weapon customization/progression. I finished it only because I felt like I had to because Good visuals. Annoying battle system. Not being able to move your AI characters out of aoe attacks cripple the battle system. A fight that should be easy can turn into a disaster if the AI places characters to close to the enemy. Convoluted story. Annoying characters. Tedious battles. Crappy weapon customization/progression. I finished it only because I felt like I had to because it's a FF game.… Expand

8 of 11 users found this helpful

MohamedS

Mar 16, 2010

5

Linearity is not a bad thing. Resident Evil 4 is Linear and it's one of the best games out there. Mass Effect 2 is Linear and it's an awesome game. The difference is that those two games used their Linearity to deliver a focused intense gaming experience (the village fight in RE4 comes to mind) while FFXIII uses it to shove a story down the gamer's throat. That would be Linearity is not a bad thing. Resident Evil 4 is Linear and it's one of the best games out there. Mass Effect 2 is Linear and it's an awesome game. The difference is that those two games used their Linearity to deliver a focused intense gaming experience (the village fight in RE4 comes to mind) while FFXIII uses it to shove a story down the gamer's throat. That would be fine if the story was good or the characters likable but it's simply pretentious and the dialougue is hilariously bad (Snow is the biggest culprit here). The battle system is very close to becoming FFXII's autopilot as well and battles take a lot longer than they should (20 minutes for some large bosses) simply because it relies too much on the stagger system. Good points include great graphics and CGI, decent music and Sazh.… Expand

10 of 14 users found this helpful

GalvinO

Mar 10, 2010

5

This review was written by a gamer that has been playing JRPGs since the SNES era and has been anticipating FINAL FANTASY XIII since it was first revealed at E3 2006. ------------- Prologue ------------- "If the main selling point of the software is the non-interactive story scenes rather than the actual gameplay then it's not a game." ~ Shigeru Miyamoto (Director: Super Mario 64, This review was written by a gamer that has been playing JRPGs since the SNES era and has been anticipating FINAL FANTASY XIII since it was first revealed at E3 2006. ------------- Prologue ------------- "If the main selling point of the software is the non-interactive story scenes rather than the actual gameplay then it's not a game." ~ Shigeru Miyamoto (Director: Super Mario 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time) "If a games designer chooses to have the story be the most important part of the video game then they must find a way to tell it interactively to the player. Even if it's a strictly linear and pre-scripted story, there needs to be some form of interactivity from the player when it's being presented. To have the most important part of a video game not require any interactivity from the player is a serious game design mistake." ~ Fumito Ueda (Director: Ico, Shadow of the Colossus) "The most important part of a RPG is the player feeling like they are taking the role of a character in a fully realised fantasy world. They can explore, visit various towns and places, talk to people, customise their character, collect various items, and defeat monsters. The story is not the focus of the experience and is only there to make the atmosphere of the fantasy world more interesting and engaging during the course of the game." ~ Yuji Horii (Creator of the JRPG genre/ Supervisor: Chrono Trigger) "Although the FF series has greatly advanced over the years, it's still a RPG. FF tends to be mostly story driven so I always try to balance the experience by putting more effort into the RPG gameplay." ~ Hiroyuki Itou (Director: FFVI, FFIX, FFXII) ---------------- Introduction ---------------- FINAL FANTASY XIII (FINAL FANTASY is referred to as "FF" for the rest of the review) is the latest main series FF from SQUARE ENIX (SQUARE ENIX referred to as "SQEX" for the rest of this review) and has been in development for almost 5 years by Product Development Division - 1. FFXIII is a game that numerically follows FFXII but the game is nothing like it as FFXII was made by a completely different development team called Product Development Division - 4. FFXIII instead is an evolution of the game design of the last main series FF by Product Development Division - 1 called FFX. However, the decision to skip the gaming innovations of FFXII and go back to the incredibly restricting and interactive move-like game design of FFX is ultimately the downfall of FFXIII. The leader of Product Development Division - 1 is called Yoshinori Kitase and he studied to be a Film Director before he joined SQEX. He has openly said in interviews that it's the intention of the games made by his division to play like interactive movies. After FFVII: Advent Children (a CGI movie released on DVD in 2005) was made he said in the bonus footage contained on the DVD that he, "Always wanted to make something like this." The problem with Yoshinori Kitase is that he values film and cinematic qualities over gameplay and good game design and that mentality has greatly affected the game design choices of FFXIII. FFXIII is an interactive movie with RPG elements. This is not a video game and it doesn't even try to pretend it is one. It is unashamedly a CGI movie with a stylish battle system and pretty growth system tacked on. Summing up the game is really that simple. --------------------------- RPG Game Design --------------------------- Firstly, what exactly is the game design of a RPG? It's about the player feeling like they're actually taking the role of a character in the story and virtual world. Therefore, what needs more depth is the story being told in a way that the player actually feels like they are the character in the story. The player must also feel like the virtual world is a real place in which the character can fully interact with. During the course of the game this character grows in strength and learns new abilities and techniques. That's the definition of a Role-Playing Game. If it just has a deep story that doesn't mean it's a RPG as any video game genre can have a deep story. The game design in FFXIII is atrocious and a shining example of why games will never become a majorly respected art form. It claims to be a RPG but you never once feel like you're assuming the role of a character, you only feel like you're controlling their bodies and everything else about them is cut off from you. You move them to the story scenes but during these story parts you completely lose control of them and they become their own person doing whatever they want. How is this then a RPG? It feels more like moving actors to their next story scene and when you reach it the actors turn off your console controller and do whatever the **** they want regardless of you being there or not. If you want to make a film then make a film; if you want to make a game then make a game. If you want to make a hybrid then go for it but don't call it a video game, instead call it an interactive movie and if you're making interactive movies then don't classify yourself as a games designer. I don't know why this beautiful medium that's built on interactivity as a foundation has people that keep using lengthy non-interactive cinema scenes as the main focus of the game. If I want to see pretty CGI from SQEX that I can't interact with then I'd watch FFVII: Advent Children Complete or FF: The Spirits Within on Blu-ray in 1080p. A film is a motion picture so no matter what the director tries to do it will always primarily be a visual moving photo. With a video game, it's interactive computer entertainment so no matter what the director is trying to accomplish it should be focused on the interactivity as a foundation. It can tell a deep story but it must first embrace the interactivity, just like a film must first embrace being a motion picture before it can provide a story to the viewer. FFXIII has been in development for almost 5 years and yet it appears that most of the focus was put on the non-interactive story scenes and graphics. The bad thing about this is that non-interactive story scenes and graphics can both be done in cinema. Interactivity cannot be done in film and as such is what needs to be focused on and perfected in order for games to really stand on their own two feet as an art form. FFXIII doesn't even try to present any form of interactive storytelling and is instead a story that is presented to the player in completely non-interactive motion picture format. I will not go into the specifics of what the story is about but I will say that while the story never becomes majorly epic, it does include a lot of character development for all the playable party members. Sadly, it also contains more melodrama than any other FF released to date. What hurts FFXIII besides the numerous non-interactive movies is that the parts where you actually play are incredibly alleyway-linear. I'm talking like an alleyway where a woman could get raped or a child get mugged, just that the alleyways in this game have been majorly decorated with superb art direction and some with beautiful skylines and vistas and others with numerous things going on in the background. You run down these pretty alleyways and fight some battles. The enemies are on the field but because the fields are so alleyway-linear it's mostly impossible to avoid these enemies and thus when you contact them it switches to a completely different field for the battle. The enemies are on the field but the battles are not seamless and take place on a separate field, a clear step back from the innovations of FFXII by Product Development Division - 4. After the battle ends you reach the next long non-interactive cut-scene. This cycle repeats for almost 40 hours making up 80% of the main game. You eventually reach a huge open environment near the end of the game but that whole big area is completely bland compared to the superb art direction of the alleyway-linear areas and it is also thrown in far too late into the gameplay experience. To make things worse, it's impossible to back track to the beautiful alleyway-linear areas once you complete them. You see an alleyway-linear area only once and if you want to see it again after you pass it you must start a new game. For a game that's been in development for 5 years this is the game design they're selling me? There's nothing remarkable about this as a video game. Only buy it if you want a beautiful looking interactive movie. Product Development Division - 1 has even axed the towns, shops, conversable NPCs, side-quests and other JRPG staples. Sorry, but I need to repeat this so really it hits home: - No towns. - No shops. - No conversable NPCs. - No side-quests. - No mini-games. - No airship. - No world map. With all this **** missing they have the audacity to call this a RPG? You'll realise this is barely a JRPG at all if you return to the Prologue section of this review and read the quote by Yuji Horii who created the JRPG genre. There is innovation of existing gameplay mechanics and there is removal of it, the **** Product Development Division - 1 have done is removal of it. They have just removed all the fundamental JRPG game design elements in their pursuit to make the game feel more like an interactive movie. They gave the non-interactive story scenes and graphics so much priority that important JRPG gameplay elements were given no attention. Don't get my words twisted, there is nothing wrong with playing a video game for the story but this story must be interactive and part of the gameplay experience and not separate from it. Think for a moment... If the main reason you're buying any video game genre is for the parts that are non-interactive then why should the developer even bother adding any interactivity to the game? If the non-interactive story is the most important part of the game and the reason you're buying it then the game should never have been a video game to begin with and instead just a film. FFXIII is a deep but non-interactive story with some brief gameplay on the side. This is not a video game that is striving to make this beautiful interactive medium the greatest art form of the 21st century. ------------------------------------------- Graphics and World Immersion ------------------------------------------- FFXIII is the most beautiful video game you will ever set your eyes on. I'm not going to waste time on this point, FFXIII is the best looking video game ever made. The Art Direction is also superb but it's expected as it's by Isamu Kamikokuryo (who was also Art Director of FFXII by Product Development Division - 4) but sadly Kamikokuryo has not been able to show the full extent of his talent. When he worked on FFXII he was allowed to design fully explorable locations and cities. With FFXIII he has been restrained to design alleyway-linear maps and his art just used mainly as background with no real feel of world immersion via exploration and interactivity. Also, sexy graphics do not make a great game and even though FFXIII looks like a burning hot girl, it plays like taking that girl home and discovering she is a dude in drag. It would appear that Product Development Division - 1 focused so much on graphics that they didn't bother to focus on world immersion. The majority of the locations in FFXIII resemble a movie set as they are straight to the point with no real breathing space. You often feel that if you could move out of the alleyway-linear maps you'd bump into the camera crew and set decorators. The world just doesn't feel like a real place at all. It has a nice sci-fi atmosphere but you never feel fully immersed and that it's a real world, instead you feel like it's just the setting of a film and that you have only one direction to move in that the film director has planned for you. Here's the first 10 hours of the game in maps. You will be able to see from this image that the maps are very alleyway-linear and unfortunately they make up 80% of the main game (SPOILERS): http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/9029/alleywayi.jpg -------------------- Battle System -------------------- Really, this is the only enjoyable interactive element in this game and sadly it's more flawed than the Active Dimension Battle (ADB) of FFXII. The name of the battle system in FFXIII is called Command Synergy Battle (CSB) and was an attempt to bring the stylish fight scenes seen in FFVII: Advent Children into interactive format. You have the ATB bar of past FF games but there are now up to 6 of them and depending on the move that you do it will take up one or more ATB bars. A standard "Attack" command will take up one bar while a move like "Firaga" will take up 3 ATB bars. You can mix and match as many moves as you have ATB bars for and then release them as a single chain of commands. This part of the game is very fun but then it becomes slightly tedious with the addition of the Break bar on enemies (Stagger bar in the NA/EU version). When you first begin combat with an enemy you will first have to make it fall into Break mode before you can do any real damage to it. You do this by attacking it as quickly as possible to fill the Break bar and when it's full the enemy will fall into Break mode and take much more damage. It's an interesting addition but it makes certain battles become overly drawn out and tedious. CSB would have been far quicker and streamlined if the Break bar was only on certain enemies instead of all of them, you could therefore damage the regular enemies straight away while certain powerful enemies and Bosses have a Break bar that needs to be filled before you can perform major damage on them. It would have made the system more interesting and varied, you'd have the enemies that you can speedily and stylishly defeat while others take longer to bring down. Also, while the underlying gameplay mechanics of the CSB system are fun, it's still lacking in areas. Firstly, there's the decision that you can only ever control one party member in battle and that the game will never present you with a choice to switch controlled party member during a battle. It's a shame as ADB in FFXII offered the feature and all past FF games let you control all party members in a battle. Say you're playing as Lightning in a fight but then want to play as Snow for a bit in the same battle, it's impossible to do that in this game. You can switch party member but only outside battle and even then you only get the ability to do this 80% through the main game so almost 40 hours into the game. What I don't understand is why they could not make it so that you can change controlled party member during battle like you could in the ADB system of FFXII. It would have been a simple process of swapping over the AI routine of the character you want to switch to with the character you're currently controlling. Also, why so late in the game to give the player the feature to choose their own party members? The reason is obviously the linearity and majorly story driven nature of the game. Because of how story driven the game is, it even scripts what characters you control and who your party members must be for 80% of the main game. Yes, you read right, you can only really begin to choose your own party members around 40 hours into the game. Everything about whose in your party is pre-scripted before this time. You only get to make a party made out of party members of your choice when you reach that big open area I mentioned earlier in this review. They have also made it so it's Game Over if the party leader dies. What this means is that if the current party leader is Lightning and she dies while the other two AI controlled party members are still alive it will be Game Over, even though there are two other party members that are still alive. It's a very harsh game design approach especially given that past FF games have allowed the whole party to be controlled. If it was so difficult for Product Development Division - 1 to allow the player to control all party members in battle with CSB they should have at least found a way to allow the player to switch to and play as another party member during a battle. What makes this Game Over feature even worse is that when you're fighting a boss or powerful key story related enemy, it will cast "Doom" on the party leader if you're taking too long to defeat it. It just feels very forced and cheap and makes the CSB system feel very user-unfriendly compared to the both ATB and ADB. The AI system that is used in FFXIII is called Optima Change (Paradigm Shift in the NA/EU version) and was added much later in the games development. Product Development Division - 1 initially had CSB having the player only controlling the party leader and the other two party members on AI with no editing from the player. They later decided that they needed to find a way to let the player control the party member AI rather than have them only control the party leader and that's how the Optima Change system was born. The Optima Change system is not even close to being as deep as the Gambit system that was in FFXII as the Gambit system existed in FFXII from the start of that games development. As I've just mentioned, Optima Change was a last minute addition to CSB in an attempt to give the player more control over the AI. The Optima Change system basically involves you having 6 AI roles to choose out from for each character in your party and by mixing them together in unique ways you create various party battle strategies. The problem is that the AI can't be customised to the degree it could be with the Gambit system in FFXII. Optima Change basically has you choosing a role for all three party members and the CPU then decides when and what move the two AI controlled party members do based on what role they currently are and what's going on in the current battle. You can't take over this position from the CPU and set your own AI routines so the AI characters act according to what you told them to do. The way it's set up works most of the time but there are times when you wish an AI party member did a different move instead of the one the CPU told them to do. The lack of control over party member AI in the Optima Change system is a huge step back from the Gambits in FFXII. ---------------- Conclusion ---------------- I'm a gamer who calls a game **** without any fear or hesitation, if it's a bad gaming experience then I'll openly say so regardless of what famous series it's part of. FFXIII is a shining example of a game that refuses to stand proudly on both legs as a video game and instead leans heavily on the film medium for support. To think this game took half a decade to produce and what we have is an experience that is not revolutionary is a crying shame. FFXII, which was released on PS2, is more innovative and more revolutionary as a RPG than this game is and it was released on far inferior hardware. What hurts more is that FFXIII has game design that is worse than JRPGs released on even the SNES. The majority of the time spent making this game went to the graphics and non-interactive story scenes but none of these aspects are important to make a great gameplay experience; none of these will help make video games be regarded as a major art form. The bottom line is simple: If you're buying looking for the sexiest and most beautiful looking interactive movie ever made then buy this without hesitation. However, if you're looking for a RPG with more than just pretty graphics and instead with good RPG game design and interactive storytelling then you should avoid it. ----------- Scoring ----------- - RPG Game Design: [ 2 ] - Graphics: [ 10 ] - World immersion: [ 3 ] - Battle System: [ 7 ] - Final Score (Not an average): [ 5 ].… Expand

9 of 13 users found this helpful

Seth

Mar 10, 2010

6

Where is all the exploring? In this game you fight, walk, watch a cutscene and repeat. Over and over. There are practically no options to customize your character, you cannot control more than one character at a time. The story is probably the weakest Ive played in the series. The music is bad. It makes me miss the old Nobuo Uematsu tracks. The only thing this game has going for it are Where is all the exploring? In this game you fight, walk, watch a cutscene and repeat. Over and over. There are practically no options to customize your character, you cannot control more than one character at a time. The story is probably the weakest Ive played in the series. The music is bad. It makes me miss the old Nobuo Uematsu tracks. The only thing this game has going for it are the graphics. The only thing that allows this to be called an RPG is the turn based combat, which is outdated. The combat in XII or X was far superior. There is no sense of "role playing" rather, you are watching a FF movie with a few turn based limited combat situations.… Expand

11 of 16 users found this helpful

TinoH

Mar 14, 2010

6

This game suffers from MANY flaws. I can't understand people / magazines giving it perfect scores. There is nothing outstanding except the graphics. Even the story is extremely cheesy and boring. The battle system is a strain on my thumb because you can beat 95% of all encounters by repeatedly pressing "X" from fight start to fight end! The enemies have soooo much HP that you will be This game suffers from MANY flaws. I can't understand people / magazines giving it perfect scores. There is nothing outstanding except the graphics. Even the story is extremely cheesy and boring. The battle system is a strain on my thumb because you can beat 95% of all encounters by repeatedly pressing "X" from fight start to fight end! The enemies have soooo much HP that you will be hacking "X" for 1-5 m inutes EVEN FOR NORMAL ENEMIES! The battle system offers no challenges at all except keep your "leader" alive. One of the 2-3 people you walk around is is your "leader" - if he dies the game is instantly lost. But dont worry - you will not have to replay anything. Because if you fail a fight you can just RETRY it .... The list of flaws continues but I don't want to write anymore.… Expand

8 of 12 users found this helpful

Joshua

Mar 27, 2010

6

This Final Fantasy is an utter dissapointment. First the good points: Graphics and story (sort of). This game is beautiful as everyone has said. No doubt about it. The story is also very cool except that at several points I literally stopped at verbalized a WTF which I don't usually do, and sometimes the dialogue gets a little FFX Tidus-esque. But overall very good story. The bad: This Final Fantasy is an utter dissapointment. First the good points: Graphics and story (sort of). This game is beautiful as everyone has said. No doubt about it. The story is also very cool except that at several points I literally stopped at verbalized a WTF which I don't usually do, and sometimes the dialogue gets a little FFX Tidus-esque. But overall very good story. The bad: Super linear. It is boring as hell to walk straight for 1 minut fight for 3 minutes watch cutscene for 5 minutes repeat. Since everyting is like a long hallway it feels claustrophobic and uninteresting even when you change scenery. Somtime I could change from a cityscape to a forest and not even feel like I went anywhere because I was just so disengaged. The battle system is crap. Paradigms sound cool for about 3 seconds but when you have to switch back and forth every turn in some battles it gets pretty annoying. Plus it just feels cheap when you don't have a perfect paradigm set up so one character is doing nothing useful for a turn or when you want to cast slow once then go back to attacking but can't because to cast slow you have to be in a job that doesn't have a normal attack. The stagger system is ridiculous in my opinion. All it amounts to for me is a sensation of being extremely weak and underleveled in every single battle for the whole game with no real way to level up, but with the possibility to suddenly do normal or good damage in the last 5 seconds of a battle. Yay. Overall this game is very average in terms of an RPG, you could definitely find better out there, even in this RPG drought generation. As a huge fan of the FF series this game feels pretty close to a last straw. XV is no longer a must buy for me.… Expand

6 of 9 users found this helpful

RichardT.

Mar 12, 2010

5

Quite possibly the most beautiful looking console game out there, but very, very dull. Run down corridors, engage in pre-arranged (no random encounters or grinding here) quasi-turn based fights that involve figuring out the correct tactic for the particular enemy and spamming it endlessly. No town, no XP, no gambit system and very little control - your party fight under AI control similar Quite possibly the most beautiful looking console game out there, but very, very dull. Run down corridors, engage in pre-arranged (no random encounters or grinding here) quasi-turn based fights that involve figuring out the correct tactic for the particular enemy and spamming it endlessly. No town, no XP, no gambit system and very little control - your party fight under AI control similar to Mass Effect (although in Mass Effect you can at least control your party's use of powers). Very weak and generic story as well. Apparently it all gets a bit better after about 25 hours, but who has the time to play a boring game for that long? The Edge and Wired reviews nail it pretty much perfectly I think.… Expand

9 of 14 users found this helpful

SeanR

Mar 29, 2010

6

I can't understand how so many people give this game such high scores. A 6, at best, is what it deserves. JRPG's aren't exactly known for their steps in innovation, but they are at least consistent. The previous FF's added onto the previous one, or at least did something better. For XIII, Square Enix just chopped off whole elements and replaced it with cliches.

7 of 11 users found this helpful

Trevor

Apr 7, 2010

6

I tried and tried through out the entire 60 hours to care about this games story and characters, but no matter how much I tried, I simply could not. The battle system is, for the most part, fun. However, the story is just horrible, I expected WAY more from the company who brought us FFVII and X. I tried to over look the lack of side quests and cities, but could not do so. This just feels I tried and tried through out the entire 60 hours to care about this games story and characters, but no matter how much I tried, I simply could not. The battle system is, for the most part, fun. However, the story is just horrible, I expected WAY more from the company who brought us FFVII and X. I tried to over look the lack of side quests and cities, but could not do so. This just feels like a mediocre game wrapped with the occasional FF reference. A definite rent, but be buy at your own risk. If you love FF VII and X's stories, prepare to be disappointed.… Expand

7 of 11 users found this helpful

AnthonyP.

Mar 12, 2010

6

Epic let down! First off id like to say this game is a fairly solid dungeon crawler/interactive movie. You jump from dungeon to dungeon, cutscene to cutscene. Minimal character interaction outside cutscenes, the best you will get is idle chatter while you explore the linear paths (Mostly stuff like "Hey this place is neat" or "Look at that") If you thought FF12's characters needed Epic let down! First off id like to say this game is a fairly solid dungeon crawler/interactive movie. You jump from dungeon to dungeon, cutscene to cutscene. Minimal character interaction outside cutscenes, the best you will get is idle chatter while you explore the linear paths (Mostly stuff like "Hey this place is neat" or "Look at that") If you thought FF12's characters needed more depth then you have not met Lightning the ex soldier without a personality...sounds like Cloud actually, but without the actual good plot twists that make him remotely interesting. The battles are either impossible or too easy, meaning if you know what to do they are simple but if you dont know the exact way 100% to fight a boss you cant win period. Why must I fight a boss EXACTLY one specific way ...that is boring. Moving on...Area's dont get interesting till chapter 10 (Out of 13), Summons are extremely cheesy...two blue sisters interlocking thier thighs making themselves into a motercycle is NOT my ideal Shiva. No towns, no shops, boring late-late game sidequests, boring item grinding, truly a dungeon crawler with cutscenes every 5 minutes. The game drops you in the middle of its storyline, it actually needs 10,000 flashbacks to explain itself, it feels almost like a cheap FF6 story, only without the ground breaking gameplay to make up for it. On a plus its graphics are great but not jaw dropping. The sound is amazing, voice acting is decent. On a side note character development is a pretty version of the sphere grid, only you cant really customize a character the way you want. Its monitered and capped in a way that basically everybody will end up with the same characters near endgame. I give this game a 7/10, but since its the most epic letdown of the past 10 years, it gets a 6/10 out of spite.… Expand

5 of 8 users found this helpful

Pat

Mar 17, 2010

6

This game makes you appreciate final fantasy 12 so much. FF13 is Final Fantasy for dumb people. Go from point A to point B. Fight a few enemies. Fill up the predetermined skill path. Be annoyed by two characters, one that doesn't stop whining and one that just doesn't stop squealing giddily. "My feet hurt, this is too hard, its all your fault!," "Don't worry!, you have to This game makes you appreciate final fantasy 12 so much. FF13 is Final Fantasy for dumb people. Go from point A to point B. Fight a few enemies. Fill up the predetermined skill path. Be annoyed by two characters, one that doesn't stop whining and one that just doesn't stop squealing giddily. "My feet hurt, this is too hard, its all your fault!," "Don't worry!, you have to have hope, we can't give up!, everything will work out in the end!, HE HE!" After the first few hours of gameplay you figure out that you really only need to kill a few enemies every chapter to fill up the skill grid. They cap the grid so once you hit the cap, you just stop fighting until they raise it again. So then it becomes a game of how fast can you run to the next cutscene without punishment for being weak when you get to the next boss fight. Boss fights tend to be much easier than the normal fights oddly enough. Randomly their are very hard enemies. Advice to developers, if you are going to have a game where you lose when the party leader dies, do not put enemies that one shot you, it is annoying. Graphics wise, I am typically a PC gamer so this isn't all that great looking. CG cutscenes are still beautiful, characters other than the two I mentions are a bit better. But yeah, final fantasy 12 was the like the pinnacle of customization. Sure it was a bit overwhelming at first but once you get everything set up the way you like it was great. 13 is like hey, you are this, you get to use this move, spam it. I also do not get how people think the fight system is good. I just sit there tapping x and occasionally pressing L1 to change "paradigms." And it is not that I don't enjoy a big produced cinematic game. I loved 10. But it needs to be done right, 10 made you feel like part of the game. You were there with the characters, you cared about them, you wanted everything to work out. Thirteen does not do this, I don't care about anyone, they seem to blabber on about random crap that does not relate to anyone. Everyone's parents died when they were a child in the game. Like seriously, every time someone starts explaining their past in the game, its starts off with "I am an orphan, I never got to know my family much" Game is way too easy + some retarded annoying piss you off type hard parts. It doesn't just hold your hand it holds them both, and your feet, while giving you a back massage. I am hugely disappointed. I give it a 6 because the cutscenes are pretty.… Expand

5 of 8 users found this helpful

GaryW

Apr 4, 2010

6

So fast-forward to now, and here is Final Fantasy XIII; a game I thought would bring me back to the old days and loving the series again. In fact, I think everyone was thinking the same; as the game's director was the same one that worked on Final Fantasy VII. And here I introduce the big problem of this game: not only was I trying my hardest to enjoy it, but this game was obviously So fast-forward to now, and here is Final Fantasy XIII; a game I thought would bring me back to the old days and loving the series again. In fact, I think everyone was thinking the same; as the game's director was the same one that worked on Final Fantasy VII. And here I introduce the big problem of this game: not only was I trying my hardest to enjoy it, but this game was obviously trying its hardest to be enjoyed. From a character heralded as the female version of FFVII's main character Cloud (hell, even her name was fairly similar, being Lightning and all...) to stupidly detailed cut-scenes (that really give away how bad most of the graphics actually are in the game), this is a game that wants to be loved so badly. OK, I lie; it's a game that wants to make Square Enix money. The in-game graphics really are quite horrible for at least the first half of the game, where they look no better then the previous FFXII's environments. It's not just the graphics are bad, but the environments seem carelessly designed. For example, in one part Sazh (one of the few decent characters I will come back to later on) and Vanille (a horribly "australian" voiced character who, thankfully, I will not come back to again) are travelling through a forest. This forest just looks like any bog-standard, generic one you would see in any other game. But it looks boring, too. It's not until you get in the last third of gameplay that we begin to see some of the wow-factor and huge environments a Final Fantasy game should be. And I don't want to sound like a graphics whore, but when compared to in-game graphics of a game like Uncharted, you begin to feel the frustration that Square could have actually created something arguably just as good as in the already mentioned amazing cut-scenes. Well, amazing definitely described the look of the cut-scenes. Their editing and direction leaves much to be desired. Maybe I'm coming at it as I have done video-editing, but you get the feeling they let a child or something mess about with the footage before the game was released. Horrible, sweeping camera angles I'd associate with lesser games unfamiliar with cinematography are used to death. Scenes and lines cut-short, along with music that rarely properly reflects the atmosphere or what's happening on screen. The voice acting is terrible. But the worst thing is the writing. Whoever wrote the English script should find a whole to crawl into before I find them, as it was extremely disappointing. Forget decent characterisation or trying to tie and emotional bond with the gamer. No, it's just full of bad cliches and a horrible narrative. Which leads to the biggest problem. I really don't care what happens to just about all the characters. Rather than take a primary character who we see develop, with well developed supportive roles, we see a narrative that tries to make all the characters have a more or less equal role. Which simply doesn't work; by the time we start to develop some sort of feeling for the characters, it swaps to the other half of the team for a few hours. There is one exception to the rule: Sazh. In my opinion, he has the best character, voice actor, and role in the game. He's an older guy who has been thrown into this mess because he wants to save his toddler son. He is also really likeable, compared to the rest of the gang of freaks. But I think the ageism in the game says it all: in his mid-thirties, he's an "old man". All the other characters are younger, (apparently) sexier, and just as fake and one-dimensional as the probable target audience of the product. He ends up taking a back-seater by the middle of the story, being used from then on as someone to give the odd annoying one-liner. The annoying thing is this is meant to be a role-playing game. But the dialogue is so awful you can't ever fit into a role. There is also no exploration whatsoever, at least until the final chapters in a section full of side-quests which seems more like it has been bolted on to please hardcore fans. And this is one of the few parts that looks amazing; it is so huge. There is no "world-map" you can explore, and most of the game you are getting from a-to-b. Not even any "exploration" exists, as your map in the top-right corner makes it pretty obvious that the very rare off-shoot of the path probably hides some treasure. There's no sense of "home" throughout, and no more towns you can explore or find useful things out from the townsfolk. In the few sections you can converse with people, they repeat the same thing over and over. Finally (and arguably the flagship of any RPG) is the battle system. And in all fairness, at the beginning you think it is really well done. You control one character by selecting their attacks/defence in battle, and can select the "stance" (or paradigm, as this game decides to call them) the other two people in your team have. i.e. whether you want them to keep healing, keep using magic attacks or physical attacks etc.It all starts off well, but very quickly you see it's limitations. It all feels too on-rails, like the rest of the game. They've even provided an "auto-battle" mode so you don't even have to control your main man/woman!! And more usually than not the other two party members act in a way you never would if you were actually controlling them. Indeed, I doubt any sane man would act that way either. They made one massive, massive mistake with the battle system though: if the party leader gets knocked out, it's game over. Why the hell did they decide that? Do your other party members, who are quite happy to use revive magic to any one else on the team, suddenly forget how to heal you? There isn't even any logic for this decision in terms of the battle system as a whole. It seems just a lazy decision on Square's part to make the game a bit harder. So overall, I was very unimpressed with the game. It is trying too hard to make money and look all glitzy and great, but you can't base the soul of a good game or storyline on making money. You don't feel the passion they put into their games anymore... it seemed to all disappear after the 10th instalment of the series (which compared to this really wasn't that bad). If they wanted a guaranteed cash-cow that I would buy and actually enjoy, they should have re-made Final Fantasy VII like everyone begged them to. Interestingly, the related game/tie-in/sequal Final Fantasy Versus 13 really doesn't look that bad. In fact it looks a lot darker, like in FFVII. And it has a world map to explore. Seeing as they seemed to lose their way after getting rid of a world you travel around, maybe it's a sign they'll go back to their roots. Maybe.… Expand

7 of 12 users found this helpful

Regal4point1

Jul 31, 2012

6

FF13 is definitely one of my guilty pleasures, and this makes the game hard to recommend. It has its highlights, but the restriction required to get there isn't often worth it. The battle system is fast and fun, but easily exploitable. The plot is good but horribly executed. The characters are multi-dimensional but deliver rotten dialogue. The game's world is beautiful but restrictive.FF13 is definitely one of my guilty pleasures, and this makes the game hard to recommend. It has its highlights, but the restriction required to get there isn't often worth it. The battle system is fast and fun, but easily exploitable. The plot is good but horribly executed. The characters are multi-dimensional but deliver rotten dialogue. The game's world is beautiful but restrictive. Every aspect of the game has at least one issue holding it back. Did I enjoy my time with it though? Oddly enough I did. You might be one of the few like me to get something out of it though.… Expand

jaga420

Dec 4, 2010

5

I absolutely loved the graphics and the gameplay.
The story was detestable at best. It has a good base but it has way too many cheesy moments and doesn't make much sense unless you read all the data logs. It only had one cutscene that wasn't cheesy and had meaning (with Sazh and Vanille just before he gets his summon)
The music was great and went well with the battles and environment, butI absolutely loved the graphics and the gameplay.
The story was detestable at best. It has a good base but it has way too many cheesy moments and doesn't make much sense unless you read all the data logs. It only had one cutscene that wasn't cheesy and had meaning (with Sazh and Vanille just before he gets his summon)
The music was great and went well with the battles and environment, but I miss Uematsu's work
The game was linear, but so was God of War.
The voices are the worst part. Vanille's is the worst of the worst, with many of her sound effects sounding more like orgasms than pain. I would have liked an option of changing the voices to the japanese versions and having english subtitles.
Overall, a huge disappointment but still worth a rent.… Expand

DemonKnight94

Mar 20, 2014

7

FFXIII is a very repetitive game. At very few times i found it fun for the sake of gameplay. And that is the combats fault. It´s to repetitive and for the first half of the game u basicaly mash one button in manny battles lasts forever aswell as its undramatic. Fighting, running around enviroments and watch cutscenes is what u do in this game, Usualy that is not a problem for me but iFFXIII is a very repetitive game. At very few times i found it fun for the sake of gameplay. And that is the combats fault. It´s to repetitive and for the first half of the game u basicaly mash one button in manny battles lasts forever aswell as its undramatic. Fighting, running around enviroments and watch cutscenes is what u do in this game, Usualy that is not a problem for me but i found running around the enviroments thte creative and beautiful, at times spectacular inviroments and watch cutscenes more interesting.

Aswell as that FFXIII has a soundtrack that u hear when running around the world and during cutsceenes that is great but not to often, all you hear is Combat Theme trough every fight. Great estetics, poor gameplay… Expand

DanielP

Mar 11, 2010

7

Who in Square Enix said: "Hey you know what we should do? Make this new installment of Final Fantasy as linear as a freaking two dimensional Sonic game!" "yeah man! That's a GREAT idea!" All I wanted to do through the entire first half of the game was go find an optional boss, go into an optional zone, or engage in a sidequest. For those of you who played FF7, let me put it this way, Who in Square Enix said: "Hey you know what we should do? Make this new installment of Final Fantasy as linear as a freaking two dimensional Sonic game!" "yeah man! That's a GREAT idea!" All I wanted to do through the entire first half of the game was go find an optional boss, go into an optional zone, or engage in a sidequest. For those of you who played FF7, let me put it this way, you don't get out of Midgar till the game is more than halfway over!… Expand

3 of 6 users found this helpful

Leontorres7

Nov 15, 2018

7

The game could have been better and its lacking a lot of elements but still it is entertaining.

Iqbal

Aug 24, 2010

6

Shocked. The wait was not worth it. As someone who plays Final Fantasy for only the story telling aspect i was shocked to see such an unnecessarily complicated plot that it took away all meaning from the game. As an old school Final Fantasy player i was bitterly disapointed to find out the lead is not a blond haired male. Infact there were no traditional character roles at all. NoShocked. The wait was not worth it. As someone who plays Final Fantasy for only the story telling aspect i was shocked to see such an unnecessarily complicated plot that it took away all meaning from the game. As an old school Final Fantasy player i was bitterly disapointed to find out the lead is not a blond haired male. Infact there were no traditional character roles at all. No summoner, no black magic specialist etc. What a disapointment.… Expand

DemonWithin

Jun 3, 2011

5

Ok first off I am a HUGE RPG fan and Final Fantasy is one of my favorite series.But 13 let me down.The story was confusing the battle system is boring in my opinion and I don't really like any of the characters other than Lightning and Fang.The graphics are great but to me that doesn't make up for the game-play.I couldn't even finish this game I was so bored with it but after spending $60Ok first off I am a HUGE RPG fan and Final Fantasy is one of my favorite series.But 13 let me down.The story was confusing the battle system is boring in my opinion and I don't really like any of the characters other than Lightning and Fang.The graphics are great but to me that doesn't make up for the game-play.I couldn't even finish this game I was so bored with it but after spending $60 bucks I felt in titled to review it.It may be for some, I sure as hell wasn't one of them though.It's linear game play,I still can't get over that it's FF after all.I waited for this game since the first trailer and info was out,but it wasn't worth it.… Expand

lightning101

May 14, 2011

5

Not a game I would recommend to my friends or for people viewing this comment. They have good looking characters in it, I love Lightning, but the game is just not good enough. The story, character backgrounds, the ending, the sexual gasps being heard from Vanille is just bad. The trailer might be good but those are only the best parts of the game, the rest is just awful. And I am a fan ofNot a game I would recommend to my friends or for people viewing this comment. They have good looking characters in it, I love Lightning, but the game is just not good enough. The story, character backgrounds, the ending, the sexual gasps being heard from Vanille is just bad. The trailer might be good but those are only the best parts of the game, the rest is just awful. And I am a fan of this game, but it's just not good enough.… Expand

Valipex

Aug 30, 2010

5

Well I wouldn't say that the game was THAT BAD but it could have been SO MUCH BETTER. VERY disappointing as a FF game.

I mean, I haven't bought the game but I've watched the entire thing on Youtube and from what I've seen, there wasn't really much to do other than walking around and fighting monsters...Not much room for exploration at all dude. I DID enjoy the characters. All of them inWell I wouldn't say that the game was THAT BAD but it could have been SO MUCH BETTER. VERY disappointing as a FF game.

I mean, I haven't bought the game but I've watched the entire thing on Youtube and from what I've seen, there wasn't really much to do other than walking around and fighting monsters...Not much room for exploration at all dude. I DID enjoy the characters. All of them in fact, but some of them could have used some more time to develop ( i.e. Serah, Snow and Vanille ). And many aspects of the story still don't make sense to me ( AND I've read the novels )

The graphics were pretty tight though and unlike many people I really like that SE tried to go all futuristic with the series! Nothing wrong with trying new things! But you gotta succeed in doing so....… Expand

Hikaru

Sep 13, 2010

6

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Well... all I can say for FF13 is WOW.
Good and bad, i found no in between here. All the good was amazing, the bad was... horrible.
The story-line and most of the fighting styles were great, and put a new edge to the Final Fantasy series. Unfortunately, while the story and graphics were amazing, the fighting was great, I simply could not get my head around some of the changes from the old final fantasy elements.
Turning summons into (for lack of a better word) mounts was ridiculous, and many boss fights were just pointless. Unless you were a longtime FF fan and knew how to defeat certain types of enemies, the only way to defeat some enemies was grinding levels and hoping for the best.
While i HAD to play it because of it being part of the FF series, I would not suggest this game to anyone looking for a reminder of past Final Fantasies.… Expand

rave_rd

Feb 15, 2011

5

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game was very much a mixed bag for me (thus the five)....most of the other reviews here have covered anything, but I'm going to add mine because maybe it'll help me feel a little bit better about the 50+ hours I just sunk in to this game. Did I enjoy the story? Yes (I can handle some melodrama, that's fine...and sure I can swallow some of the awkward writing). No surprise about the game being beautiful (and it really, really is, especially in HD). Then there's the gameplay: linear, linear, linear. Walk cutscene, fight, walk, fight, cutscene. Ok, this mean the story needs to keep me interested (and it did, I kept going).

SPOILERS

Then Orphan shows up. Death To All? Really? So if I don't have the right accessory then I have to rely on luck to not instantly die? REALLY? 50+ hours later and I'm screwed--I don't have the gil to buy things, and my saves are at the ending...so I guess I lose. Thanks FFXII.
All I can say is make sure you read a walkthrough/guide, or expect to be really frustrated at the end.… Expand

SalarymanDaishi

Jan 22, 2011

5

A grand journey like any Final Fantasy should be, sadly trimmed down to just bare essentials: flashy cutscenes and combat. As fine as both of them are, quite a bit of what makes an enthralling JRPG has been culled as well and the result is a linear and vapid ordeal of preciously little else than running and fighting for 50 hours. Sure, the story and the characters weren't bad at all butA grand journey like any Final Fantasy should be, sadly trimmed down to just bare essentials: flashy cutscenes and combat. As fine as both of them are, quite a bit of what makes an enthralling JRPG has been culled as well and the result is a linear and vapid ordeal of preciously little else than running and fighting for 50 hours. Sure, the story and the characters weren't bad at all but overall, the game is worthy of just one gigantic, heartfelt meh. Not because it wasn't what some of us stubborn FF purists wanted it to be but because it's not even a particularly memorable representative of its genre. Not exactly bad or good. Just... Meh.… Expand

Albyproulx

Jan 9, 2011

7

By far the worst Final Fantasy game. It was still decent, but anything with the name Final Fantasy attached has built up certain expectations. I feel that the franchise is losing its luster with each release. This game was so linear it's ridiculous. As a player I felt like I was just running from battle to battle, cut scene to cut scene. The story was interesting, but the game playBy far the worst Final Fantasy game. It was still decent, but anything with the name Final Fantasy attached has built up certain expectations. I feel that the franchise is losing its luster with each release. This game was so linear it's ridiculous. As a player I felt like I was just running from battle to battle, cut scene to cut scene. The story was interesting, but the game play has no depth. The visuals are very nice, but there is not much beyond that.… Expand

Galbias

Jun 20, 2011

5

While it still has the production values one would expect from an AAA game, Final Fantasy XIII ultimately fails in the "game" part. It nearly plays itself; much of the game is spent running down repetitive corridors with no element of choice involved, and the combat and customization are similarly one-dimensional. As per usual for the FF series the graphics are fantastic and soundtrackWhile it still has the production values one would expect from an AAA game, Final Fantasy XIII ultimately fails in the "game" part. It nearly plays itself; much of the game is spent running down repetitive corridors with no element of choice involved, and the combat and customization are similarly one-dimensional. As per usual for the FF series the graphics are fantastic and soundtrack is good, but they can't save a game that isn't any fun to play.… Expand

Zorgly

Feb 8, 2011

6

There is a lot to love and a lot to hate in this game. For starters the story in FF13 is absolutely pitiful. Nearly nothing is explained and the game insists on making you read these gigantic pamphlets on the back story that are just boring and destroy the pacing. The game play consists of walking down hallways (sometimes it can take up to 4 hours game time to get through a single hallway)There is a lot to love and a lot to hate in this game. For starters the story in FF13 is absolutely pitiful. Nearly nothing is explained and the game insists on making you read these gigantic pamphlets on the back story that are just boring and destroy the pacing. The game play consists of walking down hallways (sometimes it can take up to 4 hours game time to get through a single hallway) and then hopping into fights. The fighting is just as pathetic in that all you do is press the "Auto-Battle" button which does all the work for you. at this point you watch the same 2 animations over and over and over and over and over and over again. Tedious is the word that best describes both the gameplay and story. However, this game still will not receive a failing mark from me. why? Art Direction. This game is strikingly, unbelievably beautiful. I forced myself to endure through all the pathetic fights, brainless dislikeable character's, long winded dialogue, and tourist pamphlets simply because I wanted to see what world I would have the pleasure of walking through next. Giant glacial walls stretching miles above you, vast green fields covered in fascinating creatures, crazy futuristic amusement parks. It's all awesome, and it is the single reason I made it through the whole game. To the casual gamer, I simply cannot recommend this. It's to tedious, to confusing, and to slowly paced. An art connoisseur like myself however still found alot of beauty and value in this game. Even with its overwhelming amount of shortcomings. I dream of a day when art directors from Square Enix go and join rockstar games or something, and make an open world masterpiece in a fantasy world like this.… Expand

Professor

Nov 2, 2011

6

Way too linear as everybody mentions, what happened to the choice in exploring and return visits for necessary missions ? Very limited in this regard. A trigger happy x button child could complete 90percent of the game successfully. Too slow to start and leveling up above level 4 was just painful. This could have been a good game but poor story line and limited choices spoilt it. Glad toWay too linear as everybody mentions, what happened to the choice in exploring and return visits for necessary missions ? Very limited in this regard. A trigger happy x button child could complete 90percent of the game successfully. Too slow to start and leveling up above level 4 was just painful. This could have been a good game but poor story line and limited choices spoilt it. Glad to complete it and stop wasting my time. In the end feels like they all failed and the l,ice was successful in destroying cocoon after all - what a disappointment .… Expand

Slsr

Jul 26, 2013

5

Meh, not terrible game but not too good either, fighting system kinda fails even if I have seen worse in jrpgs but basically it doesn't do its job well enough. I didn't really feel it game either, I don't like characters too much, story was OK. first half of game is just really dull as you don't have much freedom :x...

Fix

Oct 24, 2012

7

I honestly could not tell you what the story was about. Why is it so complicated? I played it till the end because of the fun gameplay and nice graphics, but I was kind of bummed that I never really felt a connection to the story. Hopefully they will come up with something better in the future. Overall, I'd recommend it. However, don't plan on being emotionally driven at all during that time.

XuDavella

Jan 4, 2011

5

Didn't like the idea that the entire game was all about fighting and pretty much nothing else to do on the side that didn't have something to do with fighting. You hear people talking about how it takes like 10 hours before you get to the part of the game that you can really appreciate....and that would have worked 20 years ago when people were living at a slower pace, but this is the 21stDidn't like the idea that the entire game was all about fighting and pretty much nothing else to do on the side that didn't have something to do with fighting. You hear people talking about how it takes like 10 hours before you get to the part of the game that you can really appreciate....and that would have worked 20 years ago when people were living at a slower pace, but this is the 21st century. I know I'm taking this out of proportion, but if I want to learn how to do something, I would like to learn how to do that quickly, not have to take a gradual step - lots of fighting and then another small step. Now I'm not saying the fighting is bad, in fact it really is kind of impressive - oh wait, all I have to do is set the damn thing on autopilot and it does it all for me! Now that's 21st century right there. *sigh* So the review is not 'all' bad. The graphics are to die for, and the story line will echo in my mind for a long time. It was musically heart warming and the relationships between the characters developed very very nicely. Oh and the weapon upgrade system was retarded.… Expand

Davidm4

Jul 23, 2011

6

I'm not surprised that people say that the game has no challenge. This isn't true, as it is arguably is one of the most difficult of the series, but it takes so long before the game actually gives you a challenging fight. The first time most people will die is usually the eidolon boss fights, but you only have to be aware of your characters primary role to overcome them. If you excludeI'm not surprised that people say that the game has no challenge. This isn't true, as it is arguably is one of the most difficult of the series, but it takes so long before the game actually gives you a challenging fight. The first time most people will die is usually the eidolon boss fights, but you only have to be aware of your characters primary role to overcome them. If you exclude these as challenges then you may spend close to 20 hours of gameplay before you come across a challenging boss. For people who have a few hours of play time a day, this is going to be hard to take. Those who are used to playing hours on end won't find it to be a problem. Those who state that you can mash "x" to win are correct, as you can use auto battle throughout the whole game, but you just need to use the correct paradigms at the right moments. Linearity is fine, but repetition isn't and this game rarely stops to take a break from fighting. There was nothing like the Golden Saucer to mess about with for a while. This game doesn't even try to hide it. I felt that the music was disappointing as it was mostly atmospheric music rather than the memorable, melodic songs that have been in previous installments (to zanarkand/fishermans horizon/melodies of life). I don't believe that the open world of Grand Pulse makes the game any better, as you are still just fighting/grinding, except you now have a chance to get lost rather than just travel in one direction. It certainly isn't enough for the amount of time it takes to get there anyway. The saving grace of the gameplay is the boss fights in the later stages of the game, which provided enough challenge to make the game decent for me. Without them, it would have certainly been a poor game.… Expand

JenJen

Sep 21, 2011

5

Pros: Amazing graphics. Details are impeccable and all aspects of the game ,visually, is wonderful. The gameplay is also ridiculously addicting and fun to explore.

Cons: Terribly forced dialogue which leads to forced emotions which leads to an awful way to present an already boring story. Typical character line-up; angsty protagonist, comedic relief, hot-head, annoying girl, etc. The plotPros: Amazing graphics. Details are impeccable and all aspects of the game ,visually, is wonderful. The gameplay is also ridiculously addicting and fun to explore.

Cons: Terribly forced dialogue which leads to forced emotions which leads to an awful way to present an already boring story.
Typical character line-up; angsty protagonist, comedic relief, hot-head, annoying girl, etc. The plot is linear: you cannot go between worlds or revisit worlds. Side quests are a joke.

Over-all, I didn't care much for the game. My emotional attachment to is none existent.… Expand

PecoTheGreat

Feb 17, 2012

5

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Millions of things have been sad about this game, and I have to agree with anyone who says this game does not feel like Final Fantasy game at all.

The premise of the game sounds promising at first glimpse, a large, futuristic town (Cocoon) built to protect its citizens from the wild world (Pulse) that lies beneath. Due to certain reasons, some inhabitants of Cocoon are supposed to be purged to Pulse, and in that progress our heroes arise because they are somehow connected with the purge. Sounds promising, right? You would expect epic clashes between the two different worlds, exploration of two gigantic areas with an enormous amount of different places, towns, NPCs, travveling between the two worlds and lots of characters with interesting stories to tell, right? Well, you don't get any of that. what really bothered me is that what sounds like a simple idea is twisted around and made so unnecessarily complicated that even people like me who play these games mainly for the story will become confused. Sometimes, keeping it simple works best, but they decided to go the exact opposite way.

Until the end, I failed to understand what the deal with Pulse is anyway, and I forgot the names of 90% of the bad guys just because they were that unappealing and boring. Wasn't that what FF used to be about? Memorable villains like Kefka or infamous Sephiroth? The game is that fast-paced that you won't even have the chance to think about the story, there is no balance between tough areas with lots of enemies and towns to relax. From the first moment, you force your way through all kinds of enemies. No towns, no time to relax, just dashing forward and never look back, much like Resident Evil 5.

The characters aren't very appealing either. I really did like Lightning as the main character, as she fits well with former characters, straight-forward, silent, brave and merciless but with a big heart. The other characters don't offer the variety former casts did, and most of them will only be a nuisance.

Storytelling-wise, all kinds of new things and names are thrown at you during the cutscenes, but as soon as you regain control it is the same rushing and fighting non-stop until the end. The game even teases you by having a pilot in the party and giving you an airplane twice, only to have it shot down shortly after. The feeling of slow advancing, getting a kind of vehicle to enable you to reach an area that was unreachable before, a world map that slowly grows, it is not there.

Despite all that, I still finished this game to platinum status, and I will tell you why. For one thing, I really like Lighning. She gets some ridiculous phrases ("worst birthday ever") but her bad-assness paired with her fighting abilities, sense of fairness and her serious tone just makes me like her. Second, this game is gorgeous. Sometimes, I just stood around somewhere, enjoying the scenery, especially on Pulse. (You will know the place when you see it)

The main factor why I wanted to mater this game was the fighting system. It appeals me in a strange why, maybe because there are some optional enemies that really force you to become a master in that system. As a Final Fantasy game, this game fails in almost every aspect except graphics. If you can get into the fighting system and the challenge the optional bosses offer, it can still be a somewhat worthwhile experience.… Expand

theshonen8899

May 13, 2011

5

You need to be aware of the following things before you buy this game. First, this is not like any other RPG you've played. That's not a good thing. It's extremely linear and you only get to wander around during one of the thirteen chapters. Second, the story and characters are extremely disappointing compared to well known Final Fantasy titles. The story is boggled and all over the placeYou need to be aware of the following things before you buy this game. First, this is not like any other RPG you've played. That's not a good thing. It's extremely linear and you only get to wander around during one of the thirteen chapters. Second, the story and characters are extremely disappointing compared to well known Final Fantasy titles. The story is boggled and all over the place and the characters act is alarmingly predictable and stereotypical ways. This is a first for a Final Fantasy chronicle title, as normally the characters are either extremely life-like as in Final Fantasy IV, VIII, and XII or they are simply silent and shallow like FFI, II, and III. They have rarely been blatantly annoying and forced into your face with cut-scene after cutscene. Third, the graphics and soundtrack and phenomenal. No video game has ever come close to creating as beautiful a setting as in FFXIII, and the soundtrack will keep you in euphoria, that is until Hope starts screaming about his mother or until Snow starts rambling about destiny and heroes or until Vanille and Fang share a lesbian moment. Play this game knowing that this is not going to be a Final Fantasy we will remember like IV, VI, VIII but as a FF you will forget but play because at the moment, there's really nothing else to play.… Expand

austinbond

Jan 15, 2011

6

A lot of the characters are unlikable, the game is incredibly linear and it is short for a Final Fantasy game. The combat is the best part of the game and the music is still beautiful, but I'm not going to say the game is great because of the graphics, as there are glaring holes in the gameplay department, and I only care about gameplay.

BDeyo01

Sep 12, 2010

7

If you're looking for a good story, comparable to any of the previous FF's, you will not find it here. However, the Battle System is great. But that's all I find enjoyable about this game. I am very turned off by the direction the franchise is going, and I have pooled a lot of money into merchandise, video games, guides, and time, based on the franchise. This game has left a very sourIf you're looking for a good story, comparable to any of the previous FF's, you will not find it here. However, the Battle System is great. But that's all I find enjoyable about this game. I am very turned off by the direction the franchise is going, and I have pooled a lot of money into merchandise, video games, guides, and time, based on the franchise. This game has left a very sour taste in my mouth and I wish I had waited for the reviews to come out. As a stand-alone game, if you remove the intellectual property and give it a randomized name, then it just turns out to be a linear RPG with no ground breaking leveling or character improvement systems. Just about the only interesting / fun aspect of the game is the battle's. In the past, I have also ended up purchasing the sound tracks to the game, for nostalgia's sake, but I will not be doing so with this game as I am not impressed by the soundtrack either. At this time, Amazon is selling this game for $20 - well worth it, in my opinion, if you just need to feed your RPG appetite for the time being. However, Final Fantasy die-hards beware, this game has a high probability of disappointing.… Expand

GabB

Mar 20, 2010

7

Maybe I'm jaded but this game feels very empty and souless. What you see is what you get. There's next to nothing in terms of towns, exploration, npcs, hidden items and sidequests. The game offers no depth and further more the story is so dragged out for so long and rarely do you feel any emotions for the characters(partially because they're so stupid). People compare it to Maybe I'm jaded but this game feels very empty and souless. What you see is what you get. There's next to nothing in terms of towns, exploration, npcs, hidden items and sidequests. The game offers no depth and further more the story is so dragged out for so long and rarely do you feel any emotions for the characters(partially because they're so stupid). People compare it to FFX when you argue that it's linear but FFX at least gave you the ability to backtrack and plenty of hidden sidequests and cutscenes AND towns. Not to mention some pretty good mini-games(ex.blitzball). This game simply put depresses me to the core because it forces you down one precise path with not even the slightest attempt to distract you and pull you off course. Fortunately the game has good graphics and music but after playing a game like uncharted 2 it's not really that breathtaking. This game is actually pretty generic for what it was supposed to be. Final Fantasy might as well be dead now since both this and FFXII and ffX-2 were massive letdowns to the final fantasy name. I'll probably pick up FFXIV simply because it's behind the guys who made my favourite mmorpg and versus XIII because it could be seen as a mature substitute for KH3 at the time. As for the main development team I couldn't care less really. They are more than likely going to make FFXIII-2 anyway since they said they wanted the XIII franchise to last 10 years.… Expand

2 of 6 users found this helpful

ninja_dolphin

Feb 8, 2013

7

A game that excels in some areas and fails in others leaving a pretty mixed experience. The graphics are gorgeous and the locales you visit are incredible to look at. The score for the game is great as expected from a final fantasy game and the story, while not the best in the series was fairly interesting if a little complicated. The characters are mainly likable and the cast is certainlyA game that excels in some areas and fails in others leaving a pretty mixed experience. The graphics are gorgeous and the locales you visit are incredible to look at. The score for the game is great as expected from a final fantasy game and the story, while not the best in the series was fairly interesting if a little complicated. The characters are mainly likable and the cast is certainly better than the crew from final fantasy X. The main problem is the battle system feels too shallow and doesn't require any strategy except changing formations every once in a while. I didn't really have that much of a problem with the battle system but it did become extremely boring while fighting bosses with large amounts of HP. The main problem I have with this game is for what I played it was a massive straight line which I hated since I loved the world they created but couldn't explore or talk to NPCs. Very much a battle focused game which I wasn't a fan of. I appreciate that it opens up about 30 hours into the game but I can't be bothered to slog through 30 hours of this game to get to the 'good part'.… Expand

Unhyper

Feb 6, 2015

7

The battle system is great, but the world is lifeless. My first FF was FFVII, and I keep going back to it because you have so much freedom in it. You can travel almost anywhere whenever you like, you can enter houses and talk to NPCs, and many of them not only have interesting things to say but their dialogue also changes depending on where you are in the game's story.

From FFX onward,The battle system is great, but the world is lifeless. My first FF was FFVII, and I keep going back to it because you have so much freedom in it. You can travel almost anywhere whenever you like, you can enter houses and talk to NPCs, and many of them not only have interesting things to say but their dialogue also changes depending on where you are in the game's story.

From FFX onward, not only have the worlds become increasingly less accessible beyond the scripted track, but Square has increased the recycling of assets: less different NPC designs, and just copy and paste the same ones everywhere. Both of these factors, in my opinion, do more injury to immersion than an incoherent story.… Expand

evangelism

Jan 21, 2014

5

Not horrible, but not good either. Extreme linearity with no attempt at all to hide it. Long stretches of copy pasted corridors with no plot development to pad the run time. No freedom for the player in terms of how they level up (FFX and XII) did it much better. Everything about this game screams handholding. You are not allowed to level up too fast (due to level caps for each chapter),Not horrible, but not good either. Extreme linearity with no attempt at all to hide it. Long stretches of copy pasted corridors with no plot development to pad the run time. No freedom for the player in terms of how they level up (FFX and XII) did it much better. Everything about this game screams handholding. You are not allowed to level up too fast (due to level caps for each chapter), you are not allowed to get lost, except with the story. The story is told horribly. With long stretches of not knowing what the hell is going on, things are explained long after they should be and by the end we still don't know the true motivations of the antagonists (SPOILER: they are suicidal, BUT WHY ARE THEY SUICIDAL?). The only thing that kept me playing was the promise it got better in the end and the battle system. Does it get better in the end? For a short period, yes. Chapter 11 gives you a land to explore and sidequests to complete. However the sidequests are very linear (go to location, kill boss, get next quest) with a lot of running around getting from starting location, to boss, to next quest giver, to boss, repeat 60 times. Then for chapters 12 and 13 it is back to the mind numbing linearity and repeating corridors. I feel like this game was made by either an entirely new team or was made to 'appeal to a wider audience,' the type of people who don't understand traditional RPG's. And it shows with the incredibly high and undeserved metacritic score this game has that they were successful. If you are reading this to determine whether you should play this or not, take heed of my warning. It is not worth it.… Expand

RichardD

Mar 14, 2010

7

The good is the somewhat fun/fast, if not simplified, combat system. Gorgeous graphics from the environments and character detail to the incredible CG sequences. Story starts off confusing and weak. The characters have a irritatingly massive lack of self-awareness. First 11 chapters (25 hours or so in and there are only 13 chapters in the game) are essentially riding on a rail and using The good is the somewhat fun/fast, if not simplified, combat system. Gorgeous graphics from the environments and character detail to the incredible CG sequences. Story starts off confusing and weak. The characters have a irritatingly massive lack of self-awareness. First 11 chapters (25 hours or so in and there are only 13 chapters in the game) are essentially riding on a rail and using the Auto-battle button. Linearity and pacing is further restricted by the lack of towns, explorable areas, and character build customization. Summons have an uninspiring part in the story and the lackluster amount of classic summons is a personal major drawback. Few or no side-quests or mini-games compared to previous Final Fantasy installments. Soundtrack feels nonexistent using primarily one song for the majority of the cut scenes and no memorable tunes from battles or boss battles. For more Final Fantasy 13 is a step back for the Final Fantasy series I've come to enjoy it over the many installments.… Expand

2 of 7 users found this helpful

Joseph

Apr 12, 2010

7

I've been playing Final Fantasy since the original NES release 23 years ago, and while FF13 was great in moments, I found the overall presentation fell flat on its face. The good points: The production values (as is expected from SE) were extremely high, the graphics were gorgeous particularly the cutscenes. The battle system was pretty solid but it took entirely too long for it to I've been playing Final Fantasy since the original NES release 23 years ago, and while FF13 was great in moments, I found the overall presentation fell flat on its face. The good points: The production values (as is expected from SE) were extremely high, the graphics were gorgeous particularly the cutscenes. The battle system was pretty solid but it took entirely too long for it to get fleshed out and no, I'm not just complaining because I can't let go of the older system. I liked how things were generally streamlined actually. I liked the personalities of the characters, and the voice acting wasn't terrible but... well that leads me to the bad: The story was terrible. Not only was the story bad, but the pacing of it absolutely killed the momentum of the game. I can think of several FF titles that were so engaging and story driven that I couldn't wait to make it through. With FF13... I just wanted it to be over. No direction, too much "well, gee, I guess we should like finish our Focus ... or not, idk." Spira (FFX) felt like a real place with a rich history and culture; FFXIII never comes even close to achieving this. I think a lot of the flaws could've been solved by not starting the story midway through and spent 75% of the game telling the story in reverse; it totally kills the pacing of the narrative. Surely they could've found a better way to present this... the potential was certainly there, even if it smacked of FFX and FFT's "humans defying the demi-gods and their own fate". Anyways, the combat and graphics saved the game from a lower score; 7 is being extremely generous... I can really only suggest this to RPG fans because there are so few decent J-RPGs being made these days. Otherwise... don't bother.… Expand

2 of 7 users found this helpful

Diogenes4evr

Mar 14, 2011

7

After 70 hours I really wanted to hate this game but I can't. It's a long way from perfect (other than graphically) the story needed some clarification and some more character development wouldn't have been a bad thing. The battle system while responsive was a bit oversimplified for every battle but the major bosses and the stats adding was far too linear. As I played though I grewAfter 70 hours I really wanted to hate this game but I can't. It's a long way from perfect (other than graphically) the story needed some clarification and some more character development wouldn't have been a bad thing. The battle system while responsive was a bit oversimplified for every battle but the major bosses and the stats adding was far too linear. As I played though I grew attached to the characters and the story does have merit the surroundings change although they have to considering the linearity. Not perfect but if you like JRPGs pick it up.… Expand

Chaeote

Feb 24, 2013

7

I'm not going to go into great detail here, as there's already plenty of that.

All I'll say in addition to a list of pros and cons is this: The game is NOT bad. It's very pretty. The characters and the world grow on you. I did not finish it. (I got about half-way through chapter 11, and said "screw it". The game just makes SUCH an incredibly huge difficulty spike at that point, thatI'm not going to go into great detail here, as there's already plenty of that.

All I'll say in addition to a list of pros and cons is this:

The game is NOT bad. It's very pretty. The characters and the world grow on you. I did not finish it. (I got about half-way through chapter 11, and said "screw it". The game just makes SUCH an incredibly huge difficulty spike at that point, that honestly, the story isn't worth it. It's easier just go go on You Tube and watch the cutscenes.

Now, pros and cons:

Pros:
- Pretty
- Combat system is interesting, once you understand that it's less about choosing attacks, and more about choosing and timing the right paradigms and targets.
- Characters are believable, and for the most part genuinely likeable.
- The world is very interesting.

Cons:
- There's NOTHING to do except fight, or watch cutscenes. Even the one "side quest" that's present is just the mark hunting system from FF12. It get repetitive fast.
- As I mentioned, the HUGE difficulty spike when you get to Pulse.
- The crystarium's exp requirements, mean you either grind the hell out of your characters, or just stick to their top two primary roles so you can actually get some decent abilities.
- Upgrading weapons is weird... I dunno what else to say about it, it needs a better explanation.
- No side quests
- No mini-games (triple triad, blitzball, etc)

That being said, I am gonna play FF13-2 still, see if the changes they made catches my attention, especially since just looking at the titles of the articles on gameFAQ makes it look there's actually side quests and mini-games.… Expand

SnowDay

Oct 11, 2015

7

What can I say about Final Fantasy XIII that hasn't already been said? Yes, the game is very linear, there is no world map, and the story is deep, yet empty. However, the battle system is quite intriguing and the graphics are incredible. Final Fantasy XIII's tag line should be: "Well, it's still better than XII".

DeepDive

Dec 20, 2012

7

in retrospect this is not the greatest nor it is critically acclaim as the previous entries however this does not mean it is a bad game, while it certainly has it flaws (I mean what game doesn't?). Many of the game's shortcoming can be heard from the fans that are dissatisfied with the game, most notably that it's infamous for it's lack of immersive exploration and story-wise filled within retrospect this is not the greatest nor it is critically acclaim as the previous entries however this does not mean it is a bad game, while it certainly has it flaws (I mean what game doesn't?). Many of the game's shortcoming can be heard from the fans that are dissatisfied with the game, most notably that it's infamous for it's lack of immersive exploration and story-wise filled with confusion terminology and obnoxious characters. While on these sectors it falls flat, there are other elements which stands out crediting the fast-pace combat, the well designed environments which for an outdated engine (that's running on the Crystal Tools) still looks visually absorbing and the cg cinematic which invigorated many past final fantasy. While the FFXIII is not necessary abhorrent as many fan many fan has describe, it is still one of the weakest title in the series and may disappoint many die-hard fan of the the turn-base genre.… Expand

DougBefell

May 2, 2011

5

This could have been oh so much better. The graphics are astonishing. Backgrounds are truly pleasing to the eye, and you'll find yourself, even 50 hours in, just rotating the camera and taking in the sights. The battle system is good. Not fantastic, not what Square wanted, either (Battles of equivalent excitement to Advent Children), but it's really interesting for about 35 hours. (thisThis could have been oh so much better. The graphics are astonishing. Backgrounds are truly pleasing to the eye, and you'll find yourself, even 50 hours in, just rotating the camera and taking in the sights. The battle system is good. Not fantastic, not what Square wanted, either (Battles of equivalent excitement to Advent Children), but it's really interesting for about 35 hours. (this game has a ridiculously slow and tedious learning curve, not putting much trust in the player.) Unfortunately, you'll be spending at least half of your time with very unpleasant and unlikeable characters. All they do is whine, have irrational flashes of anger, and pout. During loading screens, a scroll tells you what the characters are feeling, and why they're acting so poorly. Ever hear of 'show, don't tell,' Square? Voice actors are OK, with the massive exception of Vanille, who spends the entire game making little gasps, grunts and sighs. It is embarrassing. I am serious. No matter the levity or gravity of a situation, Vanille's reaction will be some sort of awful giggle, or moan. The plot doesn't go anywhere for the first 30 hours of the game. It just meanders as the characters all slowly grow up and decide to act like decent human beings. Only Sasz and Fang act decently. Vanille probably does too, but it's impossible to get over the voice acting. The bosses, and villains of the game stink. They have paper-thin motivations, and are cackling 'mu ha ha ha' stereotypes. The various gameplay systems are not nearly deep enough for a game of this length, they are hideously dumbed down. But I keep coming back to the characters. I didn't want to spend even an hour with them, why would I want to spend 70? Square failed in every conceivable way with this plot. It bores us with its lack of direction. It annoys us with its self-pitying 'heroes' by circumstance only. You will spend half of your time with this game bored and annoyed. Worst of all, this doesn't feel like a Final Fantasy game, and I've never really felt that of one of the core titles before. There are chocobos.... The spell names and some item names are familiar... that's it.

In the end, I played this game for two reasons: it was a graphical showcase for my new-to-me PS3. And I played it out of obligation, like many old Square fans. No more. Square has been living off the legacy of FFVI, Chrono Trigger, and FFVII for far too long. I've played exactly two Square games worth playing in the last decade (that wasn't a re-release): The World Ends With You, and Final Fantasy XII (and hey, they fired the director of that game). I'm done. Every Bioware game, or Shin Megami Tensei/Persona game, I've played has been better than all the Square games of the last decade combined. That's coming from someone for whom FFVI is still the best game ever, who used to be a giant Square fanboy. Don't reward Square's awful, juvenile, melodramatic, garbage storytelling with your money anymore. This game is not good. This game's story is a catastrophe.… Expand

dobserver

Nov 8, 2011

7

Final Fantasy has always been about the great story and gameplay. That is what has made it a very successful franchise, even today. Lately, though it seems that the developers are focusing more on the graphics then the core competencies. Final Fantasy XIII has great graphics, the cinematics are amazing and everything is pretty smooth. The gameplay and difficulty level is not bad, but it isFinal Fantasy has always been about the great story and gameplay. That is what has made it a very successful franchise, even today. Lately, though it seems that the developers are focusing more on the graphics then the core competencies. Final Fantasy XIII has great graphics, the cinematics are amazing and everything is pretty smooth. The gameplay and difficulty level is not bad, but it is not especially amazing either. The story is a bit recycled and linear but I didn't find it really 'bad' either. This game is simply 'okay.' There isn't anything particularly bad about it, but there isn't anything particularly amazing about it either. I'd get it if it was on sale. The difficulty level of the game is really easy until near the end, in which you have to grind a bit to catch up. But after grinding, the game is pretty easy in general. This might make it a turn-off for many players. It's not that this game was bad, but Squaresoft has been known for making groundbreaking games and it was just surprising to find that this isn't one of them. (Score: 7.0)… Expand

xEnAlex

Aug 19, 2012

5

Square Enix gave us a game that was decent, and overrated it. Overrating it killed the game.

1. SOME characters were over-sexed or overrated, seriously, they were literally flat through the entire game. None made changes that were big or dramatic, and they were the same boring self in the end. Do you want to know what a true character is? Look at Luke from Tales of the Abyss. And also,Square Enix gave us a game that was decent, and overrated it. Overrating it killed the game.

1. SOME characters were over-sexed or overrated, seriously, they were literally flat through the entire game. None made changes that were big or dramatic, and they were the same boring self in the end. Do you want to know what a true character is? Look at Luke from Tales of the Abyss. And also, Vanilla was seriously fan-service to the players who only play games for fanservice (Dead or Alive people, I am staring viciously at you). If you want an example, look at Tifa from Final Fantasy VII. See her? She's the reason why the FF VII community is full of fanboys.
2. The Plot was carried out horribly, despite it was a decent plot worth mentioning. If the plot was more focused on, or if the characters decided to 3. Gameplay was way too linear, this is a point I REALLY want to point out. Seriously, auto-battling was literally half the game. Meanwhile Cutscenes were two-fifths and thinking was one-tenths.

Now, coming from the perspective of a fan who play almost every single Final Fantasy game, I'll admit, I hated the games coming from VII to XIII. But XIII downright just set me off when I heard it from my friends.

And also: This isn't an WRPG, this is an JRPG, the reason why most fans were betrayed was because of the lack of thinking in this game. This game downright felt like a 8-year old Arcade junkie RPG, where all you do is just auto-battle through the entire game. This wasn't fun, why? You had NO control over two characters, you only controlled one. I mean, at least let us switch characters like FF XII. Now let me get on the good points. The music was good, okay, but there wasn't that emotional pull that always gotten me in games. It was action, more action, and action none the less. I was kind of disappointed because of that (You want a good JRPG music? Listen to Falcom).
Graphics, okay folks, I admit, the graphics were good. But you're missing one point:
GRAPHICS DO NOT MAKE A GAME.
Graphics does not help overly linear gameplay.
And Graphics certainly does not remedy the bad storyline.

If Square Enix wanted to make an Action RPG, they should have created an FF XII that actually let you move around in the beautiful landscape.… Expand

rpgczar

Dec 18, 2011

7

Graphics 9 one of best looking games on ps3 and 360 story the story is average at best I liked ff10 approach much better 13 story has alot of. Flashback type scenes and it harder to connect with characters though the connection is better than ff 12. Level design 7 this is one of the weaknesses of ff 13 the beginning is very linear making it feel like you are traveling down long hallwaysGraphics 9 one of best looking games on ps3 and 360 story the story is average at best I liked ff10 approach much better 13 story has alot of. Flashback type scenes and it harder to connect with characters though the connection is better than ff 12. Level design 7 this is one of the weaknesses of ff 13 the beginning is very linear making it feel like you are traveling down long hallways until you get to pulse where you must do lots of grinding and some monsters are just ridiculous in difficulty battle system is a 8 somebattles take much too long due to the stagger system which prevents you from taking large amounts of hp til its filled summons are more useful than in ff12 and can revive fallen allies once what I don't like is when the main character dies its gameover unless you hit he retry button which starts you back at where you left off the thing is some battles are so hard you will be hitting retry over and over another thing I hate is you can't switch between party members during battle therefore you can only use one characters summon also I thought the weapon customation sucked in this game because it takes forever to get enough money to upgrade weapons and when you do upgrade them the amount you take doesnt go up by much compared to ff10 where if your strength went up 100 you'd be taking alot more the games strengths are its music and its graphics the story is average the battle system is exhausting because of one fight after another and overall this game could have been much better.… Expand

AceOfCakez

May 22, 2013

5

Alright, the people who are complaining about this game being linear are stupid. All JRPG's are linear (and some of the greatest games made are linear); that isn't the issue with this JRPG. The issue is that it's a story driven game and they don't even tell a good story. In fact, most of the important story details are stored in the database of the game. The first elementary aspect ofAlright, the people who are complaining about this game being linear are stupid. All JRPG's are linear (and some of the greatest games made are linear); that isn't the issue with this JRPG. The issue is that it's a story driven game and they don't even tell a good story. In fact, most of the important story details are stored in the database of the game. The first elementary aspect of writing that you learn is "show not tell." Final Fantasy XIII should have showed us all the important aspects of the story via diloague and cutscenes, not relegate them to some side database in the options menu.

The battle is definitely unique but once you hit higher levels, you'll mostly be just using auto-battle. The actual strategy lies in your paradigm set up and how you switch between those paradigms in battle. I have to say that this is one of the most challenging RPG's out there; however, part of the challenge is due to the fact that if the character you're controlling dies, you game over.

The graphics are amazing. The music is solid but everything else is below average. For a JRPG, it's about average. For a Final Fantasy, it's terrible.… Expand

Jouna92

Jul 31, 2012

6

I hoped more from this game. This game was OK. First the good: Graphics, Music, Lightning and visuals. Then the bad: This game is a long hallway toward an orange target symbol on your mini-map that triggers a cutscene, a boss fight, or both. Also the leveling up system is ridiculous you dont have any freedom in it. Characters are irritating and stupid. The story is also stupid and confusing.

heychrisfox

Oct 26, 2012

6

Final Fantasy XIII takes the series in a new direction as it spearheads the famed series on the latest series of next-gen consoles. With mind-numbingly beautiful graphics and intense detail put into this release, Final Fantasy XIII looks phenomenal, and pushes the visual qualities of video games to an entirely new plateau. But the game falls short of perfection due to its two oddities:Final Fantasy XIII takes the series in a new direction as it spearheads the famed series on the latest series of next-gen consoles. With mind-numbingly beautiful graphics and intense detail put into this release, Final Fantasy XIII looks phenomenal, and pushes the visual qualities of video games to an entirely new plateau. But the game falls short of perfection due to its two oddities: changes and length. New to the series is the absence of traiditional turn-based combat. Now, in battle, the player controls only one of the three characters allowed to participate in combat. Each character in the party is assigned a role - known as a paradigm - by the player before the battle, a role which dictates the sort of actions they make (healing, defense, offense, etc.). The player transitions between these paradigms mid-battle to form a flowing form of fighting. While some may appreciate this drastic change, others may be put off by the loss of the traditional turn-based aesthetic. Secondly, the length of this game is simply MASSIVE. Furthermore, with an emphasis on en medias res, the main plot points of the game aren't delivered until around 15 hours of gameplay as fast; the time spent leading up to this seems a little aimless at times, as if you're traveling forward (down the many linear corridors that the game puts you on) with little purpose or objective, except for maybe discovering what lies at the end of said corridors. But despite these somewhat majors issues with the game, Final Fantasy XIII is a respectable addition to the series. The story told is extremely engrossing once you've allowed yourself to be swayed by the fantastical world you're given to explore, and the characters - while sometimes a bit stiff - are all varied and interesting. The many homages the game serves toward Final Fantasy VII - an inspiration for this title in the series - are also quite noticable, and serve for a sense of nostalgia players of the classic will appreciate. And when you boil down to it, once you get a hang of the paradigm feature, the battles are extremely fun and offer a fast-paced version of the traditional turn-based model, allowing for a blend of action and strategy. While Final Fantasy XIII may not be perfect, it is worth the time for fans of the series.… Expand

CiloH

Nov 26, 2013

7

FF-XIII falls short of being the innovative Final Fantasy game it had striven to be. The game offers luscious CG cut-scenes accompanied with unforgettable soundtracks; The story is also not terrible for a J-RPG. Character models are beautifully drawn and their character development is quite decent. Game mechanics, however, lacks the depth and intricacy that was once present in itsFF-XIII falls short of being the innovative Final Fantasy game it had striven to be. The game offers luscious CG cut-scenes accompanied with unforgettable soundtracks; The story is also not terrible for a J-RPG. Character models are beautifully drawn and their character development is quite decent. Game mechanics, however, lacks the depth and intricacy that was once present in its predecessor: FF-XII. The dreaded "Auto-Battle" command is the most immersion-killing part of the entire game. This button essentially allows the game to play itself, since also the game is not difficult in any sense. FF-XIII's battle mechanics is basically a super dumb'ed-down version of FF-XII's. There a tiny traces of the gambit system in the form of the Paradigms, but now it is simplified to the point where it is as if it was teaching you "Rock beats paper, scissors beat paper, and paper beats rock. Do you need me to hold you're hand some more? How about I beat the game for you?". The battle game play is bluntly: Boring.… Expand

StrayMan

Nov 20, 2016

6

I was very excited for this game; I made the upgrade from Wii to PS3 just so I could play it. My roommates were also excited, and came in to watch the first bit of it. Not long after, they left, apparently underwhelmed. Can't blame 'em.

From the start, this game is a hot mess. It throws you in, and you don't really know what's going on. There's a pretty action sequence, and then aI was very excited for this game; I made the upgrade from Wii to PS3 just so I could play it. My roommates were also excited, and came in to watch the first bit of it. Not long after, they left, apparently underwhelmed. Can't blame 'em.

From the start, this game is a hot mess. It throws you in, and you don't really know what's going on. There's a pretty action sequence, and then a tutorial boss. People running around in panic, etc. Felt very style over substance.

Then, you start to get to know your main character... she's kinda a **** They were going for "strong, no-nonsense" female, but they came up with "cold, unfeeling and uncaring" female, who's perfectly fine with letting a kid die because he's slowing her down. She also has a habit of punching instead of using words. Halfway through the game, she starts to become halfway decent... and then that's it. She's halfway decent. Halfway likable. She goes from being a **** to a stoic, bland character instead. None of the 5 other party members are that much better. They range from irritating to passable to alright. Sazh is the most likable character. He's also the least usable character in battles by the end, unless you obtain his absolute best weapons. NPCs, furthermore, are nearly nonexistent, and when they do show up, they're paper thin, and/or die off quickly.

The long corridor. Oh, the long corridor. It wasn't the worst part of the game. In fact, if other facets of the game were better, it might've been easy to overlook. Still, a lack of exploration until the end of the game for a final fantasy is pretty lame. Couple that with a lack of npc's and a lack of towns, and you've largely got an rpg that leans on its gameplay to be enjoyable...

It took me months to beat this game, because getting through areas and battles began to feel like a chore for me. I remember a time where I had been playing for a couple of hours, and I needed to go somewhere. I needed to get to a save point for any of my play time to be worth anything, so I was desperately trying to get to one... and then I ran into an enemy I knew would take forever to beat. I got about 10 minutes in to what would probably be a half hour fight, said "screw it," and just took my loss and turned the game off. It was infuriating.

I have friends who say "You can't call a game horrible for just one thing." Well... I mentioned multiple things here, I think. While I don't think it's totally horrible, I also don't think it's particularly good, either. I have fairly middling feelings about it. It had some highs, but not enough to make me ever want to play it again.… Expand

SicSeph

Dec 15, 2015

5

Decent, but way below the expectations. Characters are not appealing, story has is moments.. sometimes.. i guess..! Summons... Well they just killed 3 big classics of the FF series, Bahamut Odin and Shiva are total crap, Alexander is the only one worth saving.
No exploration but it got at least challenging at some point, which is a miracle lately.
Still, not at all a FF level game.

HTGamer

Nov 23, 2016

5

Final Fantasy XIII is a pivotal moment in the Final Fantasy series' history. It's a game that has polarised people and, along with the initial FF XIV failure, it almost ended the series.

FF XIII is a more casual and linear game than FF fans would expect. You mainly walk along a narrow path and battle enemies. You beat them, you proceed, and then battle more enemies. And the cycle goesFinal Fantasy XIII is a pivotal moment in the Final Fantasy series' history. It's a game that has polarised people and, along with the initial FF XIV failure, it almost ended the series.

FF XIII is a more casual and linear game than FF fans would expect. You mainly walk along a narrow path and battle enemies. You beat them, you proceed, and then battle more enemies. And the cycle goes on. No freedom of exploration, no towns, no NPCs, no side-quests, no dialogue choices, you can't even go back to previous areas (unless you backtrack, but there is no reason to do it). Only towards the end does the game offer you a huge map to freely explore on the world of Gran Pulse where you accept missions to hunt monsters for a reward, but it can only last so long, and the linearity returns until the end credits roll.

The story is a totally unoriginal mess that is summarised as "a bunch of mostly unrelated guys are united by chance and have to save the world from ancient deities", the characters are a joke (maybe aside main protagonist Lightning, who was made a mascot of the series), dialogue is most of the times atrocious.

On a more positive note, graphics and art are beautiful (as always in the FF games), the monsters and characters are colourful, the cut-scenes (especially the action scenes) are awesome, the soundtrack has many great and catchy songs. But the voice overs are underwhelming.

The heart of the game is its combat system, the Active Time Battle (no turn based combat). It's both great and bad at the same time. The good news is you can customise the roles of every party member on the fly. It's pretty awesome to watch the attacks and aerial manoeuvres during battles. The bad news is that because the ATB meter charges pretty fast you don't have time to properly select your moves and stand still until you hit the attack button, so it makes more sense to just hit the "Auto" button and let the AI do the job of executing the best attacks. All you have to do is attack, change roles for healing/buffing mates, change again to debuff enemies, change again to damage dealers, and change again relative to the situation until the enemies are defeated. Basically, you just sit there watching passively and just intervene to change the party members' roles and the AI does the rest.

Announced as part of Square Enix's multi-game Fabula Nova Crystallis, Final Fantasy XIII hyped people but failed to deliver. After the complaints of gamers Square Enix would attempt to correct the series' route by releasing 2 FF XIII sequels and 1 spin-off, but it would prove to not be enough. The whole Fabula Nova Crystallis plan has been abandoned, and now we wait to see if FF XV (formerly FF Versus XIII, also an original part of Fabula Nova Crystallis, but not any more) can restore the series to its former glory.… Expand

Wifflum

Oct 7, 2016

6

I simultaneously hate and love this game. I just finished it yesterday, and I absolutely loved the combat in this game. Probably equally important is the character development and story in this game.

The extent of the character development, I mean some things happen, like a near suicide, but generally this game's character development is "the mean girl smiles at the end". That's aboutI simultaneously hate and love this game. I just finished it yesterday, and I absolutely loved the combat in this game. Probably equally important is the character development and story in this game.

The extent of the character development, I mean some things happen, like a near suicide, but generally this game's character development is "the mean girl smiles at the end". That's about it. Everyone is one-note, cliched, and most interactions feel very "cheesy".

As much as I loved the action in the game, I absolutely despise the characters in it, and their lame interactions.

I don't know what to think of the story quite yet, but if you've ever played The Witcher 3, and compare these 2 games on story, dialogue, and characters, FF13 is gonna be about a 0.3, and the Witcher 3 is a 10.… Expand

alexaxa

Oct 30, 2012

6

First of all, this isn't a final fantasy game. The combat are different and boring (pressing "auto" non-stop and change paradigm once in a while). The story is great but it's progression is so slow that it kills it. I finished the game but i don't plan to play this again. I give this game a 6.5 since i did managed to get through the game (if it was THAT boring, i wouldn't have finished it).

sJagstang

Mar 15, 2013

6

Final Fantasy XIII has a lot of issues with linear gameplay, some bad characters with annoying voice actors and a confusing story, It has some good points with it's combat system being fun to play even if it's nowhere near as good as previous final fantasy games and the graphics are quite nice, Square Enix has really lost it's way with the Final Fantasy series, There are a lot of otherFinal Fantasy XIII has a lot of issues with linear gameplay, some bad characters with annoying voice actors and a confusing story, It has some good points with it's combat system being fun to play even if it's nowhere near as good as previous final fantasy games and the graphics are quite nice, Square Enix has really lost it's way with the Final Fantasy series, There are a lot of other JRPG developers out there making better games then the Final Fantasy games of recent times, There is no denying that Final Fantasy is a franchise that has great potential to make fantastic games if you look back at there track record, But Square Enix is going the wrong way with the franchise.… Expand

Nednerb

Jun 1, 2013

6

Final Fantasy fans will accept this game as a passable title in the franchise but by no means is this game a masterpiece. Experienced RPGers may be disappointed. As one can expect, the visuals are impressive. The main protagonist is well designed with a suitable voice over, unfortunately the other characters lack any real conviction. One main flaw with the game is the lack ofFinal Fantasy fans will accept this game as a passable title in the franchise but by no means is this game a masterpiece. Experienced RPGers may be disappointed. As one can expect, the visuals are impressive. The main protagonist is well designed with a suitable voice over, unfortunately the other characters lack any real conviction. One main flaw with the game is the lack of customization. The game is set in a linear fashion which is good in a way and allows the player to remain focused on the story but at the same time the lack of side quests does not give the game its trademark experience. The story is palpable, but does not compare to its legendary predecessors such as Final Fantasy VII or X. The soundtrack is for the most part enjoyable, however there are some exceptions. The battle system is innovative, and focuses on constant role changing and to a small degree a bit of strategy to defeat the heavy hitting foes. For an experienced RPGer you will find this game 100% completed within a short time and with hardly any difficulty. Players will enjoy the game to some extent. But don't put all your eggs in the basket, if your expecting a long challenging game you will be sadly disappointed.… Expand

IkqXP

Nov 13, 2013

6

Probably the most linear game of the Final Fantasy series, lacking depth but packed with beautiful graphics and inspiring characters.

If you want a short, followable game that you can just mend along with, Final Fantasy XIII may definitely be your choice. However, if you wanted an explorative, dense & replayable experience that Final Fantasy usually offers, this game may cut yourProbably the most linear game of the Final Fantasy series, lacking depth but packed with beautiful graphics and inspiring characters.

If you want a short, followable game that you can just mend along with, Final Fantasy XIII may definitely be your choice. However, if you wanted an explorative, dense & replayable experience that Final Fantasy usually offers, this game may cut your expectations completely… Expand

ThecriticGoD

Mar 7, 2016

5

Final Fantasy XII was already a big mistake from Square Enix but this is the living proof that they are never gonna go back to making the great games Squaresoft once did. Poor characters (most of them), boring combat and character developing system, extremely linear, and most importantly, very poor story (making good stories was what always characterized Final Fantasy. The only good thingsFinal Fantasy XII was already a big mistake from Square Enix but this is the living proof that they are never gonna go back to making the great games Squaresoft once did. Poor characters (most of them), boring combat and character developing system, extremely linear, and most importantly, very poor story (making good stories was what always characterized Final Fantasy. The only good things I can think of are the music, the graphics and Lightning, which is a good protagonist, everything else is just very very distant from what to expect from a Final Fantasy game.… Expand

AlienSpaceBats

Oct 7, 2014

6

A JRPG aimed at casual players that skips any pretence. FFXIII does not begin well, my first 6 or 7 hours were an internal struggle where I debated putting the game down - I later learned that the first 20 hours would be an increasingly tedious tutorial - all but three of the characters (Fang, Vanille and Sazh) are annoying, angsty, self-absorbed cretins. I suspect this is due to the VAs;A JRPG aimed at casual players that skips any pretence. FFXIII does not begin well, my first 6 or 7 hours were an internal struggle where I debated putting the game down - I later learned that the first 20 hours would be an increasingly tedious tutorial - all but three of the characters (Fang, Vanille and Sazh) are annoying, angsty, self-absorbed cretins. I suspect this is due to the VAs; talented as they are, I did not care for their characterization - watching the Japanese version in action confirmed this. It's fair to say that the game is linear, and like most JRPGs you need to grind the heck out of your characters, FFXIII isn't coy about that though, it throws corridors at you populated with groups of enemies and asks you to slay them all. Sure enough, by the time you've done that you'll have maxed out your Crystarium and can move on to the next stage.If there was one thing I liked, it was the absence of random encounters, and the fact that there's no need to heal or use Phoenix Downs after battles - the game does that for you (yay?) The battle system is decent most of the time, but is obviously aimed at casual players and has taken control out of the hands of the player. Both party members are AI controlled and there is no way to tell them what you want them to do, there is no way to direct an ATB stack in more than one direction (ie: I've stacked 2 Curas, I can't send one to character A and one to character B), if I've got Vanille or Hope in a Medic role, there's no way to use Esuna instead of Cure, this applies to all Paradigms. If a Synergist is in the party, I want Protect, not Haste, but the AI goes out of its way giving you the buffs it thinks it should have. Later battles with three or more challenging enemies are problematic, you can not direct them to attack a single enemy and instead they waste time trading blows with un-staggered units. Everything is done on auto, chances are if your party knows the enemies weaknesses they will act accordingly but a lot of the time the lack of control was frustrating. I don't think I started actually properly enjoying myself until Taejin's Tower (25+ hours in), because there's things to actually do there, and getting through requires input from the player (as opposed to a long corridor). Overall a decent experience, but it feels linear, stripped out and dull a lot of the time. The characters aren't the best, the story is obtuse, the world feels empty, but it looks amazing, even for a four year old 7th gen title. Some of the music is absolutely stunning (does that go without saying with FF games now?)… Expand

LilD

Jan 9, 2014

7

Let's be honest, the crux of the Final Fantasy games are its stories. FFXIII has to have one of the worst stories of any game I’ve played let alone one that is meant to be a major blockbuster. It is overly confusing and convoluted that no one I talked to has any idea what is going on. Some have even tried writing down plot points into a note pad and are still baffled as to the storyline.Let's be honest, the crux of the Final Fantasy games are its stories. FFXIII has to have one of the worst stories of any game I’ve played let alone one that is meant to be a major blockbuster. It is overly confusing and convoluted that no one I talked to has any idea what is going on. Some have even tried writing down plot points into a note pad and are still baffled as to the storyline.

Naturally, a bad story leads to awful characters. This is partly true. A few characters are memorable: Lightning and Fang, a few that just occupy space: Vanille and Sazh, and a few that are completely irritating: Snow and Hope. This volatility is a theme of how this game’s production is. With a series that has brought us Sephiroth and Auron, the characters are generally forgettable.

I know Final Fantasy games can be cutscene heavy, but it almost felt as if you were playing between cutscenes at many times. One of the biggest complaints is its linearity. I personally didn’t find this to be a problem. It does open up slightly in the latter parts of the game.

One of XIII’s strengths is that it just feels fluid and polished. The smooth graphics, the quick and stylish UI, and has hands-down the best battling system. For me, this game’s saving grace was its battling system. Battles never felt like a chore and kept me interested in the game despite an awful story.

As a Final Fantasy game, it is a letdown. If viewing in isolation, it is a decent RPG. Despite its many shortcomings, it only took me like a week to get through the 60+ hours of gameplay, a marathon only a few games have warranted.… Expand

dman4380

Oct 27, 2012

5

Final Fantasy XIII was one of the first games I played on my PS3. I'd never played a Final Fantasy game before, although I'd heard that the series in general is very good, so I decided I would give this game a go. And I must say, I was impressed... sometimes. There was very little to do other than to follow the plot line, and the level design was extremely linear for most of the game. TheFinal Fantasy XIII was one of the first games I played on my PS3. I'd never played a Final Fantasy game before, although I'd heard that the series in general is very good, so I decided I would give this game a go. And I must say, I was impressed... sometimes. There was very little to do other than to follow the plot line, and the level design was extremely linear for most of the game. The story, although interesting, confused the hell out of me quite a lot, tutorials kept throwing themselves at me, and the game bored me frequently during the opening chapters. Still, if you can get past the negatives, there's a lot of fun to be had with this. The playable characters were interesting as people and felt unique to play as - though Vanille will tick you off majorly. The musical score and visual quality of the game were both excellent. The Paradigm Shift and the ATB gauge made combat lively and kept me thinking on my toes, leading to an engaging, strategy-based battle system. All-in-all, I think this game is worth a play, as long as you don't keep you expectations too high.… Expand

Genelegasse

Sep 21, 2014

6

Loseing their touch. They could have been alot better... Feels like a twilight video game... perhaps good for girls? Lost their classic feel and the free-roam came much later and just didnt make up a good final fantasy in the end.

Dyscordia

Mar 25, 2014

5

Completely linear, with no choice character in the group, some charismatic characters, lightning is the only one who is saved, but I think a cheap clone cloud, engaging story but then bored.
only positive is the system combat.

semperfi1503

Oct 14, 2014

6

I'm a newcomer to Final Fantasy and generally speaking, I'm caught with mixed emotions towards this entry "XIII". Beautiful graphics and environment, polished character models, and... that's all I could say to the pros of this game. Rather than that, the linear environment is almost unbearable to me, and it gets worse after I find out that some previous installments of the series didI'm a newcomer to Final Fantasy and generally speaking, I'm caught with mixed emotions towards this entry "XIII". Beautiful graphics and environment, polished character models, and... that's all I could say to the pros of this game. Rather than that, the linear environment is almost unbearable to me, and it gets worse after I find out that some previous installments of the series did indeed feature open-world environment. And the first few moments of the story feel like a drag, I couldn't figure out whatever it is going on in the game world, only after spending some time on the datalog did I understand some parts of the events going on in the game. The combat, even if your characters acquire new skills, would get repetitive over time, which combines with the usual pace of running around in confined spaces, engaging some groups of enemies, with no sidequests available would render the total experience repetitive. The only thing that keeps me going is to finish the story, and perhaps to maintain the hope that the game would get better overtime. It has a lot of potential, but could've been executed way better than this.… Expand

walzero

May 25, 2015

6

Its a good game, nice grafics and all but it is more a linear movie then a role playing game, very linear gameplay. Battle scenes are back(some people like it, i dont, i rather the ffxii system of open maps with enemies) but other than it, its a good game.

Kai82

Mar 14, 2020

5

It is a visual and stylish impressive game with lacks in storytelling and variety. The graphics are still impressive and the soundtrack is also good but I miss the Final Fantasy and Winning theme. The main story is a different thing. The plot holes are impressive. It looks like the story was rewritten a lot by different people because former parts of the story, lore and facts were ignoredIt is a visual and stylish impressive game with lacks in storytelling and variety. The graphics are still impressive and the soundtrack is also good but I miss the Final Fantasy and Winning theme. The main story is a different thing. The plot holes are impressive. It looks like the story was rewritten a lot by different people because former parts of the story, lore and facts were ignored or were a later addition / afterthought. Because of this some character development and decisions are strange up to idiotic. I will point out that I like the characters and their struggles. Especially Lightning, Hope, Serah and Sazh. Also the themes or reasons of their struggles are praiseworthy and could be a highlight. My first main critique is that there are no side activities in the game and the world opens up only after 20-25 hours. There is the statement that the game gets good after 20 hours. I disagree (it got a bit better). There is no exploration. At most each branch from the main path is at max 3-5 minutes long without battles. There is no side activity except more battles / monster hunting. You have even a Chocobo theme park with no races or anything else. The older games had much more. My other main critique is the battle system. While I found it interesting it is also unrewarding. Many said that it feels like you get an automated system and with a few tweaks you can avoid manual input at all. While this is wrong or lets say hyperbolism the point itself is valid. I must also mention the level up system. This game blocks you from leveling up until you reach certain points. I find this to be a friction pad. Also for some bosses you must defeat them in a certain way or you get instant death. This is not like in previous games were you enjoyed puzzling this out (Yunalesca from FF10 for example). More in the way: Oh you are winning this battle and we cant prevent you, lets just add an instant death timer. I like challenges but not in a way that the boss is no treat or even a challenge. Maybe I sound to negative. I enjoyed the game but it got boring after a while. I am not sure if I could finish it when it would be 5 hours longer. Overall it is a misstep but not a terrible game. They were too long in the development phase without actually developing the game.… Expand

AndyClimax

Nov 6, 2014

6

When it takes a good dozen hours of gameplay for a game to "get good" then you know you've got a problem. The graphics are excellent, and score is typically good, but the irritating characters and insane plot dumbfound you for most of the playthrough.

sacredbear

Sep 10, 2014

7

Final Fantasy XIII commits some sins for sure. The game has large stretches of extremely linear level design, and does not attempt much to hide the fact. The cast is likely the most uninteresting, unlikeable cast I have seen in a Final Fantasy game. Those facts (at the very least, well informed opinions) out of the way, this is still an enjoyable game with many qualities to like. TheFinal Fantasy XIII commits some sins for sure. The game has large stretches of extremely linear level design, and does not attempt much to hide the fact. The cast is likely the most uninteresting, unlikeable cast I have seen in a Final Fantasy game. Those facts (at the very least, well informed opinions) out of the way, this is still an enjoyable game with many qualities to like. The visuals and the music are easily the most polished in the series (again, well informed opinions...). With a few tweaks (no auto battle, less obvious linearity) this could be up there with the best of the Final Fantasy games. Is it the worst Final Fantasy? Probably. Is it still a good game, worth playing? Yes, definitely. Ignore the overblown criticism and try it out.… Expand

Dionysus777

Feb 6, 2015

5

1 of my biggest disapointments in gaming history. What is this the spam sketch from monty python? Spam and eggs, Spam x spam attack spam x spam and look at ur map Spam x spam attack spam and spam bacon and Spam . I will never buy another ff w/o aprehension and any other in this Spam shoot Lightning Spam series.

tsakiym

May 21, 2015

6

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I do not have to say anything. But i need to write one hundred and fifty characters. i think my score can describe it.................................… Expand

Imaobob

Mar 28, 2015

6

This game defines the word "polarizing". On the one hand, the combat system, while incredibly different from anything a Final Fantasy game has ever seen before, is very exciting and exhilarating, although it can become repetitive(what rpg isn't though?) On the other hand, the story is such a mess that by the time you get to the cutscenes, you legitimately cannot care. In previous FinalThis game defines the word "polarizing". On the one hand, the combat system, while incredibly different from anything a Final Fantasy game has ever seen before, is very exciting and exhilarating, although it can become repetitive(what rpg isn't though?) On the other hand, the story is such a mess that by the time you get to the cutscenes, you legitimately cannot care. In previous Final Fantasy games, the cutscenes were a "reward". In this one, you find your self hoping characters just shut up already, because everything they say just seems uninteresting or even annoying.

On a personal note- I prefer less linear rpgs, and this one is EXTREMELY disappointing in that regard. By the time you can "mess around", its almost over. And I think this game would have done itself a huge favor by using terms for its alien crystal magicky plot that were easier to follow. The fact that you NEED the glossary to get what everyone is talking about, even 30+ hours in, is a mistake.

That said, the gameplay kept me going, and I was always having fun PLAYING it, especially when I was able to get to the "endgame" options. But aggravating characters, and annoying/confusing story elements drags this down.… Expand

Markkykung17

May 8, 2016

7

Great Game-play But Worse Story. The worse thing in this game is Leader death. The Most Annoying character in final fantasy games in in XIII. The paradigm was so great. just like when you change job on other FF

supermalik987

Jun 26, 2020

6

So i decide to give this a chance since 2010 when i was a dumb teenager . And what did think i fought the game was okay . It does have problems and this review is going to based on the pc and Japanese dub . combat isnt the best leveling up takes a long time . reading a lot of story log to understand the game wasn't the best idea . And its something to remember the the six gen game hadSo i decide to give this a chance since 2010 when i was a dumb teenager . And what did think i fought the game was okay . It does have problems and this review is going to based on the pc and Japanese dub . combat isnt the best leveling up takes a long time . reading a lot of story log to understand the game wasn't the best idea . And its something to remember the the six gen game had the struggle to make games and a lot had to be cut out . But i do say give it second chance . Make in the future we could have remake of the game .… Expand

dr9188

Jan 11, 2017

5

The most beautiful game of the seventh generation of game consoles. Not only the most beautiful, but the most beautiful game that consistently pushed graphics quality as far as it would go on each console- a testament to their development teams and their game engine at a time when the PS3 was notoriously difficult to program for.

Also, the "Fabula Nova" mythos is a beautiful and tragicThe most beautiful game of the seventh generation of game consoles. Not only the most beautiful, but the most beautiful game that consistently pushed graphics quality as far as it would go on each console- a testament to their development teams and their game engine at a time when the PS3 was notoriously difficult to program for.

Also, the "Fabula Nova" mythos is a beautiful and tragic story of wars between Gods and their slaves. The saddest thing about it is it ended up being wasted on the XIII saga, with other previously linked games (Agito, Versus) very quickly cutting ties with the XIII branding and being renamed (to Type-0 and XV respectively).

Now I have got the positive out of the way... I don't think I could say a lot that hasn't been said before. It feels like a glorious 3D recreation of the tongue-in-cheek ProgressQuest. There is some depth with the Paradigm System, but largely you feel out of control even of your primary character. It is almost literally a stroll from A to B, with a reward of an uninteresting cut scene among characters you have little sympathy for... Not because they're bad or evil... But just because you don't care about them.

Although Snow is probably the worst character I've seen the talented Troy Baker play, he does actually show a huge amount of depth and darkness in Lightning Returns... 4 years too late.

If you are new to the series and considering XIII, I'd recommend you skip it and go to XV.… Expand

OraNGEMiST

Feb 7, 2018

6

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Final Fantasy XIII is a fun experience when your characters are under-levelled. I say this because grinding on this game makes it ridiculously passive and boring, the auto-battle feature is good when you're just trying to get through the game to see the story, but i don't believe that the story is worth it, the majority of the characters are awful and the conflict between them is often meaningless. The story itself is well thought out up until a certain part, but like most of the Final Fantasy games, they begin to turn into confusing, hard to follow nightmares. The characters are labelled as terrorists because of their mark from a Gran Pulse fal'Cie, they become l'Cie and must fulfil their purpose based on glimmers, they gather from their glimmers that they have been assigned the same task all the while being hunted by PSICOM, in spite of this, the characters decide to split up based on their interpretations of the purpose they are to carry out. After a short while, two of the characters end up being captured, the rest of the party are to rescue them, when their plan fails, the captured characters escape from their holding cell, the full party meets up to confront the game's main antagonist who turns out to be a fal'Cie. I'm not going to go through any further than that but i already know you're thinking what the f-. However, this does not mean that Final Fantasy XIII is a bad game, the strength of Final Fantasy games is generally in the music and this game lives up to the musical expectations everyone had for it. The combat in this game is very interesting and fantastic but was not utilised as well as it could have been, the paradigm system (basically a job system) and the staggering mechanic were excellent, but underutilised in my opinion and at a certain point in the game, all characters have access to all paradigms, essentially sacrificing the individuality of each of the characters, who in the beginning were clearly assigned a certain role (e.g. Lightning - Ravager, Snow - Sentinel, etc.), of course these characters were stronger at their assigned roles and had perks based on them but this made the game less enjoyable as a tactical game (deciding which characters to use in a boss fight, etc.).
Overall, the game had great potential and was clearly well thought out, however, nearing the end, it was clear that this game was definitely not what it had players expecting, i enjoyed this game when i played it under-levelled and i noticed that the only major challenges i had with it were the end game activities, however these were repetitive and attempting to achieve the platinum trophy would be an impossible task for me because of how boring it becomes end-game. Because of the points I've listed and my personal experience with the game, i have decided to give Final Fantasy XIII a 6/10.… Expand

BlitZeR_95

Apr 29, 2018

7

I'm a HUGE Final Fantasy fan! I love this new combat style and the cutscenes are amazing just what you expect from a Final Fantasy game but that's about it for the good part of this game.
The characters are weak, none of them you can relate to as they're very unrealistic. Story is very confusing unless you play it multiple time but not many people have time to play a Final Fantasy gameI'm a HUGE Final Fantasy fan! I love this new combat style and the cutscenes are amazing just what you expect from a Final Fantasy game but that's about it for the good part of this game.
The characters are weak, none of them you can relate to as they're very unrealistic. Story is very confusing unless you play it multiple time but not many people have time to play a Final Fantasy game multiple of times. Very disappointing… Expand

Moriquendi

Feb 21, 2022

7

Lo estoy volviendo a jugar después de 12 años sabiendo que es una kk de juego pero sin esperar grandes cosas y la verdad es que me esta sorprendiendo gráficamente y lo estoy disfrutando mas, debido a que posiblemente fuera el primer final fantasy de ps3 esperábamos mucho ya que Sony vendió muchísimo humo nos creímos que volveríamos a ver otro FF7 FF8 FF9 y nos encontramos algo muy distintoLo estoy volviendo a jugar después de 12 años sabiendo que es una kk de juego pero sin esperar grandes cosas y la verdad es que me esta sorprendiendo gráficamente y lo estoy disfrutando mas, debido a que posiblemente fuera el primer final fantasy de ps3 esperábamos mucho ya que Sony vendió muchísimo humo nos creímos que volveríamos a ver otro FF7 FF8 FF9 y nos encontramos algo muy distinto con visión propia.
Repito si lo juegas sabiendo que no tienes que buscar ninguna referencia a sus títulos anteriores se puede disfumar como un titulo independiente de la saga con algún que otro altibajo.… Expand

Vexyy

Nov 27, 2018

7

Yes it's good.
But if you do not have the patience to play RPG in turn, DO NOT PLAY THAT GAME.
He is slow, with a very realistic gameplay, but he has a problem, which in another point of view, can be considered ART.
Its complexity.
It is very complex, with paradigms, crystarium, among others.
But it is still another game of the consecrated Final Fantasy franchise

WhiteEagle

Apr 27, 2022

7

I love some of the characters, namely Vanille and Fang, but the battle system is just too underwhelming. So often I find normal roadside encounters developing into long, tiring and excruciating ones and I've died more times than in any other Final Fantasy game even at normal difficulty. To me the battle system in FF 13 is just unenjoyable at all, in comparison, the polished version of thisI love some of the characters, namely Vanille and Fang, but the battle system is just too underwhelming. So often I find normal roadside encounters developing into long, tiring and excruciating ones and I've died more times than in any other Final Fantasy game even at normal difficulty. To me the battle system in FF 13 is just unenjoyable at all, in comparison, the polished version of this battle system in FF 13-2 proved to be much more entertaining and also reasonable. The battle system aside, the extreme linearity of the first 10 chapters(the game has 13 chapters) is also a big problem.… Expand

sakubo

Jan 28, 2019

5

I just could not relate to the story and it's characters. Battles and music were good though.

Th3StartButton

Jun 4, 2019

7

I honestly enjoyed Maybe its cause I was pretty new to Final Fantasy it was fine man just try it

mynameiscalled

Sep 4, 2021

6

First off - I am a HUGE Final Fantasy fan. Been loving this series ever since I played the FF7 back when I was a little kid... so, here goes...

The game isn't that great. Don't get me wrong - there is a lot to enjoy here, but the previous FF bar is set pretty high and the XIII doesn't deliver. I sank 53 hours into this game, finished it, went back and grinded abit more for the roleFirst off - I am a HUGE Final Fantasy fan. Been loving this series ever since I played the FF7 back when I was a little kid... so, here goes...

The game isn't that great. Don't get me wrong - there is a lot to enjoy here, but the previous FF bar is set pretty high and the XIII doesn't deliver.

I sank 53 hours into this game, finished it, went back and grinded abit more for the role trophies and that is it.

The game consists of tubes that you can run through, up to chapter 11, then it opens up abit, and I mean abit. The game has almost no free-roam-do-whatever-the-hell-you-want aspect in it. It's just running, killing enemies, watching cutscene and repeat. The cutscenes are beautiful tho, the story is kinda classic "final fantasy'ish" story, nothing to say about that. Characters are likeable (Except Hope, I dont like the brat lol)

The main reason I gave this game a 6 is cause I'm a loyal die hard FF player, so abit biased here. In reality though, I would have hard time recommending this to a person who doesen't know much about FF. I would most definitely not recommend playing this as anyones first FF game. With that being said - I still had fun and am not regretting playing it. It will be a one-time gig though. Not gonna replay this game.… Expand

Sitheral

Jun 14, 2020

6

Incredibly linear game with an interesting battle system, story that does a very bad job of telling itself and so-so characters. It does open up later on, but really, we are talking about like 30+ hours, for many it might be too late and the Grand Pulse isnt that fascinating anyway. This game couldnt even bother to have a trade npcs, you just buy stuff from the menu. None of this really isIncredibly linear game with an interesting battle system, story that does a very bad job of telling itself and so-so characters. It does open up later on, but really, we are talking about like 30+ hours, for many it might be too late and the Grand Pulse isnt that fascinating anyway. This game couldnt even bother to have a trade npcs, you just buy stuff from the menu. None of this really is that terrible on its own, but when you combine it all, FF13 offers a world you just can't believe in.… Expand

INU4SH4

Jul 13, 2020

6

I never got to finish this game because the story and gameplay just took forever to develop and most characters are annoying. The gameplay wasn't good, although the graphics were quite ahead of its time. That was the only truly praise-worthy aspect of this game.

I might get to finish this one day, but I highly doubt it. It's just too slow and uninteresting.

lukidior

Jul 20, 2020

5

The story telling part is not good. The direct unforked road is boring. The HP of the enemies are setting too high which cause taking too much time for each battle.

Addposer

Jun 23, 2020

5

Boring, unlike FF it is so linear that it feels like an old sonic game that you can only go foward and thats it.

Tidu

May 23, 2022

7

If FF12 was "just ok" game for me, XIII doesn't even top that. I don't like the setting that much and the characters are not that likeable(except for a few). Hope was especially annoying for me.
Game is also too much of a tube run, and even through FFX was it kind of also, this one doesn't work as well.
Still somehow we got couple sequels which worked a bit better, but it felt like thatIf FF12 was "just ok" game for me, XIII doesn't even top that. I don't like the setting that much and the characters are not that likeable(except for a few). Hope was especially annoying for me.
Game is also too much of a tube run, and even through FFX was it kind of also, this one doesn't work as well.
Still somehow we got couple sequels which worked a bit better, but it felt like that Final Fantasy magic was lost for me.… Expand

AJCk19

Nov 18, 2022

7

Game is all round beautiful from the score, and graphics during it's time. However, the game doesn't really open up until 50 hours in. Yet I still enjoyed myself because not all JRPGs have to be open/sandbox, a linear story driven experience can have its own benefits.

But my biggest problem was being forced to be stuck with whiny characters like Hope, there was no new game plus (but toGame is all round beautiful from the score, and graphics during it's time. However, the game doesn't really open up until 50 hours in. Yet I still enjoyed myself because not all JRPGs have to be open/sandbox, a linear story driven experience can have its own benefits.

But my biggest problem was being forced to be stuck with whiny characters like Hope, there was no new game plus (but to be fair, if it is with hope, just nvm then), and it was kind or rpg lite.… Expand

chrisdan23

Jun 9, 2022

6

Final Fantasy war schon immer ein Franchise, das sich von Ableger zu Ableger neu zu erfinden wusste. Dies ist im Laufe seiner Geschichte auch immer wieder durchaus hervorragend gelungen. So waren bereits die PSOne Klassiker, trotz Ähnlichkeiten in ihrem Kampfsystem, vor allem hinsichtlich ihres Settings und des Artdesigns deutlich eigenständig. Der direkte Vorgänger, Final Fantasy XII,Final Fantasy war schon immer ein Franchise, das sich von Ableger zu Ableger neu zu erfinden wusste. Dies ist im Laufe seiner Geschichte auch immer wieder durchaus hervorragend gelungen. So waren bereits die PSOne Klassiker, trotz Ähnlichkeiten in ihrem Kampfsystem, vor allem hinsichtlich ihres Settings und des Artdesigns deutlich eigenständig. Der direkte Vorgänger, Final Fantasy XII, brach dann auch mit den eher rundenbasierten Kämpfen in separierten Arenen und integrierte diese direkt in die Semi-Open World des Spiels. Mit dem Einstieg in die XIIIer Trilogie muss ich allerdings gestehen, dass mich Square, als eigentlichen Fan des Franchisen, nun größtenteils aber abgehängt hat.

Weiß das Setting des neuen Nova Crystallis Universums durchaus zu faszinieren, und auch das actionreiche, aber trotzdem sehr taktische "Paradigma" Kampfsystem zu überzeugen, sind es vor allem die arg clichehaften Charaktere, aber auch das extrem lineare Gameplay, das einem den Spass an der Freud letztlich deutlich eintrübt. Kann man mit Lightning als Hauptheldin der Spiele vielleicht noch etwas anfangen, brauch ich solch peinliche Figuren wie Snow, oder die unsägliche Serah, nun wirklich nicht. Vor allem aber sind die Areale meist so schlauchig gestaltet, dass man sich eigentlich nur "gerade aus laufend" von Cut Scene zu Cut Scene vorwärts kämpft, was mit der Zeit einfach extrem öde und eintönig wird. Wäre da nicht die hervorragende Präsentation des Titels, ich glaube FFXIII hätte mich kaum bei Laune halten können. Viel zu spät im Spiel finden wir einmal ein größeres Areal vor, in dem wir uns nun frei bewegen, Nebenaufgaben annehmen und uns ein wenig austoben können. Towns und generell NPCs finden sich dort aber auch nicht an, weshalb die plötzliche Freiheit auch eher etwas konstruiert wirkt. Da war SquareEnix mit der konsequent offenen Spielewelt eines Final Fantasy XII bereits völlig wo anders unterwegs.

In der Quintessenz muss man sagen, dass Final Fantasy XIII aufgrund des spannenden Settings und der überragenden, cineastischen Präsentation ein durchaus ganz gutes Spiel geworden ist, das freilich auch seine starken Momente hat. Als Reboot des hochdekorierten Final Fantasy Franchises hat es viele Fans aber weitgehend enttäuscht. Sicherlich hat SquareEnix mit FFXIII versucht auch jüngere Gamer mit ihrem Langzeitfranchise wieder neu anzusprechen. Doch insgesamt ist Square mit ihrem Einstieg in die XIIIer Trilogie konzeptionell zu schlampig und inkonsistent unterwegs, als dass es gereicht hätte, an die teils wirklich großartigen Vorgängern anzuknüpfen. Schade.… Expand

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