Final Fantasy XIII

 PlayStation 3
User Score
7.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 2976 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,797 out of 2976
  2. Mixed: 513 out of 2976
  3. Negative: 666 out of 2976
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  1. Flammie
    Apr 12, 2021
    6
    Final Fantasy XIII is a JRPG in the final fantasy series with new battle mechanics and all. I've really tried to hard to like this game and replayed it three times through, but there are simply not enough positive points to outweigh the negatives. It still is a final fantasy game with kind of captivating story, though it defintely is among the weakest in the franchise. The boredom ofFinal Fantasy XIII is a JRPG in the final fantasy series with new battle mechanics and all. I've really tried to hard to like this game and replayed it three times through, but there are simply not enough positive points to outweigh the negatives. It still is a final fantasy game with kind of captivating story, though it defintely is among the weakest in the franchise. The boredom of tunnelrunning cannot be overstated, there are few more interesting level designs towards the end of the game, but just like with the opening of the side quest system 80 % in the game, it's too little too late. And the new fighting system is kind of innovative but has crucial failures; bad AI and broken tank-class concept make for rather annoying battles. You cannot do much in the battles even though you know by entering specific commands you'd win all battles, the paradigm shift takes too long and battles seem too slow. Music, graphics etc. are great as expected, it really fails in the fun of gameplay section.… Expand
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. 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
  5. 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
  6. 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
  7. 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
  8. 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
  9. 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
  10. 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 in    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 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
  11. 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
  12. 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
  13. 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, but    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, 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
  14. 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
  15. 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
  16. 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
  17. 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
  18. 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
  19. 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
  20. 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 plot    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 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
  21. 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
  22. 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
  23. 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
  24. 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
  25. 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...
  26. 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
  27. 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.
  28. 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
  29. 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.
  30. 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.
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
83

Generally favorable reviews - based on 83 Critic Reviews

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