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. ZeroTrunks
    Feb 8, 2016
    3
    Linear game play, poor camera controls, undigestible story, and a script so bad I wanted to skip through all cut-scenes to reduce the feeling of a drill being forced through my head. The game basicly plays itself and is so unbalanced that if you die, you simply respawn as if the fight didn't occur. Some of the characters are just reprints of Squares older work Lightning = Cloud, Snow =Linear game play, poor camera controls, undigestible story, and a script so bad I wanted to skip through all cut-scenes to reduce the feeling of a drill being forced through my head. The game basicly plays itself and is so unbalanced that if you die, you simply respawn as if the fight didn't occur. Some of the characters are just reprints of Squares older work Lightning = Cloud, Snow = Zell, Sazh? I don't know what they were doing there...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Quant à l'histoire, entre de nombreuses cinématiques à piquer un roupillon et des combats abrutissants, on se demande quand elle commence. On se demande même parfois s'il y a une galette dans le lecteur et ce qu'on est en train de faire, à perdre son temps devant une telle, une abominable japoniaiserie.    … Expand
  29. BarelyLewd
    Mar 15, 2019
    2
    The second worst FF game I have ever played only eclipsed by ffx-2, stay far away from this game, this game suffers from the linear story, the awful characters, the below average voice acting, and the terrible terrible battle system, stay far away from this **** sandwich, trust me you don't want it.
  30. SporadicDeviant
    Dec 6, 2019
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is not a troll review. This is me explaining why I hate this game.
    The game is linear, that's not a surprise. Linearity is not a bad thing, in and of itself. The problem is the tedium that comes with FFXIII's linearity. The main thing you do in this game is walk forward, fight, walk forward, fight, watch cutscene, walk forward, fight, walk forward, watch cutscene, walk forward, fight, walk forward, watch cutscene, fight, walk forward, and on and on. It gets tiresome. Even after the game "opens up", 25 hours into the game, the gameplay loop is still the same. Just replace "walk forward" with "walk around".
    The battle system is laughably bad. Square tries to make combat strategic with the paradigm system, but with the autobattle function and the Diversity paradigm, you can make it through 95% of the enemy encounters in the game with no trouble. The fact that combat boils down to "press x" multiple times doesn't help FFXIII's tedium issue.
    The story is a mess. The game expects you to read paragraph upon paragraph of lore found in the pause menu instead of properly telling the story in game. Character motivations change on the spot, and the characters themselves are either annoying or forgettable.
    There is one exception, Sazh Katzroy. He's is without a doubt the best thing about FFXIII. He's charming, his motivations are clear and never change, he's the only character in the game that acts like a real person, and he's just a relatable, sympathetic character. I also have to give the writers credit for holding off on revealing that Sazh has a family until after the player can get to know him as a character. Other stories would just shove a character's family into the player's face and expect the player to get automatically invested in the character, but they showed restraint, and that's commendable. Sazh might just be in my Top 5 favorite Final Fantasy characters ever, he's that good. Aside from the good visuals and great music, Sazh is the lone bright spot of the game.
    If you genuinely like this game, that's fine. There's nothing wrong with liking this game or any game that most (or half) of the people don't like. Understand that there is a reason why FFXIII gets a mixed reception. Like Far Cry 2 and The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword, FFXIII decided to try to experiment with its mechanics. Unlike Far Cry 2 and Skyward Sword, in my opinion, FFXIII did not succeed in doing so.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
83

Generally favorable reviews - based on 83 Critic Reviews

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