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. TobiasG
    Oct 5, 2010
    9
    Final Fantasy is a great game that is both rich in graphics and gameplay. My only flaw is that the game can appear a bit boring for some, but it can be easily avoided if you stay away from long grinding sessions. I would happily recommend this game to anyone.
  2. FD3355
    Jan 23, 2011
    10
    Final Fantasy XIII takes awhile to get the ball rolling but once you get in there's no coming back. The graphics are beautiful but that was almost a granted with this game, the battle system also takes a road somewhere between tradition FFX or FFVII battles and FFXII's complete departure. At first the game may seem simplistic but don't let that full you, I found it (in terms of pureFinal Fantasy XIII takes awhile to get the ball rolling but once you get in there's no coming back. The graphics are beautiful but that was almost a granted with this game, the battle system also takes a road somewhere between tradition FFX or FFVII battles and FFXII's complete departure. At first the game may seem simplistic but don't let that full you, I found it (in terms of pure enemy strength) to be the hardest in the series. However it is the least punishing as well, and deaths won't set you back to your last save point but right before the battle. The game walks you down a linear path in the beginning, but this helps more then it constricts. It lets you focus on becoming a master of the battle system before your thrown to the hellishly difficult open world where you'll die again, and again, and again. The story is certainly not the best in the series but it is still interesting with plenty of twists to keep you interested, also there is a ton of life in the game, enemy life mostly, but the world will always feel alive in some way. Finally I must state that I was disparaged with other reviews that criticize this game from departing from series trademarks like towns and airships. This new focus is more easy, all shopping is done through save points and teleporting around the world of Pulse means you'll never find yourself walking for 15 minutes just to get where you need to go. This is a bold step in the right direction for the series and Square Enix is best to ignore the detractors when making 13-2.… Expand
  3. c0mmander
    Aug 15, 2011
    8
    Yeah this game has it's pitfalls but it doesn't deserve such awful press, ok it's not up to the standard of some other RPG's out there or even the other final fantasy titles. But after playing this on both the xbox 360 and the PS3 I feel this game does more right than it does wrong, the storyline has engaging moments although they do occasionaly fall through due to a bit of cheesy voiceYeah this game has it's pitfalls but it doesn't deserve such awful press, ok it's not up to the standard of some other RPG's out there or even the other final fantasy titles. But after playing this on both the xbox 360 and the PS3 I feel this game does more right than it does wrong, the storyline has engaging moments although they do occasionaly fall through due to a bit of cheesy voice acting or the under development of some characters. The autobattle system takes away some of the thinking on your but the paradigm system more than adds an intruiging twist to the gameplay. The crystarium system is not a highlight of the game although there was some promise there. I agree the game is very linear and this took a point off my score. The game has stunning visuals and open enviroments and has a stellar cast of characters and as before stated the paradigm system adds a layer of depth hopefully issues and more depth will be added with xii-2… Expand
  4. 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
  5. 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
  6. Yoshinaruto
    Jun 9, 2011
    9
    I don't see how people don't like this. It has excellent characters, excellent game-play, and an excellent plot. The voice acting was wonderful and it is very challenging at some points. Looking for a challenging time killer? This is for you. Oh, and the graphics are also wonderful.
  7. 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
  8. DaraReviews
    Nov 3, 2010
    8
    First linear then comes to a beautiful word of over world space. The story is extremely great on this game, it feels like it took them alot of time on the story as well as the voice's. This was my first final fantasy game and i love it. I think a 8.5 describes this game.
  9. ClawsOfSteel89
    Nov 24, 2010
    8
    Shame most people will attack a game for trying something new, and before I go on to say what I like or hate about this game, a little back story.

    I anticipated this game since the release of Final Fantasy XII (A title in the series I place above VII and ranked with VI as a definite must own), after the release date was pushed back for the umpteenth time, I was ready to give up on the    Shame most people will attack a game for trying something new, and before I go on to say what I like or hate about this game, a little back story.

    I anticipated this game since the release of Final Fantasy XII (A title in the series I place above VII and ranked with VI as a definite must own), after the release date was pushed back for the umpteenth time, I was ready to give up on the game. And then, the date was set, Final Fantasy XIII was finally slated to come out, and I couldn't wait to find out how great it would be. Well, after getting about 95% through the game and putting it on hold (a nasty habit I will admit to) I will say in confidence that I was mostly pleased with the final product.

    The first thing anyone should notice is the obvious production value, the game is quite possibly one of the best looking games ever made. Everything is alive and gorgeous, and there are few instances of clipping (Except for Sazh's hair). The music, while not as emotionally impacting as the previous titles, nor as appropriate or fitting, was clearly of high quality, and some of it was enjoyable to listen to. The story was about as confusing as any other RPG: hard to follow at first, but easier to understand as you went along. The game play, which is exemplified by the battle system, was surprisingly solid, and requires more strategy the further along you get into it, although I will admit it was initially simple and held your hand, but what game doesn't do this these days? (I mean, besides Demon's Souls)

    Thank god for what few side quests this game has, I don't need stupid, unpolished side quests like the ones in 7-12 to distract me and artificially inject hours into the experience. And when they finally do give you the side quests, you are well past the half-way point, thank god they're all battle related (unless you really want to count chocobos) and actually enjoyable (not ungodly cryptic searches like 12 had.

    By the time I had "finished" this game, I had gotten what I could out of it. To start, yes, the game is linear, but I hate open worlds because, as a perfectionist, they discourage me from following a linear focus and instead, attempt to goad me into wasting untold hours collecting crap I only want because I want everything (i.e. Fallout 3). If you look at it closely, the earlier FF titles forced a sense of linearity by placing monsters too hard to defeat in certain areas of the game, or making side quests impossible, so the accusation of this game's linearity is really moot. The battle system is actually based around the timing of role changes, so the whole press X to win argument becomes completely invalid in the latter half of the game (although, I will admit to giving the game it's score of 8 for the very fact that I felt babied through the first half, but at least I had the awesome characters to enjoy). The music was not as epic or grandiose as XII's, considering that they were both composed without any hands-on contribution from Uematsu. I would question the inclusion of Leona Lewis' music for the main theme, if it weren't for the fact that, for what I've heard, it is about as identical to the Japanese version in theme and quality. By the way, the voice acting doesn't really suck in any way, shape, or form, I knew exactly what they were going for, and they hit their mark pretty well. I will say that the regional dialectal choices made for the voices in XII were superior in that they created a more varied and interesting world.

    At the end of the day, this game succeeds on presentation and game play, which are really the only two things you need for a game to be good. I wish it had more challenge to its early portions, but end result is, this game has meat on its bones after all, and I hope to see the result of Versus XIII (hopefully they will give me more story on the world of Cocoon than even the original did).    … Expand
  10. ArkonBlade
    Jul 12, 2011
    4
    i heard such mixed reviews from my friends and other on this game that i waited awhile to buy it and since sqaure's track record hasnt been very good lately on RPG's. the first thing ill say is wow the graphics are fantastic it looks amazing . then you start playing and you are like huh? what the hell is going on? and after 7 hours i was still asking myself that . the combat system justi heard such mixed reviews from my friends and other on this game that i waited awhile to buy it and since sqaure's track record hasnt been very good lately on RPG's. the first thing ill say is wow the graphics are fantastic it looks amazing . then you start playing and you are like huh? what the hell is going on? and after 7 hours i was still asking myself that . the combat system just sucked and sucked so hard . honetsly this makes FF8's combat system look kinda good . the ability to control only 1 charicter just burned me . when i play a RPG i want 100% control on what my party is doing . not i control the leader which by the way swiches up every 30 minuites and annoyed the living hell out of me and have my other 2 party members doing what they want. so what they have instead is this switch tactics mode which feels so very very very very very off and HORRABLE! i mean usaully i can get through a crappy combat system if the story is solid like FF8 i mean that combat system in that game sucked but the charicters and story are very well done and i could get past that . but after 7 hours of going WTF IS GOING ON!? i couldnt do it any more . i mean the charicters seemed like they might get intresting and they wernt badly voice acted at all but after 7 hours i just couldnt care any more .… Expand
  11. PlutoniumTiger
    Oct 23, 2010
    3
    You know I can understand why some people would see the Environmental linearity as a plus; it keeps the action rollicking along at a fair pace. Okay. Sure, I can accept that. But what I most certainly do not understand is how anyone could not take issue with (perhaps their Zombies?) the phased linearity of the character progression. No sane person would enjoy constantly using the same 3You know I can understand why some people would see the Environmental linearity as a plus; it keeps the action rollicking along at a fair pace. Okay. Sure, I can accept that. But what I most certainly do not understand is how anyone could not take issue with (perhaps their Zombies?) the phased linearity of the character progression. No sane person would enjoy constantly using the same 3 skills for hours.… Expand
  12. 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
  13. Hikaru
    Sep 13, 2010
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Well... all I can say for FF13 is WOW.
    Good and bad, i found no in between here. All the good was amazing, the bad was... horrible.
    The story-line and most of the fighting styles were great, and put a new edge to the Final Fantasy series. Unfortunately, while the story and graphics were amazing, the fighting was great, I simply could not get my head around some of the changes from the old final fantasy elements.
    Turning summons into (for lack of a better word) mounts was ridiculous, and many boss fights were just pointless. Unless you were a longtime FF fan and knew how to defeat certain types of enemies, the only way to defeat some enemies was grinding levels and hoping for the best.
    While i HAD to play it because of it being part of the FF series, I would not suggest this game to anyone looking for a reminder of past Final Fantasies.    … Expand
  14. UUSKA
    Dec 25, 2012
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I tried hard to like this game but no, FF13 is meant for people who like movies where they can interact a little, if you like to play an j-rpg where you actually are holding the controls this isn't for you, this game was meant for people who decide oh golly what is on the television while hitting the x-button on the controller.
    Even though you can choose paradigm's later on it still has so little impact, there is no reason to do anything else than choose a good paradigm then auto-attack to win since it takes a lot longer to stack different attacks, and since the AA chooses the best ones automatically there is no need for that.

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

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

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

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

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

    So who can i recommend this movie? People who don't have anything ANYTHING at all to do.
    Retards
    Casual gamer's, those kinds of casual players who think solitaire is hardcore.    … Expand
  15. 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
  16. FogCityRoller
    Nov 26, 2015
    0
    Basically a joke of a Final Fantasy game. It should have been released as an expansion to a Mary Kate & Ashley adventure series. xxxxxxxxxxooooooooooooo
  17. GoogooG.
    Mar 25, 2010
    4
    Bought my PS2 and PS3 systems to play FF games.. just finished the game am am left with a decidable dirty taste in my mouth as if the Square team have just shoved a large phallic salami down my through and told me to swallow because this is good. im all for experimentation but this is just cud, yes spat out, reworked, Spat out and reworked one more time before final packaging. I remember Bought my PS2 and PS3 systems to play FF games.. just finished the game am am left with a decidable dirty taste in my mouth as if the Square team have just shoved a large phallic salami down my through and told me to swallow because this is good. im all for experimentation but this is just cud, yes spat out, reworked, Spat out and reworked one more time before final packaging. I remember seeing my first final fantasy game and being blown away, how it pushed the envelope it was jaw dropping , now i wouldnt drop my pants to piss on it . Yawn you lazy poor excuse for a FF development team. Battle system was interesting though .good job on that. next time maby we can interact with the world before being mindlessly thrown into battles or mindless running in straigth lines. Dear sqaure please rent some games that were made in the last 3 years and play them see if you can learn something called immersion either that or give me my money back.… Expand
  18. VeryCutePanda
    Aug 29, 2010
    9
    Fans will continue to debate but I think the 13th installment of Final Fantasy is a delightful experience. As long as Square Enix are willing to try something new, I will give them a fair chance. Sure, the linear gameplay, uninspiring plot and the lack of interaction between the characters and the environment doesn't provide a fulfilling gaming experience, one cannot deny that it's easilyFans will continue to debate but I think the 13th installment of Final Fantasy is a delightful experience. As long as Square Enix are willing to try something new, I will give them a fair chance. Sure, the linear gameplay, uninspiring plot and the lack of interaction between the characters and the environment doesn't provide a fulfilling gaming experience, one cannot deny that it's easily the best gameplay in the series. The breathtaking graphics that vows me make forget the lack depth design interaction wise and some characters are memorable (sort of), the score provided is also an improvement from the previous installment. In some ways this game can easily be criticized for not following its roots, but as long as try and make it a fresh experience, it's a risk worth taking, hopefully they can improve themselves after this.… Expand
  19. Caestus
    Mar 4, 2013
    3
    Unbelievable that SE released something like this. Its just going straight running from one cutscene to another and auto battling enemies. The story is not worth to mention, characters are annoying as hell and the soundtrack is the worst, that I ever heard in a Final Fantasy game. The graphics are not that bad though.
  20. LeGeNd7
    Apr 2, 2014
    8
    Story was a little hard to understand at first, over time you start to understand it(maybe if you try really hard). The story is decent, but I wasn't quite all the way captivated like in some previous final fantasies. Beautiful graphics and the battle system is as well(basically they took the classic way of battling and made it more realistic, and added a little of 10 and 12 into it too.),Story was a little hard to understand at first, over time you start to understand it(maybe if you try really hard). The story is decent, but I wasn't quite all the way captivated like in some previous final fantasies. Beautiful graphics and the battle system is as well(basically they took the classic way of battling and made it more realistic, and added a little of 10 and 12 into it too.), though you can't control your teammates all the way in battle. Most things they do on their own. Allies are limited sometimes because of this, and limits(special moves) of characters are not as useful to me as they had been in the past. Cloud, Squall, and Tidus'specials took out a ton more damage in comparison. Challenging battles though, mainly toward the middle going to end. Summoning battle system is very nice(it's new but pretty cool.). Side quests are challenging and they are many. But that is IF you only like hunting marks. There isn't anything thing else to the sidequests. It's better than okay yet it lacks that enjoyable feeling you get from adventuring(meeting different people in different towns etc.) in previous final fantasies.… Expand
  21. Foutiner
    Dec 27, 2012
    9
    This game was alright. the story was kinda lack luster at first but it got a lil better. The game has beautiful cutscenes and the ATB works really well. I cant see why anyone hates this game I mean its not called Open world 13 or something like that Its called Final Fantasy 13. And some of the characters i want to kill but you have that with all games. There was a lack of Npcs but theThis game was alright. the story was kinda lack luster at first but it got a lil better. The game has beautiful cutscenes and the ATB works really well. I cant see why anyone hates this game I mean its not called Open world 13 or something like that Its called Final Fantasy 13. And some of the characters i want to kill but you have that with all games. There was a lack of Npcs but the amount of customization in your team was amazing.… Expand
  22. Kendojosh
    Apr 18, 2013
    1
    Firstly, I am a Final Fantasy fanboy. Happy to hold up my hand to admit it. FFVII best game in the history of games.
    Secondly, before giving this a 1/10 I tried really hard to think of a reason to bump it to a 2 or 3, because I tend to see scores like this as being born of ill-considered hostility, rarely accurately reflecting the true quality of the game.
    In all of my 25 years of    Firstly, I am a Final Fantasy fanboy. Happy to hold up my hand to admit it. FFVII best game in the history of games.
    Secondly, before giving this a 1/10 I tried really hard to think of a reason to bump it to a 2 or 3, because I tend to see scores like this as being born of ill-considered hostility, rarely accurately reflecting the true quality of the game.
    In all of my 25 years of gaming I have never been so upset about a game in my life. I've been disappointed plenty of times. Aliens CM was disappointing. But FFXIII was damn upsetting. Probably because I'm such a series fanboy. I felt -angry- at Square for insulting the Final Fantasy brand with this piece of garbage.

    So, rant done, what is actually wrong with it? The problem with FFXIII is that it is the OPPOSITE of everything that was great about the rest of the series. The score I give it is applied with respect to how it stands among the great FFs that it SHAMES by taking their name.

    Great characters? Nope. We get vapid, shell-like stereotypes. These FF characters are PARODIES of those that have come before in the least humorous way possible.

    Great story-line? Nope. What story-line? The flimsy excuse for a narrative that this 'game' exposed me to for the 30 or so hours that I suffered through, hoping, excruciatingly, in vain that it would improve at some point never seemed to evolve or progress into anything more than a series of inane dialogues and sigh-inducing intermissions between running forwards and 'fighting' clutches of useless enemies (such is my love for the rest of the series that I sat, simmering with growing contempt, through 30 hours of what I can only describe as being like watching a seemingly never-ending scene of someone defecating on your childhood).

    Great battle system? The FF battle systems have been revolutionary. What does FFXIII give us? BUTTON MASHING. You will spend the first several hours running up to an enemy and mashing the A button. You'll win, you'll run a bit further, you'll mash that button some more. Rinse and repeat and repeat and repeat, and you keep hoping that as you gain more abilities, you'll be able to do more stuff, but somehow, someway, the button mashing never seems to end!!

    FFXIII gets the 1 point I can bring myself to award it because it is pretty. Well done, Square, you created the prettiest piece of trash capable of enraging me like this since my ex-wife.

    SO if you like platform games where you can't do anything but run at an enemy and jam that 'Action' button, and you like RPGs that don't let you go anywhere but forward, and you like story-lines that only make sense if you smoke a little sumtin-sumtin, and characters that make you care about them as much as the that live under your sink, then FFXIII is for you.    … Expand
  23. Vanbir
    Jan 16, 2011
    0
    Seriously one of the worst games I have ever played. Why would anyone want to play a game that involves pushing 1 button. On top of that the story line is very weak. Don't waste your money.
  24. bjsteel
    Dec 13, 2010
    8
    As you'd expect, FFXIII offers a significant amount of tactical depth as well as being stunningly beautiful. The linear game play however, limits the enjoyment the gamer can have. As fans of the series know, some of the best parts of these game are seeking out side-quests and EXP grinding off the beaten track. This is strictly limited until the later parts of the game. If this was not a FFAs you'd expect, FFXIII offers a significant amount of tactical depth as well as being stunningly beautiful. The linear game play however, limits the enjoyment the gamer can have. As fans of the series know, some of the best parts of these game are seeking out side-quests and EXP grinding off the beaten track. This is strictly limited until the later parts of the game. If this was not a FF game i would probably rate it higher, but as it is, I have very high expectations which were not met.… Expand
  25. 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
  26. Albyproulx
    Jan 9, 2011
    7
    By far the worst Final Fantasy game. It was still decent, but anything with the name Final Fantasy attached has built up certain expectations. I feel that the franchise is losing its luster with each release. This game was so linear it's ridiculous. As a player I felt like I was just running from battle to battle, cut scene to cut scene. The story was interesting, but the game playBy far the worst Final Fantasy game. It was still decent, but anything with the name Final Fantasy attached has built up certain expectations. I feel that the franchise is losing its luster with each release. This game was so linear it's ridiculous. As a player I felt like I was just running from battle to battle, cut scene to cut scene. The story was interesting, but the game play has no depth. The visuals are very nice, but there is not much beyond that.… Expand
  27. Marc19
    Jun 4, 2011
    9
    This certainly isn't the best Final Fantasy, but it's not the worst either. I thought the game play was a tad oversimplified as others have mentioned (spam Auto-battle for pretty much 95% of the battles), but the graphics were very impressive and I personally thought the story was very good. The linearity didn't put me off very much because I tend to play Final Fantasies very linearlyThis certainly isn't the best Final Fantasy, but it's not the worst either. I thought the game play was a tad oversimplified as others have mentioned (spam Auto-battle for pretty much 95% of the battles), but the graphics were very impressive and I personally thought the story was very good. The linearity didn't put me off very much because I tend to play Final Fantasies very linearly during the first few hours anyway. Those who are giving the game anything less than a 5, if you played up to Chapter 11 I guarantee you that your opinion of the game would change. The last 3 Chapters really felt like a more nostalgic FF experience.… Expand
  28. 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
  29. Jho88
    Jul 14, 2011
    3
    This is definitely my least favorite final fantasy game, and I've played them all. I had previously felt that FF12 was a real let down, and playing this made me sincerely miss 12. It was that bad. None of the characters were interesting at all, Vanille was annoying as hell to listen to, the plot was not particularly interesting, nor was it told very well, and the music was not at allThis is definitely my least favorite final fantasy game, and I've played them all. I had previously felt that FF12 was a real let down, and playing this made me sincerely miss 12. It was that bad. None of the characters were interesting at all, Vanille was annoying as hell to listen to, the plot was not particularly interesting, nor was it told very well, and the music was not at all memorable (which to me is perhaps the biggest let-down since the music of the previous games was arguably the best part). There were no towns to explore, shops to visit, NPCs to interact with, side quests to perform, or other basic RPG elements. The leveling system was really dumb: the tried to give the illusion of choice by having a pathway with branches so you could either pick like HP+200 or Str+50 for example, but each branch was only 1-2 elements long, so it's not like you could choose different ways to specialize your characters. The battle system was horrible because you really couldn't tell what was going on. Often I would upgrade a weapon or learn a new spell and try to use it in battle to see how much damage it did, but there are so many numbers flying all over the place it was really hard to tell who was doing how much damage with what. It basically devolves into mashing 'X' and switching to a more defensive paradigm if you're getting hurt too much. For all final fantasy games until this one, when the game was over I felt sad for a little while, like I wished it would continue because I missed the characters and places. When this game ended, I was glad I would never have to touch it again. I felt like I had finished a homework assignment. "That's done, now I can go do something fun." Please don't waste your money on this crap, and don't let square enix think it's okay to butcher their series like this.… Expand
  30. ArcticZombie
    Nov 18, 2011
    3
    Industry leading graphics, really good music (minus that disgusting fruity-pie song that was "popular" for a bit), and some really great menus and options. But why the failing score? For starters; the cast is completely forgettable. The story is predictable and poorly dialogued. And the game is very much on rails most of the time. The inventory system overall feels overly-simplified.Industry leading graphics, really good music (minus that disgusting fruity-pie song that was "popular" for a bit), and some really great menus and options. But why the failing score? For starters; the cast is completely forgettable. The story is predictable and poorly dialogued. And the game is very much on rails most of the time. The inventory system overall feels overly-simplified. Actually, the main problem here is: everything essential about this game seems too streamlined and simplified. I've been hoping since FF8 that the series would grow in complexity and challenge, and offer me an even bigger open-world to explore. But what's happened is that SE is only interested in making things "more accessible" to gamers. In this case it shows. And it shows way too much. No open-worlds to explore, just graphics, graphics, graphics. A boring, cheesy, lame-charactered snore-fest that should have never been included in the Numbered Series of FF. Not where games (especially RPGs) should be headed. It's an interactive movie with battles tacked on, with a weak character building system and world. This game broke my faith in the franchise. The final nail in the coffin for me.… Expand
  31. DBZ19
    Nov 25, 2011
    0
    Like most negative reviewers i was deeply and utterly disappointed with this game. Looking at the amount of positive reviews this got, they just can not be true FFFs. I remember getting this game it was a friday (the day of release) i was extremely excited as i just purchased one of the greatest rpg series around. within 2-3 hours in i HATED it. I've played FF7-10 and within the said timeLike most negative reviewers i was deeply and utterly disappointed with this game. Looking at the amount of positive reviews this got, they just can not be true FFFs. I remember getting this game it was a friday (the day of release) i was extremely excited as i just purchased one of the greatest rpg series around. within 2-3 hours in i HATED it. I've played FF7-10 and within the said time i became completely immersed (read ChristopherC. reviews) in the final fantasy world, but not his rubbish. I hated the characters i couldn't careless about them, in fact i REALLY hoped (no pun intended) hope was killed in the most horrible way. His constant whining was giving me a headache and i still hear vanille's voice when i close my eyes. Also am i the person who felt that the characters DIDN'T actually look like there represented ages?? Snow looked AT LEAST 25+ and serah looked 12. It was disgusting to say the least and i just DIDN'T feel anything for them when serah turned to crystal/ice, i just didn't care at all.

    everything from summoning to battles was just out of place and disjointed. RPG is meant to immerse the player make them feel that they are they for the long haul and at the end you'd get a sense of happiness and enjoyment; that the world is now saved. how this game got such a high score when it is soo badly linear is beyond me i don't care how well presented the game FF is all about character development, rich graphics and a happy ending. this game has none of those.    … Expand
  32. Zemeckis
    Dec 22, 2011
    9
    I play the Final Fantasy series since the V. I really love RPGs and, like many others, VII is my favorite and it will always be. But I think many people people simple don't understand that not only games changes as time passes, but also our preferences and desires. Final Fantasy XIII is far from the previous ones for its linearity and an optional auto battle. A game consists not only inI play the Final Fantasy series since the V. I really love RPGs and, like many others, VII is my favorite and it will always be. But I think many people people simple don't understand that not only games changes as time passes, but also our preferences and desires. Final Fantasy XIII is far from the previous ones for its linearity and an optional auto battle. A game consists not only in gameplay, but also plot, soundtrack, graphics and fun. Each FF offers you new experiences, and that is why the series get high rates in most websites. Games must innovate in some way. We don't want more from the same, like most shooters. Square makes some mistakes, but they're trying. And gamers should recognize it, because one day Square can make something really awesome. My life changed a lot since FF V. Today I work, I have a girlfriend, social life, personal projects and family to give attention. I don't have time to explore 100% of what the game offers. FF XIII has an advantage on its linearity: if you have short time to play games and if you love RPGs, FF XIII is great for you. I loved it and I'll buy FF XIII-2. If you want to focus on traditional gameplay and more from the same, maybe you should take a look at some shooters out there, like Call of Duty. Maybe a lot of players didn't like FF XIII, but no one can deny that each time you get a new FF you'll see something different. And that is something many companies aren't capable of. Open your mind for new experiences: it will be good for your games and your life.… Expand
  33. Aquilla
    Jun 12, 2012
    1
    The characters are uninspiring, flat, and disappointing. They're a badly cobbled-together cookie-cutter Jrpg bunch, and in a way that does no credit to the genre. The world is nonsensical. SE clearly has the money to put out eye-popping visuals -- why not spend a bit more time and make a good story/compelling narrative/creative world? Instead, they gave us a rehashed plot with blow-upThe characters are uninspiring, flat, and disappointing. They're a badly cobbled-together cookie-cutter Jrpg bunch, and in a way that does no credit to the genre. The world is nonsensical. SE clearly has the money to put out eye-popping visuals -- why not spend a bit more time and make a good story/compelling narrative/creative world? Instead, they gave us a rehashed plot with blow-up dolls for characters. Disgusting and disappointing. If you're a FF fan, or a RPG fan: run from this game.… Expand
  34. scorched595
    Jan 16, 2013
    0
    The worst final fantasy game by a long shot. It is essentially a no surprises typical JRPG with the "goofy" characters, the angsty characters, and just the out right retarded characters. The gameplay is also your typical JRPG fair, just grind a **** ton until you win. The level design is just one huge **** corridor repeated over and over again with an occasional reskin, it may branch offThe worst final fantasy game by a long shot. It is essentially a no surprises typical JRPG with the "goofy" characters, the angsty characters, and just the out right retarded characters. The gameplay is also your typical JRPG fair, just grind a **** ton until you win. The level design is just one huge **** corridor repeated over and over again with an occasional reskin, it may branch off occasionally, but you hit a dead end and have to go back onto the corridor. The story is just outright stupid, and I won't even bother explaining it. Not to mention to keep up with the story you have to read a bunch of stupid journal entries, which is fine in small doses, but TO KEEP UP WITH THE PLOT?! **** that. And seriously? an 8.0 for this game? what horse **** it's probably from the final fantasy fanboys who have been spoon-fed the same bull**** for many years and that's all they want to eat now. This series is just dead, there is nothing redeeming about this series anymore, and there is nothing redeeming about the fanbase anymore either. Seriously, this review is gonna get downvoted to hell, all because of some raging fanboys who think "How DARE he insult this perfect game series", well, **** YOU, go back to masturbating to your creepy final fantasy porn, **** head… Expand
  35. MusicxxAddicted
    Sep 10, 2013
    3
    I only played it once, can't believe we had to wait for... how long? Oh yeah, FOUR YEARS to hear about a decent new FF game! This game makes me wonder why Squeenix made this the main title instead of Versus aka FFXV. This piece of sad gaming history is flung into the darkest corner of gaming history and will only be remembered for showing game designers how NOT to make games. As a cherryI only played it once, can't believe we had to wait for... how long? Oh yeah, FOUR YEARS to hear about a decent new FF game! This game makes me wonder why Squeenix made this the main title instead of Versus aka FFXV. This piece of sad gaming history is flung into the darkest corner of gaming history and will only be remembered for showing game designers how NOT to make games. As a cherry on top of this rotten pie *whispers* I was happy it was finally over.… Expand
  36. agentesupremo
    Sep 20, 2013
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. bad game!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1… Expand
  37. jonathanM21
    Jan 3, 2011
    1
    Se claims the disappointment with this game is western audiences expecting open worlds. In truth this is a bad game even for JrPG and FF fans. So linear, confusing and boring story, battles that require you only to monitor classes if you wish, horrible characters...its all so bad. I want to love it but I can't . Skip this.
  38. Zorgly
    Feb 8, 2011
    6
    There is a lot to love and a lot to hate in this game. For starters the story in FF13 is absolutely pitiful. Nearly nothing is explained and the game insists on making you read these gigantic pamphlets on the back story that are just boring and destroy the pacing. The game play consists of walking down hallways (sometimes it can take up to 4 hours game time to get through a single hallway)There is a lot to love and a lot to hate in this game. For starters the story in FF13 is absolutely pitiful. Nearly nothing is explained and the game insists on making you read these gigantic pamphlets on the back story that are just boring and destroy the pacing. The game play consists of walking down hallways (sometimes it can take up to 4 hours game time to get through a single hallway) and then hopping into fights. The fighting is just as pathetic in that all you do is press the "Auto-Battle" button which does all the work for you. at this point you watch the same 2 animations over and over and over and over and over and over again. Tedious is the word that best describes both the gameplay and story. However, this game still will not receive a failing mark from me. why? Art Direction. This game is strikingly, unbelievably beautiful. I forced myself to endure through all the pathetic fights, brainless dislikeable character's, long winded dialogue, and tourist pamphlets simply because I wanted to see what world I would have the pleasure of walking through next. Giant glacial walls stretching miles above you, vast green fields covered in fascinating creatures, crazy futuristic amusement parks. It's all awesome, and it is the single reason I made it through the whole game. To the casual gamer, I simply cannot recommend this. It's to tedious, to confusing, and to slowly paced. An art connoisseur like myself however still found alot of beauty and value in this game. Even with its overwhelming amount of shortcomings. I dream of a day when art directors from Square Enix go and join rockstar games or something, and make an open world masterpiece in a fantasy world like this.… Expand
  39. Ignatius_Reilly
    Jun 29, 2011
    4
    Final Fantasy is dead. This game is proof. It's a boring slog through one long corridor with little to no attention from the player. Everything is dumbed down to the point where an 8 year old could beat it with both hands tied behind their back. The storyline is needlessly complicated and just non sensical and all of the characters are insufferable. The creative well at Square Enix hasFinal Fantasy is dead. This game is proof. It's a boring slog through one long corridor with little to no attention from the player. Everything is dumbed down to the point where an 8 year old could beat it with both hands tied behind their back. The storyline is needlessly complicated and just non sensical and all of the characters are insufferable. The creative well at Square Enix has been dry for a long time and this game shows it. Long gone is Sakaguchi and all that is left is a bunch of amateurs drowning in a kiddie pool. This series has become a joke.… Expand
  40. Tubie
    Oct 23, 2010
    9
    This game has me split into two. One part of me hates the corny story and mostly lame cast. The other part of me is addicted to the combat mechanics of the game and is only thinking about getting that platinum trophy. I think the combat is good enough for me to forget the lame story and just enjoy the game when I can. Oh and by the way this game looks insanely amazing, I still don't knowThis game has me split into two. One part of me hates the corny story and mostly lame cast. The other part of me is addicted to the combat mechanics of the game and is only thinking about getting that platinum trophy. I think the combat is good enough for me to forget the lame story and just enjoy the game when I can. Oh and by the way this game looks insanely amazing, I still don't know how they pulled this graphics on a PS3, you would need a massive PC to replicate them.… Expand
  41. Chronolp5
    Dec 3, 2010
    9
    Although, Final Fantasy XIII feels different from past entries in the series, it couldn't have existed without all the hard work Square Enix has put into the twelve titles before it. The battle system is the product of years of experimentation, innovation, and refinement. The game world is part of a fairly consistent vision that Square Enix has been developing with each new installment.Although, Final Fantasy XIII feels different from past entries in the series, it couldn't have existed without all the hard work Square Enix has put into the twelve titles before it. The battle system is the product of years of experimentation, innovation, and refinement. The game world is part of a fairly consistent vision that Square Enix has been developing with each new installment.

    Finally, all of the streamlined and convenient game design choices have been the result of honest reflection and recognition that certain design choices from past JRPGs no longer work. Thus, Final Fantasy XIII is the product of past JRPGs, as well as, a wonderful evolution of the genre. Most importantly, Square Enix's latest JRPG epic proudly continues the series' tradition of being an RPG that offers engrossing combat systems and unforgettable adventures. Simply put, Final Fantasy XIII shouldn't be missed.    … Expand
  42. Professor
    Nov 2, 2011
    6
    Way too linear as everybody mentions, what happened to the choice in exploring and return visits for necessary missions ? Very limited in this regard. A trigger happy x button child could complete 90percent of the game successfully. Too slow to start and leveling up above level 4 was just painful. This could have been a good game but poor story line and limited choices spoilt it. Glad toWay too linear as everybody mentions, what happened to the choice in exploring and return visits for necessary missions ? Very limited in this regard. A trigger happy x button child could complete 90percent of the game successfully. Too slow to start and leveling up above level 4 was just painful. This could have been a good game but poor story line and limited choices spoilt it. Glad to complete it and stop wasting my time. In the end feels like they all failed and the l,ice was successful in destroying cocoon after all - what a disappointment .… Expand
  43. 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...
  44. Onikami
    Aug 18, 2013
    0
    I've heard a lot of people harp on the complaint of the game being linear however this cannot be true as Final Fantasy X was very linear and achieve greatest, so why did this game utterly fail? There is nothing from with changing mechanics however Square changed their core engagement. Why do you play a Final Fantasy game over every other game?

    The two main element would be exploration    I've heard a lot of people harp on the complaint of the game being linear however this cannot be true as Final Fantasy X was very linear and achieve greatest, so why did this game utterly fail? There is nothing from with changing mechanics however Square changed their core engagement. Why do you play a Final Fantasy game over every other game?

    The two main element would be exploration and story with idles of being on a hero's quest perhaps. Now Final Fantasy X was linear however the world varied enough, while juxtaposed with times in towns and peaceful settlements with battles to create a flow while Final Fantasy seem very little various and takes too long for it to happen; run through the same jungle with three difference groups of characters. Now, Final Fantasy X had a slow start for sure but Final Fantasy 13 flat out beats this without tell us anything basic about the world and only leaves us more confused unless we continue or read up on it. The exposition dumps fro Final Fantasy X were annoying but they fit because they were teaching Tidus, a everyman thrust into a new world with us, they were teaching us the player, meanwhile FF13 doesn't want to teach us anything but the world or it's characters. Both FFX and FF13 are linear but FFX had colourful characters and world so we didn't notice or it didn't matter while FF13 has spent all its money on graphics and paid for it.

    You can say FF13 got a good score but did it? Every single FF since six has gotten anywhere from 8-11 points above this one so while it could be "good" it is bad as a FF. However, this is where my argument breaks down as I didn't get to finish FF13. I know that the world opens up, and I've seen the gameplay of it, about 20 hours in but honestly to goodness my system caught fire after 18 hours. Perhaps it does get good after this point but than the 18 hour long tutorial was bugging me a bit.

    See with the loss of Sekaguchi FF has lot its way. Final Fantasy moved over to the playstation for more disk space and this served them well because they used it to teach a better story while the story here seems best suited to serve the graphics. Maybe there was a story but it wouldn't explain it self or let me in to understand it at all. Instead, I'm on the outside wondering who these people are or why I should care.

    I should talk about the simplification of the combat a bit. Now normally the slow turn based menus are great for tactical play and allowing you to control all your characters but the moment you speed things up controlling everyone isn't possible. This isn't bad, games like Kingdom Hearts showed us a good way to do this. However, Final Fantasy 13 throws you in and doesn't explain a thing. Not only that my input on the battles is very loose. Now, again I've seen gameplay of later in the game in which it does appear to get a bit hectic however, does this mean that the first 20 hours are all tutorial? If it was meant for the game to progressive and get harder as we go, well that's a good idea but it never came. 18 hours in and I was still doing nothing but changing classes for when I needed to heal, the curve never came. Also, I must admit being healed to full after every battle killed the game and took all challenge away. I know you want the game to be easy so all can play but all tension is now gone. However, I must admit FF has been off the combat I like for a while. FF9 was great because each character had a set of skills and that was all they had. Not only did they have to work together but it gave the sense that their skill (lets say black magic) was something hard that they had mastered and not everybody and their dog could do it.

    If you're just scrolling down to the end to see what I'm going to say I'll repeat. Final Fantasy 13 fails not because it's linear but because it changes the core engagement. I play a FF game for a well crafter stories with colorful characters in a varied world. FFX showed us that linear worlds aren't a bad thing but FF13 shows that that unvaired repeating ones are. While save points that heal you to full made earlier games too easy, being healed after every battle is beyond overkill to take out any challenge or tension. Finally, FFX may have had exposition dumps but it served to explain the world while FF13 doesn't care to. FF13 doesn't care to explain itself at all but throw a bunch of proper nouns at me and never explain a single one nor teach me or give me anything likeable about the cast.

    I"LL SAY IT AGAIN. FINAL FANTASY 13 FAILS NOT BECAUSE ITS LINEAR BUT BECAUSE IT CHANGES IT'S CORE ENGAGEMENT!! Everything we love to see in FF game is not here for changes no one asked for and a pursuit of graphics over gameplay, story, or world. This may be the lowest rated FF in the main series in the best 20 years for a reason guys (and only because those games ((FFV)) are being judged by today's standards).    … Expand
  45. SliverPatriarch
    Jan 27, 2014
    0
    Final Fantasy 13 is nothing less than pure garbage. It spits on the foundation of RPGs as we know them. It's linear, enough said. Final Fantasy is never linear. There is no customization that doesn't involve formations. I heard that it gets good, but when you've played through 20 hours of boring x-mashing gameplay, and you've just now gotten the entire party together, you say F**K THIS!Final Fantasy 13 is nothing less than pure garbage. It spits on the foundation of RPGs as we know them. It's linear, enough said. Final Fantasy is never linear. There is no customization that doesn't involve formations. I heard that it gets good, but when you've played through 20 hours of boring x-mashing gameplay, and you've just now gotten the entire party together, you say F**K THIS! The characters are bland, the story sucks, and is hard to follow because it's so boring. There is one path, gear is the last thing on your mind, enemies are forgettable. The only thing you remember about the bosses is how long they took. You just mash x, sometimes use a potion, and wait to stagger it. The summons are nothing more than transformers. But that brings me to another point. Why does the main black character dual wield guns, have a summon that transforms into a car, and has a chocobo living in his afro? Why does Square think this is a good game, and give it TWO sequels? Seeing Lightning in Cloud's costume, is a disgrace to the series' former glory. Don't buy this, or the sequels, and if you have any of these games, trash them. They're a waste of time and money.… Expand
  46. Fix
    Oct 24, 2012
    7
    I honestly could not tell you what the story was about. Why is it so complicated? I played it till the end because of the fun gameplay and nice graphics, but I was kind of bummed that I never really felt a connection to the story. Hopefully they will come up with something better in the future. Overall, I'd recommend it. However, don't plan on being emotionally driven at all during that time.
  47. Seraphy
    Aug 16, 2010
    4
    Gamepro descriped this game best: "a long hallway toward an orange target symbol on your mini-map that triggers a cutscene, a boss fight, or both. Frankly for the first six chapters I thought this game had longest tutorial ever, with total lack of towns, exploration or people to talk to. In short anything fun. There are some good points in the game of course. Story isn't horrible, it isn'tGamepro descriped this game best: "a long hallway toward an orange target symbol on your mini-map that triggers a cutscene, a boss fight, or both. Frankly for the first six chapters I thought this game had longest tutorial ever, with total lack of towns, exploration or people to talk to. In short anything fun. There are some good points in the game of course. Story isn't horrible, it isn't anything to write home about either, and combat is much improved, however all together game is just bad even with all the improvements. If you want to play final fantasy I suggest you play any other number from I-XII, they are all better than this one.… Expand
  48. neuro-punk
    Feb 25, 2016
    0
    Final Fantasy XIII is one of the very worst games ever made and nothing like a Final Fantasy game. This game is a plague/curse to the franchise and i would not wish this crap on even my worst enemies. Can't even change party members with ATB turn based combat, no world map, no airship/vehicles, no exploration, no mini-games, no fun, it's lacking almost everything that makes Final Fantasy,Final Fantasy XIII is one of the very worst games ever made and nothing like a Final Fantasy game. This game is a plague/curse to the franchise and i would not wish this crap on even my worst enemies. Can't even change party members with ATB turn based combat, no world map, no airship/vehicles, no exploration, no mini-games, no fun, it's lacking almost everything that makes Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy.

    Whoever likes FFXIII has horrendous taste and should stop playing video games if they like this crap.    … Expand
  49. JHango
    Jan 28, 2011
    1
    I feel exactly the same way like Igndsgn
    Final Fantasy has lost they soul. The last good Final Fantasy was FF9, and FF8 was a total crap, a little better them this ridiculous FF13.
  50. 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.
  51. JawnMan
    Feb 8, 2012
    4
    Final Fantasy XIII is the worst Final Fantasys I have played. I started out with IV and each Final Fantasy follows certain JRPG conventions that have stuck throughout not only the series but also other games because they work. Final Fantasy XIII ditches these conventions to create a more mainstream experience. This makes for an extremely dumbed down game with none of the excitement fromFinal Fantasy XIII is the worst Final Fantasys I have played. I started out with IV and each Final Fantasy follows certain JRPG conventions that have stuck throughout not only the series but also other games because they work. Final Fantasy XIII ditches these conventions to create a more mainstream experience. This makes for an extremely dumbed down game with none of the excitement from past titles and a whole lot of boredom. The list of why this game is bad is so long that it makes me angry just thinking about it. The plot is boring. The characters are uninteresting and the only thing theyâ… Expand
  52. prevbean
    Oct 15, 2010
    0
    This game sucks linear boring levels, garbage characters except for the **** he was funny.
    Weeabo wana be slants will only like this game. egggggggggggggggggggggg eggggggggggggg
  53. onlyelisha
    Feb 28, 2011
    0
    The Final Fantasy series has been on a decline ever since the release of FFX. This is just another push in the wrong direction. Hopefully Versus XIII will be better.
  54. 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
  55. Davidm4
    Jul 23, 2011
    6
    I'm not surprised that people say that the game has no challenge. This isn't true, as it is arguably is one of the most difficult of the series, but it takes so long before the game actually gives you a challenging fight. The first time most people will die is usually the eidolon boss fights, but you only have to be aware of your characters primary role to overcome them. If you excludeI'm not surprised that people say that the game has no challenge. This isn't true, as it is arguably is one of the most difficult of the series, but it takes so long before the game actually gives you a challenging fight. The first time most people will die is usually the eidolon boss fights, but you only have to be aware of your characters primary role to overcome them. If you exclude these as challenges then you may spend close to 20 hours of gameplay before you come across a challenging boss. For people who have a few hours of play time a day, this is going to be hard to take. Those who are used to playing hours on end won't find it to be a problem. Those who state that you can mash "x" to win are correct, as you can use auto battle throughout the whole game, but you just need to use the correct paradigms at the right moments. Linearity is fine, but repetition isn't and this game rarely stops to take a break from fighting. There was nothing like the Golden Saucer to mess about with for a while. This game doesn't even try to hide it. I felt that the music was disappointing as it was mostly atmospheric music rather than the memorable, melodic songs that have been in previous installments (to zanarkand/fishermans horizon/melodies of life). I don't believe that the open world of Grand Pulse makes the game any better, as you are still just fighting/grinding, except you now have a chance to get lost rather than just travel in one direction. It certainly isn't enough for the amount of time it takes to get there anyway. The saving grace of the gameplay is the boss fights in the later stages of the game, which provided enough challenge to make the game decent for me. Without them, it would have certainly been a poor game.… Expand
  56. lorddavy
    Aug 26, 2011
    3
    The worst game quality/price that i had ever played. Only graphics game. Really hard end it. In the beginning i was expected, some hours later i was deathly bored. Frustrating pay more than 100 euros for it + guide. The worst buy in my life.
  57. 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
  58. nabushi
    Jan 10, 2012
    3
    I played this game for 25 hours. I really wanted to enjoy it. Even after i had heard that it was linear, with no real overworld, I still wanted desperately to believe this was a great addition to a great series of games. Once i got to the 25 hour mark, i realized that I could not go on deceiving myself. The story of the game was fairly engaging, but to understand all of the things goingI played this game for 25 hours. I really wanted to enjoy it. Even after i had heard that it was linear, with no real overworld, I still wanted desperately to believe this was a great addition to a great series of games. Once i got to the 25 hour mark, i realized that I could not go on deceiving myself. The story of the game was fairly engaging, but to understand all of the things going on, there was an encyclopedia that was there to basically enhance your knowledge of the world that you found yourself in. As i spent more and more time reading these entries, I did not feel a connection growing with this world, rather it felt like boring reads that added nothing real to the game. When I play RPG's i tend to enjoy overleveling myself. this allows me to enjoy the story of the game without having to worry about the combat as much. When I discovered that there were caps to how powerful your characters could get at any given point in the game, it was upsetting. The combat itself was much less engaging than just about any other game i have ever played. I found myself analyzing my enemy, and selecting auto-attack over and over again, as the game would pick the best abilities to use anyway, and my input was hardly needed. this removed me further from the actual game, and made me feel more like i was watching a movie than playing a game. One of the things that really hooked me when I started the game was the graphics, but once the allure wore off, i began to realize that amazing graphics, while nice, did not make up for horrible story and gameplay. Square likes to change things up between Final Fantasies, and they definitely did that here. I will not condemn that, they did something innovative and new, even though it did not work out.… Expand
  59. 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
  60. FlippySuper
    Feb 7, 2013
    0
    OK, i can go on and on about how much i hate this garbage but lets put my hatred to this game very simple,the entire game is a corridor....Enough said!
  61. bigtakilla
    Jul 3, 2013
    0
    The timeless score of the series is ditched for J-Pop which sounds dated the moment it was released, the World is nothing more than a pretty painting in the background in which you cannot interact with AT ALL EVER, the story is cliche, the characters are shallow, the voice acting is okay at best, the gameplay is insulting, the strategy is non existent, the ending is, well lets just put itThe timeless score of the series is ditched for J-Pop which sounds dated the moment it was released, the World is nothing more than a pretty painting in the background in which you cannot interact with AT ALL EVER, the story is cliche, the characters are shallow, the voice acting is okay at best, the gameplay is insulting, the strategy is non existent, the ending is, well lets just put it this way, there are three games in the series so tell me how good you even think the ending is, the number of spells are limited, the summons are the worst since the japanese FF 3 (maybe, never played actual the actual FF2 or 3) and they turn into vehicles but guess what, you never get to control the vehicles.

    Worst in the series hands down, and downright an insulting entry for the JRPG genre. The strangest part of all is, people are actually defending this title.    … Expand
  62. Octavio87
    Feb 16, 2015
    0
    Worst game I have ever played and I started playing on my Gameboy about 20 years ago.

    Annoying characters (especially that emo-crybaby and that wannabe- Paris Hilton- Barbie), horrible and hectical fighting system (why the **** the game ends, when Lightning is defeated, even though there are other characters who could easily revive her?), mega linear maps (basically just one direction-    Worst game I have ever played and I started playing on my Gameboy about 20 years ago.

    Annoying characters (especially that emo-crybaby and that wannabe- Paris Hilton- Barbie), horrible and hectical fighting system (why the **** the game ends, when Lightning is defeated, even though there are other characters who could easily revive her?), mega linear maps (basically just one direction- alleyways), annoying music, that repeats itself and repeats itself until your brain goes numb. Besides that the actual game gets interupted with cutscenes every 10 minutes or so, so there is no fluent gameplay at all.

    I even enjoyed playing Ride to Hell: Retribution more than this, that game made you laugh at least, while FFXIII just makes me angry as hell. So **** this game, **** it to oblivion.    … Expand
  63. mario7489
    Dec 29, 2013
    0
    The game's playing itself Jon. The games just playing itself Jon. THE GAMES JUST JON JON JUUUSSAHHHHAHA HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAhahahhghbhnhn AHGHAGHNM SAHHWNEUYHUU GGEHH WMEMWNNANH EHEH AHT HWP JUSY APPLAYIG NANFMMAN HHHAJ OON JO N
  64. PatternFalls
    Feb 11, 2014
    0
    This game is an insult to fans and an insult to anybody who bother to pay for this absolute trivial excuse for a game.
    Final Fantasy is horribly written, has terrible combat and does everything in it's power to make you hate the experience.
  65. MOGEnrique
    Apr 10, 2011
    4
    Final Fantasy XIII is probably one of the biggest disappointments of the 7th generation of gaming. Role-playing elements are inexistent, combat mechanics are anything but innovative, you need very little strategy and tougher enemies are beaten with the same formula you use with weaker ones. Its level design is simplistic and uninspiring. The story is cliche and boring, so as theFinal Fantasy XIII is probably one of the biggest disappointments of the 7th generation of gaming. Role-playing elements are inexistent, combat mechanics are anything but innovative, you need very little strategy and tougher enemies are beaten with the same formula you use with weaker ones. Its level design is simplistic and uninspiring. The story is cliche and boring, so as the characters. Everything is told with cutscenes making the player feel that there's a wall between him/her and the game world. In-game visuals are average at best and the soundtrack is forgettable. Square Enix's only purpose to make Final Fantasy XIII was to tell a story but forgot it was supposed to be a game.… Expand
  66. 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
  67. 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
  68. TheObjectivist
    Aug 13, 2015
    10
    To say this is the greatest entry in the series is an offense to the series. But to say it is the worst in the series is a far greater offense.

    The game combines stellar graphical quality, composed and quick-paced strategic battle, a rather excellent unique story for the series (which XIII-2 does no justic to), vibrance that the previous entry did not deliver, engrossing characters with    To say this is the greatest entry in the series is an offense to the series. But to say it is the worst in the series is a far greater offense.

    The game combines stellar graphical quality, composed and quick-paced strategic battle, a rather excellent unique story for the series (which XIII-2 does no justic to), vibrance that the previous entry did not deliver, engrossing characters with complex Bradburian development, and laser-focused direction with polish not seen in many years in the series. This is perhaps the most hated gem of the series, derided by Westerners cemented in the notion of meaningless expanses and plenty of boring sidequests.

    If you are searching for a game that offers an expansive world, pointless sidequests and minigames, non-linearity, and broken design, feel free to pick up Final Fantasy XII. But if you are looking for story, action, vibrance, gameplay, fast pace, and bewildering presentation, pick up Final Fantasy XIII, the first true fantasy world since Final Fantasy X.    … Expand
  69. austinbond
    Jan 15, 2011
    6
    A lot of the characters are unlikable, the game is incredibly linear and it is short for a Final Fantasy game. The combat is the best part of the game and the music is still beautiful, but I'm not going to say the game is great because of the graphics, as there are glaring holes in the gameplay department, and I only care about gameplay.
  70. Angeredsoul
    Jun 7, 2011
    3
    So finally picked this game up after waiting for it to drop in price after reading alot of reviews. I thought they might have been just final fantasy haters. But 6 hours in, and I am about ready to snap this disc in disgust. Annoying characters, terrible story, and so damn linear its not even funny. In fact I can't think of any point up till now where I've had to make a choice story wise.So finally picked this game up after waiting for it to drop in price after reading alot of reviews. I thought they might have been just final fantasy haters. But 6 hours in, and I am about ready to snap this disc in disgust. Annoying characters, terrible story, and so damn linear its not even funny. In fact I can't think of any point up till now where I've had to make a choice story wise. The combat isn't too bad and I like the system they have implemented, just a shame that everything else fails. Shame Square-Enix.… Expand
  71. medv4380
    Feb 2, 2012
    0
    Purchased the game at launch and in almost 2 years I could not bring myself to finish it. For even a linear RPG it's far too linear. Mazes, dungeons, or instances should never be just strait hallways all the way through. The battle system is basically auto play, and trying to do otherwise will result in failure. I usually like to keep my games, and until the system dies I usually buyPurchased the game at launch and in almost 2 years I could not bring myself to finish it. For even a linear RPG it's far too linear. Mazes, dungeons, or instances should never be just strait hallways all the way through. The battle system is basically auto play, and trying to do otherwise will result in failure. I usually like to keep my games, and until the system dies I usually buy new. This game has gone into the small pile of trade-ins of unplayable games.… Expand
  72. sorastrife2890
    Apr 21, 2016
    0
    i am a very final fantasy fan. but this game is just **** **** i dont know why the people like this game. is just a rect line, a very bad story, very bad characters and a very bad game sistem. dont buy this game please
  73. NateS.
    Apr 20, 2010
    9
    Square Enix has taken a novel new approach to the design of their latest RPG. I've found that although the beginning of the game follows a linear path, the battle system has been redesigned, and there aren't the typical towns found in prior releases, the game is extremely fun and vastly different from other RPGs I've played in the past. My only complaint is that the game is Square Enix has taken a novel new approach to the design of their latest RPG. I've found that although the beginning of the game follows a linear path, the battle system has been redesigned, and there aren't the typical towns found in prior releases, the game is extremely fun and vastly different from other RPGs I've played in the past. My only complaint is that the game is slow to transition complete control to the player in battles, probably to entice people new to the genre.… Expand
  74. BDeyo01
    Sep 12, 2010
    7
    If you're looking for a good story, comparable to any of the previous FF's, you will not find it here. However, the Battle System is great. But that's all I find enjoyable about this game. I am very turned off by the direction the franchise is going, and I have pooled a lot of money into merchandise, video games, guides, and time, based on the franchise. This game has left a very sourIf you're looking for a good story, comparable to any of the previous FF's, you will not find it here. However, the Battle System is great. But that's all I find enjoyable about this game. I am very turned off by the direction the franchise is going, and I have pooled a lot of money into merchandise, video games, guides, and time, based on the franchise. This game has left a very sour taste in my mouth and I wish I had waited for the reviews to come out. As a stand-alone game, if you remove the intellectual property and give it a randomized name, then it just turns out to be a linear RPG with no ground breaking leveling or character improvement systems. Just about the only interesting / fun aspect of the game is the battle's. In the past, I have also ended up purchasing the sound tracks to the game, for nostalgia's sake, but I will not be doing so with this game as I am not impressed by the soundtrack either. At this time, Amazon is selling this game for $20 - well worth it, in my opinion, if you just need to feed your RPG appetite for the time being. However, Final Fantasy die-hards beware, this game has a high probability of disappointing.… Expand
  75. Le_Shorte
    Mar 3, 2013
    4
    I can't stand to play more, and I've gotten about 6 and a half hours in. I don't need to explain my rating, as every other review giving this a mediocre rating contains exactly what I would say.
  76. DrBrogbo
    May 11, 2012
    4
    This is not what Final Fantasy is supposed to be. If anything, this is Final Fantasy for Dummies. There is no exploration, no leveling up, and no incentive to keep playing. The story is boring, the gameplay is UTTERLY linear, and the characters are annoying. Not only that, but it is way WAY too easy at first, then takes a drastic jump in difficulty. As for the individual characters, HopeThis is not what Final Fantasy is supposed to be. If anything, this is Final Fantasy for Dummies. There is no exploration, no leveling up, and no incentive to keep playing. The story is boring, the gameplay is UTTERLY linear, and the characters are annoying. Not only that, but it is way WAY too easy at first, then takes a drastic jump in difficulty. As for the individual characters, Hope is so annoyingly whiny he should be named Shinji, Vanille sounds like she's making sex noises all the time, Snow says stupid idiotic one-liners like "Heroes don't quit!" ALL THE TIME, Lightning goes through mood swings you wouldn't believe, and Sazh... well, I liked Sazh. He was funny, and the only character that didn't actively annoy me. I could forgive this game its shortcomings if the battle system actually required much input, OR if you could actually explore the beautiful environments, OR if it were more focused on gameplay and less cutscenes, OR if it were actually fun. Honestly this game came across as nothing more than Squenix trying to make a movie but failing, and then deciding to turn it into a game. If this is the big fantastic HD Final Fantasy game people have been clamoring for for years, then give me PS1 graphics back. Maybe then, a little more effort could be put into the gameplay. A mark of a good game is one that I can't wait to play again. THIS game, however, I can't wait for Gamefly to receive so they can send me my next game. Now excuse me while I go play a real RPG, like Xenoblade.… Expand
  77. 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.
  78. Kowachi
    Aug 13, 2012
    4
    Final Fantasy XIII is awful.

    I consider myself a FF fan, but I am not a hardcore fan. I
  79. KezarHighwind
    Feb 7, 2013
    4
    Final Fantasy XIII is a mess. That simple. It has not only changed the face of the series, but has also damaged the image of the JRPG to the world. With an amazing concept of the floating world above Gran Pulse, where the people have been enslaved by god-like beings called the fal'cie, amazing a beautiful art, as well as memorable and majestic music, the game itself was only destined toFinal Fantasy XIII is a mess. That simple. It has not only changed the face of the series, but has also damaged the image of the JRPG to the world. With an amazing concept of the floating world above Gran Pulse, where the people have been enslaved by god-like beings called the fal'cie, amazing a beautiful art, as well as memorable and majestic music, the game itself was only destined to fail. Then, what happened? Aren't these things enough to make a good game? No, they aren't. Final Fantasy XIII is one of the most awful and annoying RPG's I've played. Indeed, the game can only be compared to a cheap iOS game in modern days. The story is so boring and confusing, that people can't even get what are Lightning and friends talking about. Not to mention the gameplay, which, again, was a good concept terribly executed. These new Final Fantasy titles are sinning of having extreme complexity, which it is supposed to be good, but this case is not. The gameplay is boring, frustrating and hard for both, simple gamers and hardcore RPG gamers, like me. The great factor that joined all these together, is the linearity of the game. You, are practically not playing at all, as 2/3 of the entire party is played by the AI. The linearity is described by Motomu Toriyama and Square Enix as a "story driven game", but don't cheat on me, it's like if you were playing a visual novel. I can't save much of Final Fantasy XIII, except the great wasted music, as well as the nice visuals, but this time Square Enix, that didn't save your game at all.… Expand
  80. Evangellist
    Oct 9, 2013
    1
    Unfortunately this marked the end for Final Fantasy, for me, personally. Square Enix made the game linear, so much so that the gameplay literally consists of holding forward, and pushing A, oh, and don't forget pressing the start button to skip cutscenes, because the story is NONSENSE. I don't even think Square Enix knew what the story was supposed to be, because the important parts of theUnfortunately this marked the end for Final Fantasy, for me, personally. Square Enix made the game linear, so much so that the gameplay literally consists of holding forward, and pushing A, oh, and don't forget pressing the start button to skip cutscenes, because the story is NONSENSE. I don't even think Square Enix knew what the story was supposed to be, because the important parts of the story are hidden away in menus. Gotta love that conveyance....

    I hate that I am forced to hate this game, I wish it was better, but it just isn't. From the people that made a JRPG series that DEFINED the genre for years, and the people who made my favorite game of all time, this pains me to see this direction. The gameplay and combat is shallow, repetitive, and streamlined to all hell. The story would be predictable if I knew what the Hell was even going on, they leave you in the dark story wise the whole game, and are beyond vague about everything.

    JonTron said it best, "The game is a Hallway, a long, boring, uninteresting, vague.,... hallway. AND GAMES SHOULD NOT BE HALLWAYS!:    … Expand
  81. bigboss1964
    Nov 21, 2015
    4
    Final Fantasy XIII

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

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

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

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

    Notes:The FF-XIII is just an eye candy nothing more nothing less if you are a huge Final Fantasy Fan buy it at a big price drop like 70 or 80 % to everyone else rent it if you want play it .This game is just below average.    … Expand
  82. GabB
    Mar 20, 2010
    7
    Maybe I'm jaded but this game feels very empty and souless. What you see is what you get. There's next to nothing in terms of towns, exploration, npcs, hidden items and sidequests. The game offers no depth and further more the story is so dragged out for so long and rarely do you feel any emotions for the characters(partially because they're so stupid). People compare it to Maybe I'm jaded but this game feels very empty and souless. What you see is what you get. There's next to nothing in terms of towns, exploration, npcs, hidden items and sidequests. The game offers no depth and further more the story is so dragged out for so long and rarely do you feel any emotions for the characters(partially because they're so stupid). People compare it to FFX when you argue that it's linear but FFX at least gave you the ability to backtrack and plenty of hidden sidequests and cutscenes AND towns. Not to mention some pretty good mini-games(ex.blitzball). This game simply put depresses me to the core because it forces you down one precise path with not even the slightest attempt to distract you and pull you off course. Fortunately the game has good graphics and music but after playing a game like uncharted 2 it's not really that breathtaking. This game is actually pretty generic for what it was supposed to be. Final Fantasy might as well be dead now since both this and FFXII and ffX-2 were massive letdowns to the final fantasy name. I'll probably pick up FFXIV simply because it's behind the guys who made my favourite mmorpg and versus XIII because it could be seen as a mature substitute for KH3 at the time. As for the main development team I couldn't care less really. They are more than likely going to make FFXIII-2 anyway since they said they wanted the XIII franchise to last 10 years.… Expand
  83. MatthewF
    Mar 29, 2010
    9
    This is a very good game. I've been wating for it since its first announce in 2006 and it's the reason why I bought a PS3 that year. -Presentation: Awsome. Maybe the best i've ever seen as in Uncharted 2. Impressive cutscenes and dialogues. -Story: I'm sorry but the story is just great: better than the 12th and the 10th which i consider very good games despite the many This is a very good game. I've been wating for it since its first announce in 2006 and it's the reason why I bought a PS3 that year. -Presentation: Awsome. Maybe the best i've ever seen as in Uncharted 2. Impressive cutscenes and dialogues. -Story: I'm sorry but the story is just great: better than the 12th and the 10th which i consider very good games despite the many bad points they have. Characters are very deep and well described in emotions, thoughts and feelings. I could actually feel the pain in Sahz voice or in Snow's. -Combat System: the most difficult and complicated ever (just less than the one in "Resonance of Fate"). It' very dinamic: but if you don't believe me just try an Eidolon battle without the guide. -No secondary quest and exploration??? Well... it's not true. There are 65 (!!!!!) hunt tasks on Grand Pulse and all the training to have final weapons and all Cristallium filled. In 30 hours you arrive to chapter 11, right, but it doesn't mean you'll end the story in 35 hours! you do still have 20 hours -at least- to spend and enjoy. -No towns!!! true but... wat was the need to have towns? here the story NEEDS to take place OUT of towns and... to be honest... Palompolum and Nautilus for me where enough (3 hours of play) compared to all towns in FF12. -Linear??? yes but it has to be like that. Bosses are so challenging at the end that you need 30 hours of trainig on optima change if you don't wanna die immediatly. -Final Comment: Final Fantasy 13 worths the money you spend 100%. It's an awsome game with no tecnichal imperfections as Mass Effect 2 and it's not easy. Story and characters are great as the dubbling and cutscenes. And don't forget the best combat system ever! PS: sorry for the Eng writing but it's not my first language.… Expand
  84. ninja_dolphin
    Feb 8, 2013
    7
    A game that excels in some areas and fails in others leaving a pretty mixed experience. The graphics are gorgeous and the locales you visit are incredible to look at. The score for the game is great as expected from a final fantasy game and the story, while not the best in the series was fairly interesting if a little complicated. The characters are mainly likable and the cast is certainlyA game that excels in some areas and fails in others leaving a pretty mixed experience. The graphics are gorgeous and the locales you visit are incredible to look at. The score for the game is great as expected from a final fantasy game and the story, while not the best in the series was fairly interesting if a little complicated. The characters are mainly likable and the cast is certainly better than the crew from final fantasy X. The main problem is the battle system feels too shallow and doesn't require any strategy except changing formations every once in a while. I didn't really have that much of a problem with the battle system but it did become extremely boring while fighting bosses with large amounts of HP. The main problem I have with this game is for what I played it was a massive straight line which I hated since I loved the world they created but couldn't explore or talk to NPCs. Very much a battle focused game which I wasn't a fan of. I appreciate that it opens up about 30 hours into the game but I can't be bothered to slog through 30 hours of this game to get to the 'good part'.… Expand
  85. Bulbotrax
    Jul 18, 2019
    0
    everything in this crappy game is badly done: the script is stupid (what drives lightning and hope is dumb), the gameplay sucks (it's only corridor with silly fight, and the battle system is a shame), the music is poor , the designs are ugly... a shame for square.
  86. Steyraus
    Mar 17, 2023
    10
    FF fans are just whiney babies at this point. How you can luv 10 but hate 13 is Insane and moronic. 15 got the same negativity from jrgs players even though it's amazing.
  87. Unhyper
    Feb 6, 2015
    7
    The battle system is great, but the world is lifeless. My first FF was FFVII, and I keep going back to it because you have so much freedom in it. You can travel almost anywhere whenever you like, you can enter houses and talk to NPCs, and many of them not only have interesting things to say but their dialogue also changes depending on where you are in the game's story.

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

    From FFX onward, not only have the worlds become increasingly less accessible beyond the scripted track, but Square has increased the recycling of assets: less different NPC designs, and just copy and paste the same ones everywhere. Both of these factors, in my opinion, do more injury to immersion than an incoherent story.    … Expand
  88. egoBorder
    Aug 9, 2021
    4
    Certainly the worst in the series. This game has a ton of problems (alongside some genuinely great ideas) but the most urgent one is the story and writing. The entire game feels like it was written by a teenager trying to impress an infant. But not only are the themes uninteresting, the dialogue is rotten too. It makes it hard to latch onto any of the characters, so you're just stuckCertainly the worst in the series. This game has a ton of problems (alongside some genuinely great ideas) but the most urgent one is the story and writing. The entire game feels like it was written by a teenager trying to impress an infant. But not only are the themes uninteresting, the dialogue is rotten too. It makes it hard to latch onto any of the characters, so you're just stuck with people you don't like on an adventure you won't enjoy. Gameplay? Well, the game id the very definition of the word "linear." Most progression is locked behind the story, so it is literally impossible to understand the mechanics fully until near the end of the game. Like, the last 5% of the game so I hope you're patient. And the game world appears interesting but you only experience it in long corridors, making it impossible to connect to it as a location. Bizarre choices like this make FF13 a charmless experience, save for a few quality aspects like the soundtrack. None but the most curious need apply.… Expand
  89. JrDouble
    Dec 20, 2022
    8
    Good Final Fantasy game overall. Very linear compared with XII, but a good looking game, solid voice acting, and interesting story.
  90. ZRHILDE
    Apr 6, 2023
    10
    Un gioco davvero bello con un sistema di combattimento innovativo sottovalutatissimo durante la sua uscita e rivalutato per fortuna con l avvento del game pass
  91. nmaxw63
    Jan 14, 2011
    4
    What a waste of money. Only a FF fanboy could like this drivel.
    Amazing graphics. Silly story. Mindless combat (kept waiting 4 combat 2 get interesting). Annoying cliched characters. Good voice acting.
    Worst rpg in long time. Dragon Age is way better. Hell, Eternal Sonata is better (combat has element of strategy).
  92. 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
  93. sharkpro
    Sep 21, 2011
    1
    Major disappointments with this game. It doesn't live up to expectations from the previous series. Boring storyline, gameplay, game design, linear straight path for the most part of the game. A real disappointments for those buying a ps3 just for this game.
  94. FantasyFanatic
    May 5, 2012
    1
    Even though this Final Fantasy game has beautiful graphics and breathtaking locations it cannot save this entry from being one of the worst. The game structure is too linear and it keeps the game from being any fun. There are no towns, no overworld, no gameplay variety and barely any NPC's (non-player characters) and when the game starts to open up the game you will already have almostEven though this Final Fantasy game has beautiful graphics and breathtaking locations it cannot save this entry from being one of the worst. The game structure is too linear and it keeps the game from being any fun. There are no towns, no overworld, no gameplay variety and barely any NPC's (non-player characters) and when the game starts to open up the game you will already have almost completed the game so when it comes to this it is one of those "too little too late" situations...it really upset me. Combat gets way too hard especially the boss fights the bosses feel almost invincible and you will spend hours using the crystarium and upgrading your weapons just to get past a boss, the lack of control in battle is also infuriating because you can only control one character during battle and once the character you are controlling dies then it's Game Over. The story is also problematic all it is is just a bunch of cutscenes crammed together and in turn it makes it feel too much like a long boring movie than a game that is supposed to be enjoyed. Plot twists, characters, and story development are badly done they are predictable and cliche and they screw up in more ways than one. I have been a RPG and Final Fantasy nut for a long time but this entry takes the cake this game does not live up to any of the series standards (apart from the graphics). Whatever Square Enix is doing they driving the series in a bad direction with this entry I had high hopes but they have been crushed big time. If you are a fan of older entries like Final Fantasy 5, 6 or even 7 you are better off playing those but whatever you do avoid this Final Fantasy game at all costs I beg of you.… Expand
  95. dz9
    Jul 22, 2011
    3
    Starting off my review, I must say that the reason why I give this so low of a score is not because Square made changes to FF that took the franchise in a different direction... it's because the changes they made were terrible. I understand Square has to evolve FF to a more action styled experience to accomodate to the times and to compete with bioware games... so it was no surpriseStarting off my review, I must say that the reason why I give this so low of a score is not because Square made changes to FF that took the franchise in a different direction... it's because the changes they made were terrible. I understand Square has to evolve FF to a more action styled experience to accomodate to the times and to compete with bioware games... so it was no surprise that the turn based style was more active. Although they evolved the game, they should not have completely left everything that made FF so special; guided yet open exploring, deep engaging characters, incredible story, immersive world, and strategic gameplay... And only one of those was even close to being fulfilled. The characters were all cliche's: Lightning was the tom-boy, Fang was the clone of Lightning, Hope was the vulnerable child, Snow is the jar-head, Panille is the free spirit, and Sazh is the only character who contains depth. That is honestly all they tell you about the characters, and that's also all you need to know. As for story, the story was not BAD, mainly because it wasn't even really there, the story is vague and barely engaging at all, and the pacing is awful. The only real story development is actually character development, which I have already stated that the characters are uninteresting empty shells. As for the open world? Simply put...THERE IS NONE. The world the game puts you in looks nice enough and on the exterior seems amazing but due to the lack of characters, story, and the extremely linear feel of the game... the seemingly awesome world is reduced to nothing. The gameplay is really the only place the game shows innovation. Don't get me wrong, it's far from perfect, but for Square's first "crack at it," it presents a good milestone for them to improve and perfect in later titles. The main drawback to the gameplay is the level up system, you are held back to "level up" by milestones in the story. Example: You cant excede level 1 warrior until you reach the next chapter even though you have enough crystal points. And for the game mechanic titled "Paradigm," it promotes side jobs but the level up system punishes you for venturing into side-jobs... it's extremely counter intuitive. For example: For Lightning to level up her warrior to level 1 costs 10,000..... but for Lightning to level up Sentinel to level 1, will cost 1,000,000. This by itself does not RUIN the combat , but all the minor flaws with the combat do add up. The Good: Although graphics are nothing more than scenery, the game is gorgeous and presents a lot of detail in design. And square does-in-fact show a few innovative ideas which however werent entirely capitalized on. The Bad: Simply put... Square takes away everything that FF fans and RPG fans alike would expect. If this game was any other RPG game, i would give the game a 5.5/10, because it does have a few fun moments and amazing graphics. But for the final fantasy game it was suppose to be, it's barely worth a rent at redbox… Expand
  96. RichardD
    Mar 14, 2010
    7
    The good is the somewhat fun/fast, if not simplified, combat system. Gorgeous graphics from the environments and character detail to the incredible CG sequences. Story starts off confusing and weak. The characters have a irritatingly massive lack of self-awareness. First 11 chapters (25 hours or so in and there are only 13 chapters in the game) are essentially riding on a rail and using The good is the somewhat fun/fast, if not simplified, combat system. Gorgeous graphics from the environments and character detail to the incredible CG sequences. Story starts off confusing and weak. The characters have a irritatingly massive lack of self-awareness. First 11 chapters (25 hours or so in and there are only 13 chapters in the game) are essentially riding on a rail and using the Auto-battle button. Linearity and pacing is further restricted by the lack of towns, explorable areas, and character build customization. Summons have an uninspiring part in the story and the lackluster amount of classic summons is a personal major drawback. Few or no side-quests or mini-games compared to previous Final Fantasy installments. Soundtrack feels nonexistent using primarily one song for the majority of the cut scenes and no memorable tunes from battles or boss battles. For more Final Fantasy 13 is a step back for the Final Fantasy series I've come to enjoy it over the many installments.… Expand
  97. Joseph
    Apr 12, 2010
    7
    I've been playing Final Fantasy since the original NES release 23 years ago, and while FF13 was great in moments, I found the overall presentation fell flat on its face. The good points: The production values (as is expected from SE) were extremely high, the graphics were gorgeous particularly the cutscenes. The battle system was pretty solid but it took entirely too long for it to I've been playing Final Fantasy since the original NES release 23 years ago, and while FF13 was great in moments, I found the overall presentation fell flat on its face. The good points: The production values (as is expected from SE) were extremely high, the graphics were gorgeous particularly the cutscenes. The battle system was pretty solid but it took entirely too long for it to get fleshed out and no, I'm not just complaining because I can't let go of the older system. I liked how things were generally streamlined actually. I liked the personalities of the characters, and the voice acting wasn't terrible but... well that leads me to the bad: The story was terrible. Not only was the story bad, but the pacing of it absolutely killed the momentum of the game. I can think of several FF titles that were so engaging and story driven that I couldn't wait to make it through. With FF13... I just wanted it to be over. No direction, too much "well, gee, I guess we should like finish our Focus ... or not, idk." Spira (FFX) felt like a real place with a rich history and culture; FFXIII never comes even close to achieving this. I think a lot of the flaws could've been solved by not starting the story midway through and spent 75% of the game telling the story in reverse; it totally kills the pacing of the narrative. Surely they could've found a better way to present this... the potential was certainly there, even if it smacked of FFX and FFT's "humans defying the demi-gods and their own fate". Anyways, the combat and graphics saved the game from a lower score; 7 is being extremely generous... I can really only suggest this to RPG fans because there are so few decent J-RPGs being made these days. Otherwise... don't bother.… Expand
  98. AngelV.
    Mar 22, 2010
    8
    Some people may hate this game for the change from the old final fantasy elements, but FF has always been a changing franchise, and FFXIII is no exception. It's not the best of the series, but with the 70 hours I have logged in; I have seriously had fun with the battle system and the missions of Gran Pulse. Personally, I think the only thing that may annoy you is the linearity. You Some people may hate this game for the change from the old final fantasy elements, but FF has always been a changing franchise, and FFXIII is no exception. It's not the best of the series, but with the 70 hours I have logged in; I have seriously had fun with the battle system and the missions of Gran Pulse. Personally, I think the only thing that may annoy you is the linearity. You may hate more, but that's for you to decide. If you've never tried a Final Fantasy before, I suggest renting as FFXIII is highly difficult and was perhaps targeted for veterans of the series.… Expand
  99. Ogr
    Feb 26, 2014
    1
    Seriously, is this a joke? It's not only the worst Final Fantasy ever, it might be the worst RPG on PS3 and 360. How could things go so wrong for SE? A poor world, poor Story, poor Gameplay and poor Characters. Just nothing really good about it. Sounds like trolling or nerd-rage, but it's just how I really see it.
  100. 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.
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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

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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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