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. ozarmidrashim
    Jul 24, 2011
    1
    To put in simple, this is not a final fantasy, this is not even a jgdr.
    There is no exploration, no freedom in character upgrade, no strategy, no city, no secondary mission, is only a long, very long highway.
    The combat system is spectacular but very ripetive, you can win almost battle with the same formation, with one button only. you may need just one or two more formation for the boss    To put in simple, this is not a final fantasy, this is not even a jgdr.
    There is no exploration, no freedom in character upgrade, no strategy, no city, no secondary mission, is only a long, very long highway.
    The combat system is spectacular but very ripetive, you can win almost battle with the same formation, with one button only. you may need just one or two more formation for the boss battle. The gameplay is surprisingly linear and in the end very boring besides the the difficulty of the game is too low.
    The characters don't leave you anything and soon you forget them, especially they are very poor if you compare with the glorious character of the past (cloud, terra, tidus).
    The story may be attractive but is too confused and the characters with there poor dialogues don't help.
    Is my personal opinion but i believe that this game don't offer anything beyond the graphycs, is better replay the real Fianal Fantasy, FFVI-VII-VIII-IX-X, the game of the squaresoft.
    Probably the Final fantasy Saga, the real Final fantasy games, is dead.

    PS sorry for my English.    … Expand
  2. pdhenrique3
    Mar 19, 2012
    1
    GRAPHICS ARE THE MINOR ASPECT OF A GOOD RPG GAME. Final Fantasy XIII is not a RPG game for me and another million of FF fans. Yes, the graphics made stop playing and stare at the scenario many times, but this is it. The development system SUCKS, It's linear, there is no "level-up". You can't talk to people (actually there are not so many people around to try to speak with). The game is soGRAPHICS ARE THE MINOR ASPECT OF A GOOD RPG GAME. Final Fantasy XIII is not a RPG game for me and another million of FF fans. Yes, the graphics made stop playing and stare at the scenario many times, but this is it. The development system SUCKS, It's linear, there is no "level-up". You can't talk to people (actually there are not so many people around to try to speak with). The game is so linear that if someone who never played Final Fantasy before plays it will call it an ACTION game. WHAT HAPPENED TO ALL THE MAGICS AND THE KNOWN MONSTERS?!?! The battle system is different, but far, VERY FAR from better than the older series. Side mission? What side mission?! Ah, you mean that cieth stones... Come on... What were they thinking about while they were developing this game?!?! There are no SHOPs, no INNs, only some F%$#&* flying computers where you do everything. Where is that epic harp melody that everybody loves on the Main Menu?! I can't tell more, it's frustrating, I can't believe it, the SquareEnix killed it... You you are a FF fan, pretend this game never existed at all... I gave it 1 only for the graphics, but a prefer to play Final Fantasy 2 on NES than this one...… Expand
  3. sirojasb
    Jan 22, 2013
    0
    this game it´s the most dissapointing installment of the series since the playstation era, the gameplay it´s not enjoyable at all, the character development it´s boring, the soundtrack it´s well produced, but it´s far behind from emotions that can bring uematsu´s soundtracks. There are a bit of memorable moment´s, what saves the game is itsthis game it´s the most dissapointing installment of the series since the playstation era, the gameplay it´s not enjoyable at all, the character development it´s boring, the soundtrack it´s well produced, but it´s far behind from emotions that can bring uematsu´s soundtracks. There are a bit of memorable moment´s, what saves the game is its impeccable production and presentation. Gameplay linear, boring and frustrating which only makes sense in the middle of the game until the end… Expand
  4. JayS
    Mar 17, 2010
    9
    i'm a 100% ff fanboy no game gives me more hours of fun then final fantasy's.. for me 10 & 7 were my favourites and obviously i can't expect them to stick to the same routines lvl up, towns, run around spawning endlessly fights .. well all that said this game is totally different i've play maybe 6-7 hours and the graphics are brilliant as you would expect the story i'm a 100% ff fanboy no game gives me more hours of fun then final fantasy's.. for me 10 & 7 were my favourites and obviously i can't expect them to stick to the same routines lvl up, towns, run around spawning endlessly fights .. well all that said this game is totally different i've play maybe 6-7 hours and the graphics are brilliant as you would expect the story line is a little dull battle system is average but treat this game as a new rpg and not a final fantasy game and it makes it feel alot better.… Expand
  5. Novi4ekNone
    Mar 10, 2010
    9
    good game
  6. ThowraL
    Apr 8, 2010
    8
    As someone who's never played any of the FF games before, I have to say I don't mind the linearity the slightest bit. In fact, I rather liked. It saved me time worrying over, 'oh crap, I forgot to go to so so's house, did I miss out on anything important?' It was nice having a direct goal in sight, with a path completely traced out for you. The only thing I As someone who's never played any of the FF games before, I have to say I don't mind the linearity the slightest bit. In fact, I rather liked. It saved me time worrying over, 'oh crap, I forgot to go to so so's house, did I miss out on anything important?' It was nice having a direct goal in sight, with a path completely traced out for you. The only thing I don't like is the amount and length of cutscenes. I felt like I was watching some really long movie, and not playing a game. Other than that, it's great.… Expand
  7. RockmanX20
    Mar 15, 2010
    10
    I am a old school Final Fantasy Player. I have played the original on the NES and have continued on all of the American Versions. I have retired on Final Fantasy and haven't played seriously since Final Fantasy 7. After about 13 years, I decided to play this one and I am extremely happy with it so far. I am about 10 hrs into the game and I recognize this highly as being Final I am a old school Final Fantasy Player. I have played the original on the NES and have continued on all of the American Versions. I have retired on Final Fantasy and haven't played seriously since Final Fantasy 7. After about 13 years, I decided to play this one and I am extremely happy with it so far. I am about 10 hrs into the game and I recognize this highly as being Final Fantasy. People say that this game is linear, but this must be the new generation of kids talking. Every Final Fantasy has been linear(at least what I played so far) and I have no problem with them telling me the story. The real treat is in the fighting system. The fighting system is AWESOME! I love the Paradigm system and how it requires you to switch between different Paradigms to beat your enemies. It's all so fast pace, yet it's still turn based. Music so far is wonderful and the graphics are very detailed, not quite Uncharted level, but it's great.… Expand
  8. Diogenes4evr
    Mar 14, 2011
    7
    After 70 hours I really wanted to hate this game but I can't. It's a long way from perfect (other than graphically) the story needed some clarification and some more character development wouldn't have been a bad thing. The battle system while responsive was a bit oversimplified for every battle but the major bosses and the stats adding was far too linear. As I played though I grewAfter 70 hours I really wanted to hate this game but I can't. It's a long way from perfect (other than graphically) the story needed some clarification and some more character development wouldn't have been a bad thing. The battle system while responsive was a bit oversimplified for every battle but the major bosses and the stats adding was far too linear. As I played though I grew attached to the characters and the story does have merit the surroundings change although they have to considering the linearity. Not perfect but if you like JRPGs pick it up.… Expand
  9. Chaeote
    Feb 24, 2013
    7
    I'm not going to go into great detail here, as there's already plenty of that.

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

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

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

    Now, pros and cons:

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

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

    That being said, I am gonna play FF13-2 still, see if the changes they made catches my attention, especially since just looking at the titles of the articles on gameFAQ makes it look there's actually side quests and mini-games.    … Expand
  10. archonome
    Feb 16, 2014
    1
    Do yourself a favor... stop caring about graphics and go play FF7,FF8,FF9.

    This game was a huge let down...but I expected this after FF10. This isn't a Final Fantasy Game, they should give it a new name. 1. No overworld map 2. Unlovable characters 3. Overly Feminine characters, Emos everywhere 4. Overly complex story that doesn't make any sense Basically, this game lacks the    Do yourself a favor... stop caring about graphics and go play FF7,FF8,FF9.

    This game was a huge let down...but I expected this after FF10.

    This isn't a Final Fantasy Game, they should give it a new name.

    1. No overworld map
    2. Unlovable characters
    3. Overly Feminine characters, Emos everywhere
    4. Overly complex story that doesn't make any sense

    Basically, this game lacks the atmosphere of the previous FF series... it doesn't have the Charm anymore.

    Rule #1 of FF games: You must have an outstanding Story and the Main characters must be EPIC.... "lightning" lol what a joke.    … Expand
  11. Aelvir
    Aug 19, 2015
    4
    It is straight-on insulting to be considered an RPG. The battle system is nothing more than a dummed-down pseudo real-time battle system. In the sense that its just turnbased while they move around on their own. And the worst of all is they restrict you to only one person to control. You can only control the party leader but guess what? You can choose who the party leader is. ..near theIt is straight-on insulting to be considered an RPG. The battle system is nothing more than a dummed-down pseudo real-time battle system. In the sense that its just turnbased while they move around on their own. And the worst of all is they restrict you to only one person to control. You can only control the party leader but guess what? You can choose who the party leader is. ..near the end of the game. Whoop-de-freakin' do. And Masashi Hamauzu does god-awful music in this. Blinded By Light is the only thing remotely close to decent song in the game. We couldn't have Takeharu Ishimoto do the music again? No, no, we had to put this random guy no one knows of. The game layout is nothing more than a straight hallway. It's even more insulting that SQUARE thought this would sell and not Saga 3 DS, saying Saga 3 wouldn't sell very well That's a pure insult .Play FFXII or Saga 3. They are far better.… Expand
  12. SnowDay
    Oct 11, 2015
    7
    What can I say about Final Fantasy XIII that hasn't already been said? Yes, the game is very linear, there is no world map, and the story is deep, yet empty. However, the battle system is quite intriguing and the graphics are incredible. Final Fantasy XIII's tag line should be: "Well, it's still better than XII".
  13. DeepDive
    Dec 20, 2012
    7
    in retrospect this is not the greatest nor it is critically acclaim as the previous entries however this does not mean it is a bad game, while it certainly has it flaws (I mean what game doesn't?). Many of the game's shortcoming can be heard from the fans that are dissatisfied with the game, most notably that it's infamous for it's lack of immersive exploration and story-wise filled within retrospect this is not the greatest nor it is critically acclaim as the previous entries however this does not mean it is a bad game, while it certainly has it flaws (I mean what game doesn't?). Many of the game's shortcoming can be heard from the fans that are dissatisfied with the game, most notably that it's infamous for it's lack of immersive exploration and story-wise filled with confusion terminology and obnoxious characters. While on these sectors it falls flat, there are other elements which stands out crediting the fast-pace combat, the well designed environments which for an outdated engine (that's running on the Crystal Tools) still looks visually absorbing and the cg cinematic which invigorated many past final fantasy. While the FFXIII is not necessary abhorrent as many fan many fan has describe, it is still one of the weakest title in the series and may disappoint many die-hard fan of the the turn-base genre.… Expand
  14. Tridus
    May 20, 2011
    4
    This game got high praise because of its name, and because it's got very shiny graphics. As a game, it fails. Player involvement is minimal, and uninteresting when it does actually need you. There's no exploration at all, and for most of the game not even a need to go any direction other then forward. As a corridor simulation it's great, though.
  15. KnucklestheEchidna
    Mar 9, 2010
    10
    Very few games I've played can match up to the quality gaming Final Fantasy XIII. The linear complaints ae all empty, as the linearty helps you understand the plot and gameplay. The battle system is by far the best and most ineractive in a Final Fantasy. The plot will suck you in, and, by the time you've beaten the game, you'll want to do it all over again. The characters Very few games I've played can match up to the quality gaming Final Fantasy XIII. The linear complaints ae all empty, as the linearty helps you understand the plot and gameplay. The battle system is by far the best and most ineractive in a Final Fantasy. The plot will suck you in, and, by the time you've beaten the game, you'll want to do it all over again. The characters are, with a few exceptions, are well-explained and interesting, though maybe not the best. the graphics? This game is a techinical milestone for the entire gaming industry, as teh environment, character, and enemies are so beautiful you WILL try to walk into the TV due to the realism. Hands down, this is the best Final fantasy ever. If you're an RPG fan, or a fan of action games, or a gamer in general, try out Final Fantasy XIII. You may be disappointed due to the linearty in the first half, but other than that, you'll love it.… Expand
  16. DustinW
    Mar 9, 2010
    10
    Ok, I am getting sick and tired of the prototype critic out there nowadays. This game is a classic, it has all the same elements that previous Final Fantasy games had, with beefed up graphics, how this can get rated worse then a 9/10 makes no sense to me. Everyone needs to get out of there blood spilling first person shooter/action game mode, and remember what a good RPG is.
  17. JamesB.
    Apr 20, 2010
    9
    This game is gorgeous, fun, inventive, and really is the best RPG series ever. Though, the only thing that confused me was the fact there was no multiplayer. the AI is good and all, but i would have liked to add in at least one friend to help me, but its just a small problem. i havnt played the entire thing, and i will do another review to overview the entire thing, i just think there This game is gorgeous, fun, inventive, and really is the best RPG series ever. Though, the only thing that confused me was the fact there was no multiplayer. the AI is good and all, but i would have liked to add in at least one friend to help me, but its just a small problem. i havnt played the entire thing, and i will do another review to overview the entire thing, i just think there should be a multiplayer, see u guys later in another review.… Expand
  18. Laggron1111
    Apr 19, 2017
    0
    Final Fantasy XIII is a very bad Final Fantasy. This game is not interesting. The characters are really boring.
    The scenario is very bad. It's the worst Final Fantasy .
  19. qu4nt0
    Nov 14, 2014
    0
    This is the worst video-game I have ever played in my life. First of all there is no challenge, 90% of the game is just about walking narrow paths and have boring fights with enemies.
    Second the fights are more boring than in previous Final Fantasy games, because the system is doing everything for you. You basically just have to choose a class and the Game is doing the rest of the fight.    This is the worst video-game I have ever played in my life. First of all there is no challenge, 90% of the game is just about walking narrow paths and have boring fights with enemies.
    Second the fights are more boring than in previous Final Fantasy games, because the system is doing everything for you. You basically just have to choose a class and the Game is doing the rest of the fight.
    Please don't buy this video-game.    … Expand
  20. Myst
    Apr 16, 2010
    10
    It may not be a 10, but I can't bring myself to give it a 9. Beautiful look, fast pace fun battle, interesting story line. I haven't played that many FF games, but this has to be a benchmark in the FF series.
  21. TonyA
    Mar 12, 2010
    10
    Lets be honest, anyone who gives this game a bad score, has done so because it is a new direction for Final Fantasy. People expected something different. To me, the battle system has the feel of the old turn based FFs but faster, much faster., and the reason you control one character only is purely to keep the intense pace of the action running. It is a masterpiece of graphical art, the Lets be honest, anyone who gives this game a bad score, has done so because it is a new direction for Final Fantasy. People expected something different. To me, the battle system has the feel of the old turn based FFs but faster, much faster., and the reason you control one character only is purely to keep the intense pace of the action running. It is a masterpiece of graphical art, the loading times are virtually none existant, and the story, fighting and cutscenes blend so well. There are many linear games out there that get top scores, this one is a frantic, beautiful, incredible piece of software in its own right, and is unmistakebly, still, a Final Fantasy game.… Expand
  22. DougBefell
    May 2, 2011
    5
    This could have been oh so much better. The graphics are astonishing. Backgrounds are truly pleasing to the eye, and you'll find yourself, even 50 hours in, just rotating the camera and taking in the sights. The battle system is good. Not fantastic, not what Square wanted, either (Battles of equivalent excitement to Advent Children), but it's really interesting for about 35 hours. (thisThis could have been oh so much better. The graphics are astonishing. Backgrounds are truly pleasing to the eye, and you'll find yourself, even 50 hours in, just rotating the camera and taking in the sights. The battle system is good. Not fantastic, not what Square wanted, either (Battles of equivalent excitement to Advent Children), but it's really interesting for about 35 hours. (this game has a ridiculously slow and tedious learning curve, not putting much trust in the player.) Unfortunately, you'll be spending at least half of your time with very unpleasant and unlikeable characters. All they do is whine, have irrational flashes of anger, and pout. During loading screens, a scroll tells you what the characters are feeling, and why they're acting so poorly. Ever hear of 'show, don't tell,' Square? Voice actors are OK, with the massive exception of Vanille, who spends the entire game making little gasps, grunts and sighs. It is embarrassing. I am serious. No matter the levity or gravity of a situation, Vanille's reaction will be some sort of awful giggle, or moan. The plot doesn't go anywhere for the first 30 hours of the game. It just meanders as the characters all slowly grow up and decide to act like decent human beings. Only Sasz and Fang act decently. Vanille probably does too, but it's impossible to get over the voice acting. The bosses, and villains of the game stink. They have paper-thin motivations, and are cackling 'mu ha ha ha' stereotypes. The various gameplay systems are not nearly deep enough for a game of this length, they are hideously dumbed down. But I keep coming back to the characters. I didn't want to spend even an hour with them, why would I want to spend 70? Square failed in every conceivable way with this plot. It bores us with its lack of direction. It annoys us with its self-pitying 'heroes' by circumstance only. You will spend half of your time with this game bored and annoyed. Worst of all, this doesn't feel like a Final Fantasy game, and I've never really felt that of one of the core titles before. There are chocobos.... The spell names and some item names are familiar... that's it.

    In the end, I played this game for two reasons: it was a graphical showcase for my new-to-me PS3. And I played it out of obligation, like many old Square fans. No more. Square has been living off the legacy of FFVI, Chrono Trigger, and FFVII for far too long. I've played exactly two Square games worth playing in the last decade (that wasn't a re-release): The World Ends With You, and Final Fantasy XII (and hey, they fired the director of that game). I'm done. Every Bioware game, or Shin Megami Tensei/Persona game, I've played has been better than all the Square games of the last decade combined. That's coming from someone for whom FFVI is still the best game ever, who used to be a giant Square fanboy. Don't reward Square's awful, juvenile, melodramatic, garbage storytelling with your money anymore. This game is not good. This game's story is a catastrophe.    … Expand
  23. JoshS
    Mar 14, 2010
    9
    I love movies so much more than games. I do, however, love Final Fantasy games more than all of the movies in the world. Why? Because to me, getting to know and love a cast of characters for 40+ hours is so much more impactful than after 2 hours. Yeah, a multi-entry saga like The Lord of the Rings can have a serious impact after its total 10+ hours of film, but it still can't come I love movies so much more than games. I do, however, love Final Fantasy games more than all of the movies in the world. Why? Because to me, getting to know and love a cast of characters for 40+ hours is so much more impactful than after 2 hours. Yeah, a multi-entry saga like The Lord of the Rings can have a serious impact after its total 10+ hours of film, but it still can't come close to emulating the emotional satisfaction I feel when I complete a Final Fantasy game. It's been nearly a decade since I've experienced this. Final Fantasy X was the last entry in the series that I consider to be a "real" FF (Final Fantasy). FFX is also what first inspired me to pursue storytelling and animation as a career. It's definitely one of the greatest stories ever told, and without a doubt, my personal favorite story. Ever. Imagine my anticipation for the coming of what appeared to be the first "real" entry to the series in nine years! Finally, another FFX! By the way, all FF games are completely self contained and featured unique worlds, characters and stories. Only a few elements carry over to each, giving it a familiar, yet entirely original feel. So, did it meet my expectations? Well, I'm pretty sure that would be impossible. It is, however, a great game. Unfortunately it's not one of the stronger entries. Luckily, Final Fantasy XIII is far greater than the sum of its parts. The futuristic city world of Cocoon floats above the abandoned wilderness of Pulse.Hovering above the wilderness of the world called Pulse is Cocoon, a self contained human paradise. It was created by the god-like beings known as fal'Cie (pronounced fal-see) to protect humans from the dangers of Pulse. The fal'Cie would occasionally deem a human their servant, which would be known as a l'Cie (pronounced luh-see). If the l'Cie falied his (or her) "focus" or took too long to complete it, he would turn into a cie'Th (pronounced seeth). If success was achieved, he would turn into crystal and gain "eternal life." To humans, either fate was worse than death itself. In Cocoon, there was no need for l'Cie, in fact nobody had been turned into a l'Cie in hundreds of years. They were deemed myth, and everything of Pulse origin was feared and loathed. When six Cocoon citizens are turned into l'Cie by a Pulse fal'Cie, they are labeled enemies of their home, Cocoon. Can they defy their fate? Final Fantasy games are story-centric. They always follow a similar formula, too. A group of unlikely heroes must band together to topple some form of corrupt government, which usually leads to the reveal and pursuit of a much higher, world-threatening power. Nearly every entry in the series has done a great job of keeping that concept completely original and fresh. The members of the creative team at Square-Enix are expert storytellers. They've proven it time and again. It's a little unfortunate that the first time it comes across slightly stale (at least when compared to their enormously positive track record) is with the first game whose level of production matches that of CG movies (thanks to the PS3). It really does have an INCREDIBLE story at it's core, but the way in which it's told certainly isn't as masterfully crafted as its predecessors. The world is deep and vast, and once I finally got a grasp on what had been going on behind the scenes, all of the seemingly aimless segments of the game's plot fell in to place. Still, some plot aspects seemed awkwardly forced, as if the great cast of characters were constantly being thrown into situations that the writers deemed "had to happen." It's not always like this, as there are a few multi-hour segments that feature some of the best storytelling in the series. Outside of the cutscene-featured plot I also had to read many entries of the "datalog" to really appreciate the world and story. This is something I really loved. Similar to the appendices at the end of The Lord of the Rings, the datalog provides a vast amount of information about the deep workings of the huge world Square-Enix created. Unfortunately, a lot of this game's players simply aren't going to take the time to read it, and will therefore miss out on a LOT of the game's inner plot. Although it's a great addition to the game, I really wish a bit more of it had been worked into the cutscenes to make the plot flow a bit better. A few slow areas and forced events aside, FFXIII really does have a great story. It's really the characters that make it work. They are some of the best characters in the series. They're endearing, relatable, and by the time I reached the end they had become an active part of my life. Yeah, they start out as jerks and have some seriously messed up motivation, but the realization of their own flaws just makes them that much more relatable. I became incredibly involved in their struggle to defy their fate. On many occasions I found myself yelling at the bosses I was fighting because I was so furious at what they were putting my dear friends through! And now it's all over. I miss them already! Complementing the story is a fantastic battle system. A heavily evolved version of the classic turn-based combat the series founded two decades ago really takes the gameplay in a great new direction. Rather than inputting the commands of each party member and waiting for your next turn while enemies wallop you, the player controls only the party leader in a seemingly real-time experience. You enter manual commands (multiple chained abilities per-turn) while also actively switching sets of "roles" for your party to fit the current situation. The system really puts you in control of the tactical flow of the battle, rather than having you input every single command. It takes a LOT of strategy, especially since the battles are moving incredibly fast. The handy "auto-battle" command sounds like a cheap way to let the game play itself, but it's honestly a life saver. The complex battle system can be excruciatingly punishing at times, but that just makes it all the more rewarding. Leveling through the Crystarium (a simplified version of FFX's sphere-grid leveling system) is also a welcome change to simply gaining level-ups after a battle. It allows some freedom to choose which roles you develop for each character. There's also a fancy weapon/accessory customization feature. As far as level design goes...Yeah, it's linear. Linearity doesn't really bother me as long as there's a great story driving me. I mean do many gamers seriously enjoy getting lost? Not me! During some of the plot's slower chapters I did start to notice just how claustrophobic and narrow some areas could be, but it did little to detract from how beautiful the scenery is. The narrow corridors do have one huge benefit. When you finally make it down to Pulse, the reveal of the open landscapes and natural environments rank among my absolute favorite moments in gaming history. It's just so liberating! The game looks and sounds great. No need to elaborate much here. It may not be as visually impressive as Uncharted 2, but it's got a level of polish that generally isn't seen in a game. There are tons of changes in scenery, each containing equal attention to detail. The character models, however, are hands down the best seen in a game. Ever. Best facial animation, best motion capture, best hair...You name it, FFXIII wins. Prerendered FMV's (full motion videos) are also the best ever seen. and run in full 1080p on the PS3. The music is also fantastic and memorable, despite a few tracks that seriously don't fit the mood well (harmonica solo...). Oh, and the voice acting is top-notch. It adds yet another layer of believability to these incredibly human characters. It may seem like I'm tearing the game apart, but it's really just nitpicking. Though I wasn't entirely thrilled with the experience while I was playing, it now all blends into a single fantastic memory. If I had never played a Final Fantasy game and then dove straight into FFXIII, I would probably call it the greatest game ever made. The team at Square-Enix has made so many absolute masterpieces that even a game like FFXIII, which I consider to be one of the greatest games of the current console generation, will come across a tad disappointing when compared to FFVII, FFIX and FFX. It really is a masterpiece. It's just that I've come to expect nothing short of perfection from Square. FFXIII makes a number of missteps; some large and some small, but for each of the game's downsides, there are many upsides that blow all games in recent memory out of the water. In the end, the game comes to such a satisfying climax that my mixed reactions of the past 45+ hours all instantly melded into a single, complete memory of fondness and love. Go in with an open mind and I assure you that an incredibly satisfying fantasy epic awaits you. Overview: Pros: +Has a great story at is core. +Endearing, relatable characters. +Fantastic character backstory, development and drama. +Top-notch voice acting. +English lip-sync! +Cutscenes are beautiful and are at the same production level as a CG movie. +Emotionally investing and rewarding. +Satisfying ending. +Some great and memorable music. +Epic. +Enthralling action scenes. +Pretty scenery. +Nice art direction. +Exploring Pulse is fun. +Deep and involving battle system. +Incredibly addicting. It makes the hours pass like minutes. Literally. I played for 22 hours straight at one point and it felt like 5. +Challenging difficulty once it gets going. +Incredible final bosses. +Generally impressive AI. +Tons of deep coverage on the worlds of Pulse and Cocoon in the datalog. +Snow getting punched in the face. Cons: -A few long stretches of seemingly unmotivated plot developments. -Some claustrophobic level design. -Paradigms (sets of battle roles) reset whenever characters are swapped. There seriously needed to be a "save paradigm set" feature. -AI-controlled party members don't always target the leader's target. -The great story isn't told as well as it could have been. -Lots of essential plot will be lost to players who refuse to read the datalog. -Menu animations are too slow. I wanted to click faster than it would let me. -Gameplay could use more variety. Towns to explore, sidequests other than monster hunts, more mini-games, etc. -Some music has awkward placement. -The final location in the game is really ugly. Consensus: Far greater than the sum of its parts, Final Fantasy XIII overcomes its would-be glaring flaws with great characters, a fantastically addicting battle system and a deep, complex world. There's also a great story hidden away at its core, but it might require a little extra effort to uncover it than simply watching the cutscenes. Go in with an open mind and I assure you that an incredibly satisfying fantasy epic awaits you. 9/10.… Expand
  24. JamesP.
    Mar 15, 2010
    9
    Not the best ps3 has to offer, not the finest of the series but still an incredible work of art you have to experience..I admit i had my reservations at the start (for all the known reasons) but the innovative battle system, the beautiful graphics, the tight storyline and douzines of other smaller touches won me over. Must buy!
  25. DannyV
    Mar 16, 2010
    10
    This game is definately a love-it-hate it kinda game. You either love the new, fast paced, quick acting nature of the game, or you are a fat slob living in your mom's basement who needs 78213 minutes without the enemy being able to do anything in order to have "fun" playing an RPG game. The graphics are phenomenal, and the story line is pretty good too. Good day sirs.
  26. ShawnF
    Mar 17, 2010
    9
    Honestly people, Square is never going to make another "old-school" RPG like VII-IX again, might as well accept that and move on. Catering to a wider audience makes more money and they probably won
  27. TimothyH
    Mar 19, 2010
    9
    Final Fantasy 13 is an excellent example of how JRPG's can evolve into more action-based genres and succeed. The game has managed to sell over 5 million units worldwide since the release in Japan and continues to sell in big numbers today. The story is simple and easy to understand and you can easily emphasize with the characters and their plights. The battle system requires a large Final Fantasy 13 is an excellent example of how JRPG's can evolve into more action-based genres and succeed. The game has managed to sell over 5 million units worldwide since the release in Japan and continues to sell in big numbers today. The story is simple and easy to understand and you can easily emphasize with the characters and their plights. The battle system requires a large amount of tactics and forethought before rushing headlong into battle with overpowered characters that kill everything in one hit. The music is superb, if not the most memorable. Final Fantasy is definitely a game that RPG lovers will enjoy, go out any buy it today.… Expand
  28. JamesB
    Mar 23, 2010
    9
    Simply put: This game deserves better reviews. Do not trust very low scores (I do not believe that the people who gave the low reviews even played the entire game). On the linear and lack of freedom argument: The hand holding is a minimum. By the reviews I read, I was under the impression that it was for half the game, but truthfully, it is only in the first few chapters. Also, Western Simply put: This game deserves better reviews. Do not trust very low scores (I do not believe that the people who gave the low reviews even played the entire game). On the linear and lack of freedom argument: The hand holding is a minimum. By the reviews I read, I was under the impression that it was for half the game, but truthfully, it is only in the first few chapters. Also, Western gamers seem to forget that non-linearity often creates endless glitches which require patch after patch. FFXIII was released in perfect working order and that is a lesson Western developers should learn. The entire game flows seamlessly, the quality of the textures and graphics is incredible without any errors, the orchestrated music is by far some of the best of the series and for video games in general, and the storyline still manages to be fresh and exciting. The 13th installment in the Final Fantasy franchise has been made very well but cannot impress the gore and war obsessed Western gamers.… Expand
  29. HenryJ
    Mar 26, 2010
    9
    I give this game a 9 for just being the first FF title to the PS3 platform. They did pretty well for themselves the first time around. Yes, the game was pretty linear in the beginning to end (except for Chapter 11). But I still found it to be extremely fun with the intriguing battle system that they have created to this franchise. The game certainly changed a lot from previous FF titles, I give this game a 9 for just being the first FF title to the PS3 platform. They did pretty well for themselves the first time around. Yes, the game was pretty linear in the beginning to end (except for Chapter 11). But I still found it to be extremely fun with the intriguing battle system that they have created to this franchise. The game certainly changed a lot from previous FF titles, but it is still crazy fun.… Expand
  30. dobserver
    Nov 8, 2011
    7
    Final Fantasy has always been about the great story and gameplay. That is what has made it a very successful franchise, even today. Lately, though it seems that the developers are focusing more on the graphics then the core competencies. Final Fantasy XIII has great graphics, the cinematics are amazing and everything is pretty smooth. The gameplay and difficulty level is not bad, but it isFinal Fantasy has always been about the great story and gameplay. That is what has made it a very successful franchise, even today. Lately, though it seems that the developers are focusing more on the graphics then the core competencies. Final Fantasy XIII has great graphics, the cinematics are amazing and everything is pretty smooth. The gameplay and difficulty level is not bad, but it is not especially amazing either. The story is a bit recycled and linear but I didn't find it really 'bad' either. This game is simply 'okay.' There isn't anything particularly bad about it, but there isn't anything particularly amazing about it either. I'd get it if it was on sale. The difficulty level of the game is really easy until near the end, in which you have to grind a bit to catch up. But after grinding, the game is pretty easy in general. This might make it a turn-off for many players. It's not that this game was bad, but Squaresoft has been known for making groundbreaking games and it was just surprising to find that this isn't one of them. (Score: 7.0)… Expand
  31. xEnAlex
    Aug 19, 2012
    5
    Square Enix gave us a game that was decent, and overrated it. Overrating it killed the game.

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

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

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

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

    If Square Enix wanted to make an Action RPG, they should have created an FF XII that actually let you move around in the beautiful landscape.    … Expand
  32. rpgczar
    Dec 18, 2011
    7
    Graphics 9 one of best looking games on ps3 and 360 story the story is average at best I liked ff10 approach much better 13 story has alot of. Flashback type scenes and it harder to connect with characters though the connection is better than ff 12. Level design 7 this is one of the weaknesses of ff 13 the beginning is very linear making it feel like you are traveling down long hallwaysGraphics 9 one of best looking games on ps3 and 360 story the story is average at best I liked ff10 approach much better 13 story has alot of. Flashback type scenes and it harder to connect with characters though the connection is better than ff 12. Level design 7 this is one of the weaknesses of ff 13 the beginning is very linear making it feel like you are traveling down long hallways until you get to pulse where you must do lots of grinding and some monsters are just ridiculous in difficulty battle system is a 8 somebattles take much too long due to the stagger system which prevents you from taking large amounts of hp til its filled summons are more useful than in ff12 and can revive fallen allies once what I don't like is when the main character dies its gameover unless you hit he retry button which starts you back at where you left off the thing is some battles are so hard you will be hitting retry over and over another thing I hate is you can't switch between party members during battle therefore you can only use one characters summon also I thought the weapon customation sucked in this game because it takes forever to get enough money to upgrade weapons and when you do upgrade them the amount you take doesnt go up by much compared to ff10 where if your strength went up 100 you'd be taking alot more the games strengths are its music and its graphics the story is average the battle system is exhausting because of one fight after another and overall this game could have been much better.… Expand
  33. AceOfCakez
    May 22, 2013
    5
    Alright, the people who are complaining about this game being linear are stupid. All JRPG's are linear (and some of the greatest games made are linear); that isn't the issue with this JRPG. The issue is that it's a story driven game and they don't even tell a good story. In fact, most of the important story details are stored in the database of the game. The first elementary aspect ofAlright, the people who are complaining about this game being linear are stupid. All JRPG's are linear (and some of the greatest games made are linear); that isn't the issue with this JRPG. The issue is that it's a story driven game and they don't even tell a good story. In fact, most of the important story details are stored in the database of the game. The first elementary aspect of writing that you learn is "show not tell." Final Fantasy XIII should have showed us all the important aspects of the story via diloague and cutscenes, not relegate them to some side database in the options menu.

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

    The graphics are amazing. The music is solid but everything else is below average. For a JRPG, it's about average. For a Final Fantasy, it's terrible.    … Expand
  34. Jouna92
    Jul 31, 2012
    6
    I hoped more from this game. This game was OK. First the good: Graphics, Music, Lightning and visuals. Then the bad: This game is a long hallway toward an orange target symbol on your mini-map that triggers a cutscene, a boss fight, or both. Also the leveling up system is ridiculous you dont have any freedom in it. Characters are irritating and stupid. The story is also stupid and confusing.
  35. heychrisfox
    Oct 26, 2012
    6
    Final Fantasy XIII takes the series in a new direction as it spearheads the famed series on the latest series of next-gen consoles. With mind-numbingly beautiful graphics and intense detail put into this release, Final Fantasy XIII looks phenomenal, and pushes the visual qualities of video games to an entirely new plateau. But the game falls short of perfection due to its two oddities:Final Fantasy XIII takes the series in a new direction as it spearheads the famed series on the latest series of next-gen consoles. With mind-numbingly beautiful graphics and intense detail put into this release, Final Fantasy XIII looks phenomenal, and pushes the visual qualities of video games to an entirely new plateau. But the game falls short of perfection due to its two oddities: changes and length. New to the series is the absence of traiditional turn-based combat. Now, in battle, the player controls only one of the three characters allowed to participate in combat. Each character in the party is assigned a role - known as a paradigm - by the player before the battle, a role which dictates the sort of actions they make (healing, defense, offense, etc.). The player transitions between these paradigms mid-battle to form a flowing form of fighting. While some may appreciate this drastic change, others may be put off by the loss of the traditional turn-based aesthetic. Secondly, the length of this game is simply MASSIVE. Furthermore, with an emphasis on en medias res, the main plot points of the game aren't delivered until around 15 hours of gameplay as fast; the time spent leading up to this seems a little aimless at times, as if you're traveling forward (down the many linear corridors that the game puts you on) with little purpose or objective, except for maybe discovering what lies at the end of said corridors. But despite these somewhat majors issues with the game, Final Fantasy XIII is a respectable addition to the series. The story told is extremely engrossing once you've allowed yourself to be swayed by the fantastical world you're given to explore, and the characters - while sometimes a bit stiff - are all varied and interesting. The many homages the game serves toward Final Fantasy VII - an inspiration for this title in the series - are also quite noticable, and serve for a sense of nostalgia players of the classic will appreciate. And when you boil down to it, once you get a hang of the paradigm feature, the battles are extremely fun and offer a fast-paced version of the traditional turn-based model, allowing for a blend of action and strategy. While Final Fantasy XIII may not be perfect, it is worth the time for fans of the series.… Expand
  36. CiloH
    Nov 26, 2013
    7
    FF-XIII falls short of being the innovative Final Fantasy game it had striven to be. The game offers luscious CG cut-scenes accompanied with unforgettable soundtracks; The story is also not terrible for a J-RPG. Character models are beautifully drawn and their character development is quite decent. Game mechanics, however, lacks the depth and intricacy that was once present in itsFF-XIII falls short of being the innovative Final Fantasy game it had striven to be. The game offers luscious CG cut-scenes accompanied with unforgettable soundtracks; The story is also not terrible for a J-RPG. Character models are beautifully drawn and their character development is quite decent. Game mechanics, however, lacks the depth and intricacy that was once present in its predecessor: FF-XII. The dreaded "Auto-Battle" command is the most immersion-killing part of the entire game. This button essentially allows the game to play itself, since also the game is not difficult in any sense. FF-XIII's battle mechanics is basically a super dumb'ed-down version of FF-XII's. There a tiny traces of the gambit system in the form of the Paradigms, but now it is simplified to the point where it is as if it was teaching you "Rock beats paper, scissors beat paper, and paper beats rock. Do you need me to hold you're hand some more? How about I beat the game for you?". The battle game play is bluntly: Boring.… Expand
  37. StrayMan
    Nov 20, 2016
    6
    I was very excited for this game; I made the upgrade from Wii to PS3 just so I could play it. My roommates were also excited, and came in to watch the first bit of it. Not long after, they left, apparently underwhelmed. Can't blame 'em.

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

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

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

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

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

    I have friends who say "You can't call a game horrible for just one thing." Well... I mentioned multiple things here, I think. While I don't think it's totally horrible, I also don't think it's particularly good, either. I have fairly middling feelings about it. It had some highs, but not enough to make me ever want to play it again.    … Expand
  38. SicSeph
    Dec 15, 2015
    5
    Decent, but way below the expectations. Characters are not appealing, story has is moments.. sometimes.. i guess..! Summons... Well they just killed 3 big classics of the FF series, Bahamut Odin and Shiva are total crap, Alexander is the only one worth saving.
    No exploration but it got at least challenging at some point, which is a miracle lately.
    Still, not at all a FF level game.
  39. HTGamer
    Nov 23, 2016
    5
    Final Fantasy XIII is a pivotal moment in the Final Fantasy series' history. It's a game that has polarised people and, along with the initial FF XIV failure, it almost ended the series.

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

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

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

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

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

    Announced as part of Square Enix's multi-game Fabula Nova Crystallis, Final Fantasy XIII hyped people but failed to deliver. After the complaints of gamers Square Enix would attempt to correct the series' route by releasing 2 FF XIII sequels and 1 spin-off, but it would prove to not be enough. The whole Fabula Nova Crystallis plan has been abandoned, and now we wait to see if FF XV (formerly FF Versus XIII, also an original part of Fabula Nova Crystallis, but not any more) can restore the series to its former glory.    … Expand
  40. Wifflum
    Oct 7, 2016
    6
    I simultaneously hate and love this game. I just finished it yesterday, and I absolutely loved the combat in this game. Probably equally important is the character development and story in this game.

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

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

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

    I don't know what to think of the story quite yet, but if you've ever played The Witcher 3, and compare these 2 games on story, dialogue, and characters, FF13 is gonna be about a 0.3, and the Witcher 3 is a 10.    … Expand
  41. msg78
    Dec 6, 2016
    0
    I have absolutley nothing positive to say, this game is complete and utter garbage. All you do is walk in a linear line from one stupendously long cut-scene to the next. You can't even over-level yoursself if you're struggling to beat a boss, it's the most linear and restrictive RPG I've ever played. I hate it.
  42. estebambuco
    Nov 25, 2016
    1
    Una mierda no lo compres:
    -Mala historia
    -Mala traducción
    -Repetitivo y aburrido
    -Mucho cine poco juego
    -No hay exploración es una línea recta
    -Personajes nada interesantes
  43. GooGooguru
    May 18, 2011
    4
    Having Played Several FF games over the years i was deeply disappointed in this title, Bland uninteresting Story, Forgettable uninteresting characters, Unengaging Combat that practically plays the game for you.. color me unsatisfied
  44. PC
    Mar 10, 2010
    10
    Gorgeous, of course -- most polished production I've seen. Fantastic soundtrack. Battle system is tactical and fun w/ plenty of difficult fights (later in game) to challenge the player. Characters and story are engaging. It's got that "Final Fantasy" feel, for whatever that's worth. For all those complaining it's "too easy" at the beginning, I recommend going back and Gorgeous, of course -- most polished production I've seen. Fantastic soundtrack. Battle system is tactical and fun w/ plenty of difficult fights (later in game) to challenge the player. Characters and story are engaging. It's got that "Final Fantasy" feel, for whatever that's worth. For all those complaining it's "too easy" at the beginning, I recommend going back and playing any FF game's first few hours. At least this one actually ratchets up the difficulty at some point. And for those who "don't know what's going on," I suggest reading the datalog.… Expand
  45. RandyB
    Mar 11, 2010
    10
    Final fantasy XIII is everything I expected and more! After what seemed like forever, the greatest fantasy of them all arrives and man does it deliver. In the cold winter months leading up to the release, there where alot of nay sayers about final fantasies most recent installment and some reviews that rated the game as low as 4/10, after playing I can reassure you that this game deserves Final fantasy XIII is everything I expected and more! After what seemed like forever, the greatest fantasy of them all arrives and man does it deliver. In the cold winter months leading up to the release, there where alot of nay sayers about final fantasies most recent installment and some reviews that rated the game as low as 4/10, after playing I can reassure you that this game deserves nothing less then a full 10. Alot of series traditions(I.e. towns, exploration) have been cast aside in favor of a more combat focused adventure as well as a very well told and very human storyline. The fact that you cant really edit or change tho configuration of your party until relativly late doesnt aid the game, in its defense this is really a favorable allternative to losing story elements because your controling the wrong party member. Now lets talk about what everybody seems to be most bothered by, the linaerity, yes final fantasy 13 is very linear, but why is that bad? FFX was linear and it is one of the highest reviewed games in its generation, I understand fans have certain expectations but change is not always a bad thing and in this case its a phenomenal accomplishment. If your a fan of the series dont be turned away by misplaced judgements and do yourself a favor, play what is likely to be one of your favorite games from the series. Final fantasy 13 is a work of brillant innovation, if I could give an 11 i would.… Expand
  46. alexaxa
    Oct 30, 2012
    6
    First of all, this isn't a final fantasy game. The combat are different and boring (pressing "auto" non-stop and change paradigm once in a while). The story is great but it's progression is so slow that it kills it. I finished the game but i don't plan to play this again. I give this game a 6.5 since i did managed to get through the game (if it was THAT boring, i wouldn't have finished it).
  47. sJagstang
    Mar 15, 2013
    6
    Final Fantasy XIII has a lot of issues with linear gameplay, some bad characters with annoying voice actors and a confusing story, It has some good points with it's combat system being fun to play even if it's nowhere near as good as previous final fantasy games and the graphics are quite nice, Square Enix has really lost it's way with the Final Fantasy series, There are a lot of otherFinal Fantasy XIII has a lot of issues with linear gameplay, some bad characters with annoying voice actors and a confusing story, It has some good points with it's combat system being fun to play even if it's nowhere near as good as previous final fantasy games and the graphics are quite nice, Square Enix has really lost it's way with the Final Fantasy series, There are a lot of other JRPG developers out there making better games then the Final Fantasy games of recent times, There is no denying that Final Fantasy is a franchise that has great potential to make fantastic games if you look back at there track record, But Square Enix is going the wrong way with the franchise.… Expand
  48. Nednerb
    Jun 1, 2013
    6
    Final Fantasy fans will accept this game as a passable title in the franchise but by no means is this game a masterpiece. Experienced RPGers may be disappointed. As one can expect, the visuals are impressive. The main protagonist is well designed with a suitable voice over, unfortunately the other characters lack any real conviction. One main flaw with the game is the lack ofFinal Fantasy fans will accept this game as a passable title in the franchise but by no means is this game a masterpiece. Experienced RPGers may be disappointed. As one can expect, the visuals are impressive. The main protagonist is well designed with a suitable voice over, unfortunately the other characters lack any real conviction. One main flaw with the game is the lack of customization. The game is set in a linear fashion which is good in a way and allows the player to remain focused on the story but at the same time the lack of side quests does not give the game its trademark experience. The story is palpable, but does not compare to its legendary predecessors such as Final Fantasy VII or X. The soundtrack is for the most part enjoyable, however there are some exceptions. The battle system is innovative, and focuses on constant role changing and to a small degree a bit of strategy to defeat the heavy hitting foes. For an experienced RPGer you will find this game 100% completed within a short time and with hardly any difficulty. Players will enjoy the game to some extent. But don't put all your eggs in the basket, if your expecting a long challenging game you will be sadly disappointed.… Expand
  49. nono5551212
    Aug 17, 2013
    1
    I was so excited for this to come out..... I thought I'd be up all night playing it..... After just a few hours I realized it was not a game at all but, just one big lame cut scene.... Walk a few steps, kill an enemy or two, cut scene, repeat indefinitely.... I think this was the most disappointed I've ever been in a game.... Should give it a zero
  50. CptThreepwood
    Feb 27, 2014
    3
    As a long time FF fan I was really looking forward to this game when it was first released. FF XII was a huge disappointment so I was expecting that this game would definitely be an improvement. Sadly, I was wrong. I could not adjust to any of the characters at all. I played this game for 40 hours, didn't finish it and the only character I started to like after several hours was Lightning,As a long time FF fan I was really looking forward to this game when it was first released. FF XII was a huge disappointment so I was expecting that this game would definitely be an improvement. Sadly, I was wrong. I could not adjust to any of the characters at all. I played this game for 40 hours, didn't finish it and the only character I started to like after several hours was Lightning, once she stopped acting like a total b*tch. One character is total pointless to the story, and the other characters just don't make sense. Years later I found out that if I had kept playing, there would have been a turn in the story and all the characters (except for the earlier mentioned one) would have made sense. but I never reached that point. Maybe I got spoiled by FF VII, IX and X which I played when I was quite younger, but FF XIII was easily the worst I have played. Anyways, I can recommend to give FF XIII-2 and Lightning Returns a shot! You don't really need to finish the first game to get the main plot because unsurprisingly they manage to summarize the whole story of FF XIII in a few sentences during the beginning of second game.… Expand
  51. cidgrad01
    Dec 10, 2013
    2
    Jim Sterling from Destructoid called this game a “pompous and masturbatory affair, creating seemingly to promote the developer’s ego first, and the player’s enjoyment second”. Speaking as someone who has been a rabid fan of the series since the very first one on the NES, I’ll say two things: Jim is exactly right, and playing this game broke my heart.

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

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

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

    Gameplay is terrible, as well. There’s not a whole lot of thinking involved and it almost plays itself. The summoning system is truly bizarre (I did a facepalm when I saw the Shiva motorcycle; seriously, WTF is that about?) and the worst the series has ever seen. I played this game for a good, long while, about 75% through, before giving up on it in disgust. To give you some idea of how bad this game is, I didn’t care much at all for the story of FF12, either, but I still had fun with it. FF13 never gave me a moment of enjoyment. The entire package is dull & uninspired and I’m sorry to have wasted money on it.    … Expand
  52. IkqXP
    Nov 13, 2013
    6
    Probably the most linear game of the Final Fantasy series, lacking depth but packed with beautiful graphics and inspiring characters.

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

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

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

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

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

    Anyways, for me is just another action game, but not a final fantasy game. Seriously change the name of the saga, so you can avoid being constantly compared to the old games.    … Expand
  54. alfok
    Jun 30, 2016
    2
    Boring, Repetitive, Lineal
    Is the worst title of the saga, Dunno why have that score...
    basically the only thing u need to do is pressing 3 buttons and go forward, damn even the worst game I remember have more entertaining than this... The only "good" thing us the graphics, but even that dont matter a little when you have this dumb storyline and linear gameplay.
  55. SCCMAESTRO
    Jul 8, 2016
    1
    This is the worst game I have ever played, partially because I can see how it could have been great. The visuals and music are beautiful, some of the best in the entire series. But everything else about the game is an unfinished, incoherent mess. The story is so poorly formed that half of it isn't explained at all and the other half is stuck in the in-game Wikipedia, the Datalog. TheThis is the worst game I have ever played, partially because I can see how it could have been great. The visuals and music are beautiful, some of the best in the entire series. But everything else about the game is an unfinished, incoherent mess. The story is so poorly formed that half of it isn't explained at all and the other half is stuck in the in-game Wikipedia, the Datalog. The writing is as repetitious and padded as the gameplay is. The gameplay itself is linear corridors of far too many battles where the strategy is the game literally playing itself. You can change the parameters for how the game plays itself, but it fundamentally is still beyond the player's control. It is an unfinished pile of waste and one of the worst pieces of media I have ever experienced. I played 20 hours and I am somber thinking of that time I will never, ever get back. A full day wasted on untalented, confused hacks.… Expand
  56. ZeroTrunks
    Feb 8, 2016
    3
    Linear game play, poor camera controls, undigestible story, and a script so bad I wanted to skip through all cut-scenes to reduce the feeling of a drill being forced through my head. The game basicly plays itself and is so unbalanced that if you die, you simply respawn as if the fight didn't occur. Some of the characters are just reprints of Squares older work Lightning = Cloud, Snow =Linear game play, poor camera controls, undigestible story, and a script so bad I wanted to skip through all cut-scenes to reduce the feeling of a drill being forced through my head. The game basicly plays itself and is so unbalanced that if you die, you simply respawn as if the fight didn't occur. Some of the characters are just reprints of Squares older work Lightning = Cloud, Snow = Zell, Sazh? I don't know what they were doing there...

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

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

    Overall a very difficult game to endure D-    … Expand
  57. ThecriticGoD
    Mar 7, 2016
    5
    Final Fantasy XII was already a big mistake from Square Enix but this is the living proof that they are never gonna go back to making the great games Squaresoft once did. Poor characters (most of them), boring combat and character developing system, extremely linear, and most importantly, very poor story (making good stories was what always characterized Final Fantasy. The only good thingsFinal Fantasy XII was already a big mistake from Square Enix but this is the living proof that they are never gonna go back to making the great games Squaresoft once did. Poor characters (most of them), boring combat and character developing system, extremely linear, and most importantly, very poor story (making good stories was what always characterized Final Fantasy. The only good things I can think of are the music, the graphics and Lightning, which is a good protagonist, everything else is just very very distant from what to expect from a Final Fantasy game.… Expand
  58. pelonchascomes
    Sep 20, 2017
    0
    As a big fan of the FF saga, I must say that this game made me feel bad. Horrible. The worst FF game to me. It was disappointing, gameplay is an insult, the combat system is a joke. I've played almost the entire FF saga, and I can say that this is the worst one. Characters look incredible, but the maps? the environment looks dead and horribly made. This is an insult to all the FF fans. AndAs a big fan of the FF saga, I must say that this game made me feel bad. Horrible. The worst FF game to me. It was disappointing, gameplay is an insult, the combat system is a joke. I've played almost the entire FF saga, and I can say that this is the worst one. Characters look incredible, but the maps? the environment looks dead and horribly made. This is an insult to all the FF fans. And the story is so bad and confusing. Exploration is non-existing because you walk through straight paths! Characters are cliches and forgettable, and the main character is the worst main character ever I hate her I cannot stand her. And I mean, I really really tried to play this, I really did but this game made me angry. I regret buying it. Where's the exploration? Where's the customization? This game don't deserve to be called a "Final Fantasy". So disappointing. If you are a fan of FF saga, buy it under your own risk.
    Bad story, bad combat system, boring characters... and a boring experience in general. Soundtrack is good and graphics are ok too. But as a FF this is the worst one I've ever played.    … Expand
  59. LeonStrife
    Jan 28, 2018
    0
    Worst Final Fantasy ever made.

    Simply put , no cities , no exploration , linear as hell. The whole game feels like a huge hallway. Avoid at all costs , play anything else.
  60. BP
    Apr 5, 2010
    8
    The game starts out incredibly slow.. way too much in my opinion. It's mostly crap until you get to the 20 hour mark or so -- battles are simple and almost 100% linear. You finally get a good rhythm going and then the game forces you into a weird battle party configuration. I was getting pretty fed up with it around chapter 7, but hung in and was glad I did. Along the way the The game starts out incredibly slow.. way too much in my opinion. It's mostly crap until you get to the 20 hour mark or so -- battles are simple and almost 100% linear. You finally get a good rhythm going and then the game forces you into a weird battle party configuration. I was getting pretty fed up with it around chapter 7, but hung in and was glad I did. Along the way the characters and story are slowly revealed, which helps ease the pain. Around chapter 10 or so, it gets good. You start actually having choices in gear and party and the battles start having strategy and depth to them. The world opens up for chapter 11, and exploring it and opening it up more by doing the marks is really fun. After this break, diving back into chapter 12 was lots of fun, even though it was going back to the linear story. Having gone from a stereo to surround sound setup midway through playing, I can tell you that the loud footsteps does not happen in stereo, but does in surround sound. You can tell the reviewers here who never played 20 hours from the horrible scores, and I don't blame them. If you aren't willing to put 25-30 hours in this game, then you won't like it. If you do get that far, you will be rewarded with a interesting and challenging battle system, characters and story with depth, and an experience worth the money.… Expand
  61. BobbyS
    Mar 11, 2010
    10
    Final Fantasy XIII has long been on my radar of anticipated games. Far too often when I anticipate a game in this manner, the end result is many times disappointing in comparison to the hype. In the case of Final Fantasy XIII, this is not true. Final Fantasy XIII is a stunning game with extremely high production values. The battle system while at first sounds awkward is extremely fluid Final Fantasy XIII has long been on my radar of anticipated games. Far too often when I anticipate a game in this manner, the end result is many times disappointing in comparison to the hype. In the case of Final Fantasy XIII, this is not true. Final Fantasy XIII is a stunning game with extremely high production values. The battle system while at first sounds awkward is extremely fluid and entertaining.… Expand
  62. SidMan
    Mar 11, 2010
    10
    Its an amazing game period. It has questionably one of the best graphics ever made. The story is ok, the battle system is fun and challenging. Many people don't appreciate the game due to their expectations from previous games, but IMO, it exceeded it. I also like the linear gameplay, but sometimes you do feel like you want more freedom. Aside from that, this game will keep you Its an amazing game period. It has questionably one of the best graphics ever made. The story is ok, the battle system is fun and challenging. Many people don't appreciate the game due to their expectations from previous games, but IMO, it exceeded it. I also like the linear gameplay, but sometimes you do feel like you want more freedom. Aside from that, this game will keep you occupied for 60 hours +. In other words, you pay 1 $ for an hour of gameplay. … Expand
  63. AzureB
    Mar 10, 2010
    10
    I think it's great, personally. Keeps me going, battles are fun, nice to be a little difficult, pluse the restart option is there which basically encourages you to experiment, just think you could control all the characters at once, just don't see it happening with the way they designed it, that's why you can't.
  64. KrisS
    Mar 11, 2010
    9
    Being a long time FF fan, I do have some trouble calling this a Final Fantasy game. However, that is ridiculously unfair to square-enix for this amazingly good game. Based on its OWN merits, it definitely stands on its own as a great story, great characters, and beautiful graphics. Just because people think that a Final Fantasy has to have airships, world maps, tons of side quests, and Being a long time FF fan, I do have some trouble calling this a Final Fantasy game. However, that is ridiculously unfair to square-enix for this amazingly good game. Based on its OWN merits, it definitely stands on its own as a great story, great characters, and beautiful graphics. Just because people think that a Final Fantasy has to have airships, world maps, tons of side quests, and the wide world to explore doesn't mean that Square is going to sacrifice their narrative for you to relive your glory days. This is a GREAT game.… Expand
  65. Dewayne
    Mar 12, 2010
    10
    Cmon. This may not be the best final fantasy but it is great. The graphics are phenomenal. Yes the game starts out linear but cmon really could you go anywhere in final fantasy x until a certain point, yeah there were npc's but most npc's usually offer nothing more than an illusion of depth. This is the best combination of a action game and an rpg i have seen, and it works very Cmon. This may not be the best final fantasy but it is great. The graphics are phenomenal. Yes the game starts out linear but cmon really could you go anywhere in final fantasy x until a certain point, yeah there were npc's but most npc's usually offer nothing more than an illusion of depth. This is the best combination of a action game and an rpg i have seen, and it works very well, everyone who is crying out there is complaining cause it doesn't feel like final fantasy, news flash they can't keep making the same game over and over again, every game has to evolve or it will get boring. anyways this game rules so buy it.… Expand
  66. JakeH.
    Mar 12, 2010
    10
    Awesome game! My second favorite after IV :). The linearity is a tad bit tedious but does not distract from the game seeing as the entire story (outside of the first 13 non-playable days) takes place in only a few days. Exploration isn't a must, surviving to the end is! The battle system is the best IMO, fun, exciting and very fast paced. You can get screwed if you don't set Awesome game! My second favorite after IV :). The linearity is a tad bit tedious but does not distract from the game seeing as the entire story (outside of the first 13 non-playable days) takes place in only a few days. Exploration isn't a must, surviving to the end is! The battle system is the best IMO, fun, exciting and very fast paced. You can get screwed if you don't set your Paradigms up right! The Crystarium is a nice touch, but a little too linear compared to the Sphere Grid until the last few unlocked levels. Gran Pulse is amazing and really makes the game shine with everything that goes on! I understand why the devs didn't include towns and cities. If they made them to scale with everything else in the game they would be GINORMOUS and would be a complete wast of time/resources/disc space that only a minute amount of people would enjoy anyways. It's not like you don't go to some awesome locales inside each city (you do visit a couple!). A+, now only to wait until FFXIV and another MMO to get addicted to :D PS - Amazing voice work this time around.… Expand
  67. Michael
    Mar 10, 2010
    10
    I honestly don't understand how great games like this get torn apart by some reviewers, when FFXII scored huge in reviews and I just felt no life in it. The characters were boring and I didn't feel any reason to continue the quest. FFXIII on the other hand has a fantastic character and world driven story, that really drives me to continuing the adventure. I'm loving the I honestly don't understand how great games like this get torn apart by some reviewers, when FFXII scored huge in reviews and I just felt no life in it. The characters were boring and I didn't feel any reason to continue the quest. FFXIII on the other hand has a fantastic character and world driven story, that really drives me to continuing the adventure. I'm loving the fast paced combat really keeps you on your toes and interested. The characters are very cool, although I can tell some people will find some of them annoying. All in all this game is great and I hope it sells well because it deserves it.… Expand
  68. JulianF
    Mar 13, 2010
    9
    Final Fantasy XIII is like a double step. On one hand, you lose some of the classic things that made Final Fantasy memorable, like towns, mini games and the classic battle theme. On the other hand, this is a huge release for RPGs on next generation systems. This is by far the best battle system ever created in the series, with millions of possibilities a few buttons away, and a live Final Fantasy XIII is like a double step. On one hand, you lose some of the classic things that made Final Fantasy memorable, like towns, mini games and the classic battle theme. On the other hand, this is a huge release for RPGs on next generation systems. This is by far the best battle system ever created in the series, with millions of possibilities a few buttons away, and a live action animation sequence. No more crappy gambit system that 12 had, FF13 is all about getting the job done. On top of that, this game has the most memorable cast since Final Fantasy 7. The only problem I had with the story was the lack of a powerful villian that prior games had, aka Kefka, Sephiroth and Jecht. Other than that, you will not find an equal title on both consoles, I highly recommend any RPG fan to buy this game.… Expand
  69. MarcF.
    Mar 15, 2010
    9
    In the last years Japanese games, specially RPGs has been reviewed very hard. It is true that they no longer have the innovation or technical superiority, but most reviews are completely misleading. Complaining about linearity in a FF is like complaining in a GTA for freedom. JRPG have been linear since forever, and towns and sidequests don't make them less linear. And, if this FF is In the last years Japanese games, specially RPGs has been reviewed very hard. It is true that they no longer have the innovation or technical superiority, but most reviews are completely misleading. Complaining about linearity in a FF is like complaining in a GTA for freedom. JRPG have been linear since forever, and towns and sidequests don't make them less linear. And, if this FF is linear, then ALL the shooters, and 99% of games nowadays should be reviewed accordingly. This FF is not perfect (hence the 9), but overall is excellent. Technical beauty, good music, good story and awesome gameplay. The game opens up and it becomes a really great game, with absolutely everything you expect from a FF game. It appears too late in the game? Well, that's the creator decision, but at least it's there. Reviews seem to forget about it. Any JRPG is gonna like it. Any FF fan is gonna love it. Graphic wh*res are gonna like it. The rest, at least should give it a try. A production like this doesn't come often.… Expand
  70. KennyM
    Mar 17, 2010
    10
    FINAL FANTASY XIII is equal or much better than FINAL FANTASY VII, The cutscenes are spectacular and the characters are super detailed and involving, the story is marvelous and perfect, everything is perfect, I love it. Some people criticize this game because is 'too linear' but this is the only way to tell the amazing story of the characters and the society of FFXIII. Others FINAL FANTASY XIII is equal or much better than FINAL FANTASY VII, The cutscenes are spectacular and the characters are super detailed and involving, the story is marvelous and perfect, everything is perfect, I love it. Some people criticize this game because is 'too linear' but this is the only way to tell the amazing story of the characters and the society of FFXIII. Others say this genre needs to stop recycling the same tale of old JRPGs and make new games with new ideas, but they also say that FFXIII has left the main features of a FF game off. In other worlds, they want CHANGE and NEW IDEAS... but if Square-Enix changes the Battle system or makes a more linear game and new completely different worlds... then, they DON'T LIKE IT and now they want a FF game like the old classics. I don't understand.... first they say one thing but then they want another. FINAL FANTASY XIII is one of the best in the series, the cinematic, the 'heroes' the linear thing, the story, the worlds, everything is perfect! I love it and will love it for ever, excellent work from Square-Enix, really... BEAUTIFUL. I give 10 out of 10 for FINAL FANTASY XIII.… Expand
  71. ColinS
    Mar 10, 2010
    10
    This is by far my favorite Final Fantasy game yet. It is fast paced, there are no frills and the characters have some energy to them. The entire game is epic and the story is great. The combat is the best in the series and the monster design is top notch. The music may not be as memorable as the good-ol
  72. JohnnyD
    Mar 24, 2010
    10
    I thought that the idea of sticking with traditions probably would be silly when it comes to making attempts to inject a completely new life into the Final Fantasy series. Especially when the series that is nearly two decades old already. I felt that the latest installment should show us that Square-Enix has indeed made a dramatic escape from their somewhat crystallized philosophy in I thought that the idea of sticking with traditions probably would be silly when it comes to making attempts to inject a completely new life into the Final Fantasy series. Especially when the series that is nearly two decades old already. I felt that the latest installment should show us that Square-Enix has indeed made a dramatic escape from their somewhat crystallized philosophy in terms of game design… Expand
  73. Cell1e
    Apr 1, 2013
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I was exceedingly disappointed with this game, I thought the Final Fantasy games were supposed to be wonderful experiences. This sure wasnt.
    Initially I enjoyed the pretty graphics but pretty soon into the game I started to get annoyed with the linear corridors and wave after wave of awful same monsters. The character teams keep switching but the monsters and gameplay sure didnt. Only one way to level and it was to fight thousands of pointless and exceedingly boring monsters. No other form of leveling. The system for improving weapons was complicated and risky and really unrewarding too. The only shops were machines, no other npcs or interactions, I can't understand how this game could call itself an rpg.
    I got really tired of Vanilles squeals and noises during gameplay and her awful accent. Snow was an ass, Hope a misery and the only characters I could enjoy using were Sazh, Fang and Lightening (even tho for most of game she was a leaving the kids to fend for themselves)
    There was no difficulty setting in the game and some of those boss fights got really hard, for a first playthrough I found things getting really stressful as I tried to work out where I had gone wrong in my levelling and weapon development. Looking online I read you have to grind, grind, grind.... (Grinding should never leave mmos, never heard of any good single players with grind, should be able to level with gameplay quests and crafting) Money really hard to get, again the answer to that problem? More grind!
    So to sum up this isnt a game, its an exercise in futility with excessive and painful grinding, a poor story and poor character development enabling little or no emphathy for the existing characters. Totally NOT worth the money and I would not recommend anyone to buy this.    … Expand
  74. AlienSpaceBats
    Oct 7, 2014
    6
    A JRPG aimed at casual players that skips any pretence. FFXIII does not begin well, my first 6 or 7 hours were an internal struggle where I debated putting the game down - I later learned that the first 20 hours would be an increasingly tedious tutorial - all but three of the characters (Fang, Vanille and Sazh) are annoying, angsty, self-absorbed cretins. I suspect this is due to the VAs;A JRPG aimed at casual players that skips any pretence. FFXIII does not begin well, my first 6 or 7 hours were an internal struggle where I debated putting the game down - I later learned that the first 20 hours would be an increasingly tedious tutorial - all but three of the characters (Fang, Vanille and Sazh) are annoying, angsty, self-absorbed cretins. I suspect this is due to the VAs; talented as they are, I did not care for their characterization - watching the Japanese version in action confirmed this. It's fair to say that the game is linear, and like most JRPGs you need to grind the heck out of your characters, FFXIII isn't coy about that though, it throws corridors at you populated with groups of enemies and asks you to slay them all. Sure enough, by the time you've done that you'll have maxed out your Crystarium and can move on to the next stage.If there was one thing I liked, it was the absence of random encounters, and the fact that there's no need to heal or use Phoenix Downs after battles - the game does that for you (yay?) The battle system is decent most of the time, but is obviously aimed at casual players and has taken control out of the hands of the player. Both party members are AI controlled and there is no way to tell them what you want them to do, there is no way to direct an ATB stack in more than one direction (ie: I've stacked 2 Curas, I can't send one to character A and one to character B), if I've got Vanille or Hope in a Medic role, there's no way to use Esuna instead of Cure, this applies to all Paradigms. If a Synergist is in the party, I want Protect, not Haste, but the AI goes out of its way giving you the buffs it thinks it should have. Later battles with three or more challenging enemies are problematic, you can not direct them to attack a single enemy and instead they waste time trading blows with un-staggered units. Everything is done on auto, chances are if your party knows the enemies weaknesses they will act accordingly but a lot of the time the lack of control was frustrating. I don't think I started actually properly enjoying myself until Taejin's Tower (25+ hours in), because there's things to actually do there, and getting through requires input from the player (as opposed to a long corridor). Overall a decent experience, but it feels linear, stripped out and dull a lot of the time. The characters aren't the best, the story is obtuse, the world feels empty, but it looks amazing, even for a four year old 7th gen title. Some of the music is absolutely stunning (does that go without saying with FF games now?)… Expand
  75. LilD
    Jan 9, 2014
    7
    Let's be honest, the crux of the Final Fantasy games are its stories. FFXIII has to have one of the worst stories of any game I’ve played let alone one that is meant to be a major blockbuster. It is overly confusing and convoluted that no one I talked to has any idea what is going on. Some have even tried writing down plot points into a note pad and are still baffled as to the storyline.Let's be honest, the crux of the Final Fantasy games are its stories. FFXIII has to have one of the worst stories of any game I’ve played let alone one that is meant to be a major blockbuster. It is overly confusing and convoluted that no one I talked to has any idea what is going on. Some have even tried writing down plot points into a note pad and are still baffled as to the storyline.

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

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

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

    As a Final Fantasy game, it is a letdown. If viewing in isolation, it is a decent RPG. Despite its many shortcomings, it only took me like a week to get through the 60+ hours of gameplay, a marathon only a few games have warranted.    … Expand
  76. DirtyBird07
    Dec 29, 2015
    1
    This game is so bad. like I am not kidding.
    It's so bad. I think it got 1500 positive reviews because SquareEnix paid people to give it good reviews.

    Do not buy this pile of garbage. You will regret it. I promise.

    Has an overly convoluted story. Characters are cheesy and the Voice Acting is bad.
    Graphics are beautiful, but game play quickly destroys it.
    Not enjoyable in the slightest.
  77. GrumpyTheNick
    Mar 13, 2013
    2
    I have been a Final Fantasy fan since I was 10 years old. I was very excited about this game. Needless to say, I was disappointed. Square-Enix no longer exhibits any sort of real inspiration. This game suffers from a number of problems stemming from this one factor. The battle are pretty, but after you become familiar with the patterns it becomes a boring and uneventful slog. The story isI have been a Final Fantasy fan since I was 10 years old. I was very excited about this game. Needless to say, I was disappointed. Square-Enix no longer exhibits any sort of real inspiration. This game suffers from a number of problems stemming from this one factor. The battle are pretty, but after you become familiar with the patterns it becomes a boring and uneventful slog. The story is mediocre and linear in the extreme. There is little to no exploration or discovery of any kind until near the very end of game, by which point you no longer care. And the characters...Oh, the characters. I would rate a few of them as the most stupidly annoying I have ever encountered in a game. The JRPG melodrama in FFXIII is incredibly cloying and is absolutely terrible. If you care about a solid, interesting, experience, don't play this game.… Expand
  78. MisterNoodles
    May 17, 2013
    3
    I have played only a few Final Fantasy games. So ya this was terrible compared to the one other Final Fantasy game. The gameplay was crappy and you felt like the game was almost playing itself. The only real positive to this game was the story. It was the ONLY thing keeping me going. It would have gotten a ZERO if it wasn't for that story. Now in opinion the best part of the game is theI have played only a few Final Fantasy games. So ya this was terrible compared to the one other Final Fantasy game. The gameplay was crappy and you felt like the game was almost playing itself. The only real positive to this game was the story. It was the ONLY thing keeping me going. It would have gotten a ZERO if it wasn't for that story. Now in opinion the best part of the game is the story, but this story could not carry the game...… Expand
  79. Yukari
    May 3, 2013
    3
    This is game is just aw full! Yes it has amazing graphics but the rest is just wrong. The story is so bad and beside the characters are very well design their personality is just aw full and annoying. The game play is linear and the battle system it looks like it has been butcher. It makes me so sad to talk bad about a Final Fantasy game but it's one is just.....god aw full!!
  80. TimothyTuatara
    Nov 27, 2013
    1
    Boasting stunning graphics, many gamers will easily be swayed to believe that XIII is the best Final Fantasy has to offer. However, the game is just too freaking long. When I asked fanboys "dude wtf this sucks isn't there a world map? when does it get decent?" they have acutally responded "aw man dude don't worry keep on chuggin it gets really awesome at about the 30 hour mark". I don'tBoasting stunning graphics, many gamers will easily be swayed to believe that XIII is the best Final Fantasy has to offer. However, the game is just too freaking long. When I asked fanboys "dude wtf this sucks isn't there a world map? when does it get decent?" they have acutally responded "aw man dude don't worry keep on chuggin it gets really awesome at about the 30 hour mark". I don't want to wade through 30 hours of absolute cringe to get to something good. What really drives this home is how freaking annoying the characters are. Lightning is supposed to be cool and brooding, but mainly just comes off as square weakly attempting to emulate cloud with added fanservice. The battle system is ok to begin with, but they get far too long and the fact that my party is healed after every battle unexplainably is disgusting. Every thing I loved about Final Fantasy has been thrown down the drain. But still, pretty graphics! ooh shiny… Expand
  81. kmj856
    Oct 5, 2013
    3
    This is not a good FF game. The first 40 hours are spent running in a complete straight line, reading mountainous piles of extra text to try to figure out what's going on and who all these people and different factions and organizations are. The game won't open up for you until you've run in a straight line for 30-40 hours.
  82. SrDBZ
    Nov 25, 2013
    1
    One of the worst games that have come in these last years, simple boring, empty, with characters flatter than a piece of paper.

    This is not a Final Fantasy
  83. darkprophet
    Nov 26, 2013
    4
    tldr XIII's concept of a beautiful gem that just happened to be covered in a steaming pile of fecal matter by whoever "assisted" with its development that almost completely obscures the excellent core idea. It is not a game because there is no actual fun involved in playing it or watching the non-plot character interactions.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    I do not understand why this game is rated inferior to Final Fantasy XIII-2, which is superior to it every way. There was clearly a great conceptual idea that was handed off to a team of incompetent monkeys for implementation of certain core parts who butchered them completely. There were at least two main character writing teams, one for plot events (the great one) and one for side conversations the trash one), which held no standard continuity between the two. Final Fantasy XIII-2 is a vast improvement upon the two, with a streamlined battle system that SHOULD have been, a unified narrative, characterization, and a incredible soundtrack.    … Expand
  84. MarcinOS
    Dec 27, 2013
    3
    The worst part of the Final Fantasy series ever. The game is just boring. I'm a big fan of the Final Fantasy series, but I'm completely disappointed. Music is weak, what surprising, since each part of the FF can boast a fine soundtrack. Gameplay worse. Just constantly press the X button and directional buttons. The game is very linear. Characters are boring too, without expression No mapThe worst part of the Final Fantasy series ever. The game is just boring. I'm a big fan of the Final Fantasy series, but I'm completely disappointed. Music is weak, what surprising, since each part of the FF can boast a fine soundtrack. Gameplay worse. Just constantly press the X button and directional buttons. The game is very linear. Characters are boring too, without expression No map of the world is a huge minus. The only plus is the graphics and cut scenes, but the locations are boring for me. The title has sold so well probably only because we all flew to the magic of the series. I also I regret.… Expand
  85. vank
    Feb 21, 2014
    4
    This game was an unfortunate attempt to pander to the LCD of gamers. I have (a slipping) faith in Square Enix, and like to see merit in most anything they produce. Still as a longstanding fan of the Final Fantasy series, and after waiting for years for something to come out after FFXII, this came, at the very least, as a disappointment to me. To me, what makes an RPG good: round, humanThis game was an unfortunate attempt to pander to the LCD of gamers. I have (a slipping) faith in Square Enix, and like to see merit in most anything they produce. Still as a longstanding fan of the Final Fantasy series, and after waiting for years for something to come out after FFXII, this came, at the very least, as a disappointment to me. To me, what makes an RPG good: round, human characters that are able to be identified with; an intricate story that is mysterious (not confusing!); the ability to customize characters; a sort of real-world verisimilitude (shops, inns, money); a requirement for a player to carefully consider his game-play actions that is challenging yet manageable; and an extensive world that allows for exploring and revisitation. FFXIII had very little of these qualities. The story was hardly engaging for me (I didn't give a damn about the l'Cie and that... and I still don't know what Orphan is all about?); the characters were distant and a player doesn't really get to see enough of them to begin to identify with them (Yeah, Lightning, you're an icy wench, we get it); and the biggest irritation was the game play, specifically the battles, which is supposed to be the part where the gamer has most control and actually "plays" was simply a holding down of a singular button to continually select "auto-battle." It wasn't fun, and will probably only be remembered to me as the worst FF game I've ever played.… Expand
  86. todesmilch
    Dec 29, 2015
    1
    My very first experience with RPG games was with Final Fantasy VII. I have been in love with RPGs, and the FF series, ever since. I have loved and been invested in FF for a long time. I know I am late on reviewing this, but this game is the worst FF (in series/non-spinoff) game I have ever played. It literally ruined the series for me. I want to know what game these people played whoMy very first experience with RPG games was with Final Fantasy VII. I have been in love with RPGs, and the FF series, ever since. I have loved and been invested in FF for a long time. I know I am late on reviewing this, but this game is the worst FF (in series/non-spinoff) game I have ever played. It literally ruined the series for me. I want to know what game these people played who say that the story is rich and the characters are compelling. The story is VERY vapid, and the characters reflect this exponentially. All of the characters have trite personalities, and by the end of the game I had no emotions invested in a SINGLE one of them. It took me over two years to finally beat this game, 'cause I had to finish it. (some of you know what I mean) If I wasn't compelled to beat it as a gamer, I never would have. I will give credit to the combat, I enjoyed it a little. Seriously nothing else about the game was fun. I am a fanboy, yes. My favorite FF is IX, that game had such a rich world that you could feel there was a history to it. It is unimaginable, to me, that anyone would enjoy this game having played the other Final Fantasy titles in the series. I really wish Square would abandon the **** Tokyo-fashion style of their characters, they all look like some weak attempt was made to make them fashionable and trendy. To my mind, X was the last truly good FF, and XII was last remotely good title in the main series. If you agree with me, then you are better off avoiding this colossal disappointment.… Expand
  87. Tyrus
    Sep 7, 2016
    2
    I'm replaying this game again after initially buying it, playing all the way through, and then not remembering ever having hated a game so much.
    I thought I'd give it another shot. It's not any better.
    A hyper linear game, you spend most of your time for the first half merely walking forward and pressing X. Eventually, you have a little bit of strategy involved. Very little. By the    I'm replaying this game again after initially buying it, playing all the way through, and then not remembering ever having hated a game so much.
    I thought I'd give it another shot. It's not any better.
    A hyper linear game, you spend most of your time for the first half merely walking forward and pressing X. Eventually, you have a little bit of strategy involved. Very little. By the second half of the game, every fight become long, tedious, and unavoidable. The entire combat system is really based on micro managing, since you don't actually select moves for more than one character, and the game will auto-pick those for you, too, since there are few anyway, and there isn't a whole lot of tact required.
    And as those fights get longer and longer, there's extremely little you can do to speed things up. You can't really grind like in other games, because your stats quickly max out for the moment you're in. I get WHY they do that, forcing you to actually play the battles rather than get overpowered for them, but then you end up on boss fights, where all you're doing is saying, "Fight... heal... fight... heal..."
    The monotony it's intended to break up isn't broken up.
    I can't fathom anyone liking this game. I've never met anyone personally who did. I get that there are positive reviews, but this game is the crown jewel of the new class of Square Enix games that just want to be pretty, and not have any guts or substance. 12 bordered on that, but managed to get enough moving around, enough thought by the player to manage to be a good game. 10 was TOO much character switching, but it was passable. This is just an awful, linear, boring game. The story is as convoluted as a political conspiracy theory. It's an awful game, and I'll give it the 2 that I did because it was made by a professional company, it DOES have good graphics, and honestly, because it's in the Final Fantasy franchise, which I've been playing for just about 30 years now.
    But this game is simply awful. I again find myself only getting through it to say that I did, again. And that's not a good reason. I should really stop myself.    … Expand
  88. Broyax
    Apr 15, 2017
    2
    Je donne tout de même 2 points pour la direction artistique, certes parfois à la limite du mauvais goût mais la plupart du temps, c'est fort dépaysant. On ne voit nulle part ailleurs des trucs pareils, décors, effets... aussi maniérés et précieux et avec autant de couleurs ou des costumes et monstres complètement chtarbés. Et techniquement c'est du beau travail.

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

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

    Quant à l'histoire, entre de nombreuses cinématiques à piquer un roupillon et des combats abrutissants, on se demande quand elle commence. On se demande même parfois s'il y a une galette dans le lecteur et ce qu'on est en train de faire, à perdre son temps devant une telle, une abominable japoniaiserie.    … Expand
  89. jugadorhardcore
    Feb 1, 2018
    0
    The worst FF ever. That for real. They almost blew up one of the biggest saga in the industry. This game just have nice grafics on the caracters and nothing more. Storyline is unexistant, an extremtly easy game, is not open world just move the caracter forward. A complete joke for the fans...
  90. ValC
    Mar 14, 2010
    9
    Despite the game being the largest disappointment of the generation, and of Final Fantasy history, the game is still absolutely amazing. FF7 and 8 are definite 9.8s and FF10 and 12 are definite 10s. But this game is just around about 9.0. I say this because the game is actually really good, despite falling short of all Final Fantasy expectations. The battle system is amazing, the story is Despite the game being the largest disappointment of the generation, and of Final Fantasy history, the game is still absolutely amazing. FF7 and 8 are definite 9.8s and FF10 and 12 are definite 10s. But this game is just around about 9.0. I say this because the game is actually really good, despite falling short of all Final Fantasy expectations. The battle system is amazing, the story is amazing. The only thing that is stupid is that the paths are not just linear, they are ABSURDLY linear. Like totally linear. Let's just say that there is no other game in gaming history (that I have played) that is this linear. I mean, we're talking walk straight for hours on end, until you get to about halfway through the game, and it becomes slightly less linear. The graphics are stunning, you want to play the game again and again if you have the chance, and the length is perfect for a FF game.… Expand
  91. MarkR
    Apr 5, 2010
    10
    Absolute perfection by Square Enix. Bucking the trend of recent games: Boring, 6 hour long games which aren't worth the money you paid, Final Fantasy XIII gives you a 45 hour blockbuster of a game, a brilliant story, brilliant gameplay, brilliant graphics like Gaming Age said, the best graphics out on a video console right now. Character development is brilliant, getting to choose Absolute perfection by Square Enix. Bucking the trend of recent games: Boring, 6 hour long games which aren't worth the money you paid, Final Fantasy XIII gives you a 45 hour blockbuster of a game, a brilliant story, brilliant gameplay, brilliant graphics like Gaming Age said, the best graphics out on a video console right now. Character development is brilliant, getting to choose what class you want them to specialize in, out of 3 'primary' classes, which vary per character, and 3 'secondary' classes later on in the game. The paradigm system, while pretty simple, has an huge amount of depth, and mastering the paradigm system really will turn the tides of any challenging battle, changing to the right set-up, at the right time changes everything.… Expand
  92. HeikkiR
    Apr 7, 2010
    9
    First of all, I want to say that I'm really, really old fan of the series. I think many gamers out there who says FF13 is mediocre and too different, should go and play golden oldies all over again - because it was about the time for some change! (... and not the FF12 style of change, allthough I love the game) Final Fantasy 13 is worth every minute you play it. Gone are the dull First of all, I want to say that I'm really, really old fan of the series. I think many gamers out there who says FF13 is mediocre and too different, should go and play golden oldies all over again - because it was about the time for some change! (... and not the FF12 style of change, allthough I love the game) Final Fantasy 13 is worth every minute you play it. Gone are the dull environments of FF12, or paperthin characters of FF8 and 10. They are replaced by colourful world and characters with real motivations and history that fleshes out every conversation and even the one liners they throw while exploring the fantastic landscapes. Sure there are no towns as as you might remember them from good-old FF's and no worldmap either, but the structure of the game supports these decisions and you don't really remember to miss them that much. They are sacrificed to deliver an great experience. Battle system as every aspect in this game, is different from previous installments but is also excellent. Features of new battle engine is introduced to players little by little, so you won't ever feel lost with them. Battle dynamics really varies if you use different characters or different Paragrim Shifts. It could be said that the battle system is the salt of the FF13, without game feeling like grinding fest (that FF12 was). Story and setting of FF13 are very original, but if there was main inspiration from the previous installments of FF-series it would probably be FF7. Main structure of the adventure is very similar to that of FF7 (but has nuances of FF4 and FF6) and so are many characters. I would love to present theories on this, but I would spoil many things for new players. Fabula Nova Chrystalis has a lot of meat for new installments and I personally cannot wait for Agito and Versus 13!… Expand
  93. dmasz91
    Jan 23, 2017
    3
    There are so many more negative things than positive about this game. I've been a long time FF fan and I lost interest in the game within the first day of playing it. It's so linear, and the story plot is so boring and doesn't make any sense at all, making it just horrendous compared to the previous FF games in the past. The only thing that makes it bearable is the flashy graphics, butThere are so many more negative things than positive about this game. I've been a long time FF fan and I lost interest in the game within the first day of playing it. It's so linear, and the story plot is so boring and doesn't make any sense at all, making it just horrendous compared to the previous FF games in the past. The only thing that makes it bearable is the flashy graphics, but still there are way too many long cut-scenes. The characters don't seem to have a goal that makes sense. I kept asking myself, 'what is their goal'? It's cool to get to summon eidolons, but there was no real tutorial on how to use their moves in gesalt mode with regards to the arrow pointer. the crystarium thing is also very linear. You're not truly getting control over their special abilities because by the time you can level up their abilities, you've pretty much filled out all the slots anyway. Another big negative factor is that there's no more free-roaming like an RPG, no world map to travel and explore. There aren't even good treasure finds along the path. It's just as bland as it gets, maybe made for an even younger audience to play. The only thing that was positive about the game is that you can see your enemies in the path rather than having invisible enemies pop up every so often, which was always annoying, but it's such a disappointment and not worth buying. I don't know if they've improved the FF games since this one, but i would definitely recommend skipping over this game. I agree with what other negative reviews are saying, it was annoying to not be able to level yourself up more if you have trouble beating a boss.… Expand
  94. DanJ
    Mar 10, 2010
    10
    Idk why this game is getting dogged for no towns and being linear. I'm about 30 hrs in and have loved every min of it. With the story and how it works out from the start towns are not needed and its very clear. Yes its linear and some people might not like this but most will forget that Final Fanatasy X was the same way. With X you only had a very few towns and you really got nothing Idk why this game is getting dogged for no towns and being linear. I'm about 30 hrs in and have loved every min of it. With the story and how it works out from the start towns are not needed and its very clear. Yes its linear and some people might not like this but most will forget that Final Fanatasy X was the same way. With X you only had a very few towns and you really got nothing from them so Im not missing them at all in 13. But what really shines is the battle system I would say one of the best in ages. It truly grows and has loads of option come mid-game making for a fun fight every time.… Expand
  95. Nidave
    Jan 12, 2017
    3
    Worst game in the series.

    I remember how hype I was for this game when it released only to get disappointed 5 chapters in. It also didn't help that this game was a straight line from chapter 1-11.
  96. Revoltado
    May 16, 2018
    0
    Sem dúvida, o pior FF de todos:
    - personagens super desinteressantes, a personagem principal é a mais sem sal da história
    - Linear ao extremo, pessoas que acham o X linear não jogaram esse que nem cidade tem - Evolução dos personagens é linear e limitada e seu personagem não evolui mais enquanto não derrotar o boss da área - Sistema de combate pior de todos, odiei o sistema de    Sem dúvida, o pior FF de todos:
    - personagens super desinteressantes, a personagem principal é a mais sem sal da história
    - Linear ao extremo, pessoas que acham o X linear não jogaram esse que nem cidade tem
    - Evolução dos personagens é linear e limitada e seu personagem não evolui mais enquanto não derrotar o boss da área
    - Sistema de combate pior de todos, odiei o sistema de paradigma... vc só usa a magia tal se estiver em tal paradigma...
    - lutas lentas demandam um monte de buff e debuff, entediante e não se pode controlar o movimento do personagem na luta... ficam andando sem propósito... mais atrapalha do que ajuda
    - Evocações robóticas - TODAS
    - História boa na essência mas porcamente executada (confusa ao extremo)
    - Nem as músicas gostei
    - Péssima dublagem, vide Vanille    … Expand
  97. JasonB
    Mar 11, 2010
    9
    Spending time in the world of Cacoon and Pulse, I've come to realize that what we have here is a fresh approach to the FF series. Some scoff at the fact that the game is linear, but I say to those scoffers, "Isn't this a Final Fantasy game we're talking about?". If you're looking for an amazing rpg with an inspiring combat system and awesome story....then look no further.
  98. JasA
    Mar 15, 2010
    9
    Just play the game before giving it a bad score. There is exploration in the game, it even says so in the manual. And be patient it takes some time before you get there. FF13 is similar to FF10. Leveling system is getting more interesting as you advance in the game.
  99. Balthier21
    Mar 15, 2010
    9
    A new direction for the franchise. Beatiful graphics, incredible soundtrack, great characters and storyline and adictive battle system. Althougth some problems, like few side quests and frenetic rythm sometimes get tired, is a great great, with new perspective.
  100. LoweG
    Mar 17, 2010
    9
    I don't understand why such a game only get 82 for PS3 and 83 for 360. I think it can get better. Hmm... But, as I knew before, I think the PS3 ver is slightly better than 360 ver due its graphic. Only slightly. But, why did it get lower score than the 360 ver. What happen man???
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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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