Final Fantasy XIII

 Xbox 360
User Score
6.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 692 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 312 out of 692
  2. Mixed: 174 out of 692
  3. Negative: 206 out of 692
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  1. thebrock
    May 9, 2011
    4
    Not a great game. Final fantasy producers should be ashamed of themselves. When you look at the games they produced in the past eg the one with sin, waca and yuna, see i still even remember the names of the characters. I couldnt name a single character from the last 3 final fantasy releases. The reason for there complete and utter failure in recent years is quite simple, they are investingNot a great game. Final fantasy producers should be ashamed of themselves. When you look at the games they produced in the past eg the one with sin, waca and yuna, see i still even remember the names of the characters. I couldnt name a single character from the last 3 final fantasy releases. The reason for there complete and utter failure in recent years is quite simple, they are investing heavily in graphics at the expense of good rpg gameplay. Would not recommend playing this game.… Expand
  2. Whotic
    Jan 26, 2023
    0
    Easily the literally worst piece of garbage ever made by Square Enix, since the Xbox 360 era.
    And still a piece of garbage even today.
    You should avoid this trash, especially if you are looking for a jrpg, since this is definitely the worst I've ever played.
    Automatic combat system, trash summons, trash plot, with literally 0 citys, and 0 NPC.
    A sh/t corridor game, the worst kind of
  3. moonman1994
    Jul 15, 2012
    4
    Final Fantasy XIII is a pretty game but it lacks all the elements that make a Final Fantasy game good. The characters are boring, unmemorable and at some points even annoying. Lightning is a perfect female replica of Cloud if you take away all of the details that make Cloud interesting. The game is extremely linear and even when you reach Pulse. The battle system is extremely annoyingFinal Fantasy XIII is a pretty game but it lacks all the elements that make a Final Fantasy game good. The characters are boring, unmemorable and at some points even annoying. Lightning is a perfect female replica of Cloud if you take away all of the details that make Cloud interesting. The game is extremely linear and even when you reach Pulse. The battle system is extremely annoying because your party tends to randomly wander around the field and that causes problems during many boss battles when a boss is able to do damage over a specific piece of area. Leveling up is also annoying in the game because you have to use the crystal system. It's not the worst game I've ever played but it's nowhere near the excellence of the games 7 to 10 of the Final Fantasy series.… Expand
  4. scarab5Q
    Mar 12, 2012
    4
    Ill start by saying I was a massive fan of near enough every final fantasy game before this (except XI) but I must say that this game is nothing like the other games. This is a very bad thing . there is no over world it is soooo linear and also the battle system is terrible
  5. 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.
  6. EddieHokie
    Aug 7, 2013
    2
    What. The. Heck. Is. This.

    How has Final Fantasy not figured out dialogue and voice acting yet? This is AWFUL and almost impossible to want to listen to. This game as only two things going for it but little things even destroy the good stuff 1) The graphic design is creative, colorful, and big which is fun to look at BUT the characters suck, you can't explore, its one big hallway    What. The. Heck. Is. This.

    How has Final Fantasy not figured out dialogue and voice acting yet? This is AWFUL and almost impossible to want to listen to.

    This game as only two things going for it but little things even destroy the good stuff
    1) The graphic design is creative, colorful, and big which is fun to look at
    BUT the characters suck, you can't explore, its one big hallway all the time

    2) The fights are fun and changing strategy on the fly is entertaining
    BUT I don't like being judged by stars and rushed to finish fights quickly; after a good amount of leveling, characters individual fighting identity becomes really muddled as everyone can almost do any strategy, getting weapons sucks because its a crapshoot knowing which weapons to upgrade; knowing what strategy to use against an enemy the first time you see it can be life or death without the ability to scout it first and bosses are one giant guessing game the first time around

    The story is probably good and possibly deep but it's written like it is meant to be a 2nd graders lullaby.
    I was insulted by its simplicity and the whole thing feels like I have no control over any of it

    What a disappointment after previous installments. Square Enix goes from ground breaking to grounded and out of ideas    … Expand
  7. Jekel8888
    Jul 18, 2014
    2
    So far I've played Final Fantasy 13 for about 6 hours since I purchased it Thursday. About an hour and a half of that was interactive play. The other four and a half hours were some great cinematics. The hour and a half I did play was me repeatedly pressing A for combat with the occasional Y thrown in every fifteen minutes or so. And when not in combat I walk in a straight line forwardSo far I've played Final Fantasy 13 for about 6 hours since I purchased it Thursday. About an hour and a half of that was interactive play. The other four and a half hours were some great cinematics. The hour and a half I did play was me repeatedly pressing A for combat with the occasional Y thrown in every fifteen minutes or so. And when not in combat I walk in a straight line forward because there are no side quests or routes. I'm not sure if they intended this to be similar to listening to a story by a fire, or a movie. I'm absolutely baffled by how they got this labeled as a game. Games are interactive, and usually make at least a half hearted pass at including skillful mechanics in order to succeed. I would give this a 35/100 if it was a low budget game but given how big the series is I'm gonna have to be honest and give them a 20/100 since they have no excuse to make such a poor excuse for a game.… Expand
  8. Barnes1987
    Mar 6, 2017
    4
    One of the worst Final Fantasy games ever made, if not the worst Final Fantasy game ever made. The only thing amazing about this game is the fact that it spawned not one but TWO sequels.
  9. Algur
    Dec 8, 2016
    0
    This game is far and away the worst Final Fantasy game ever made. It almost universally makes players cringe. Between a mess of a story and uninteresting gameplay, it's a wonder this game sold anything other than preorder copies.
  10. sias
    Jan 16, 2012
    3
    Beautiful beautiful game with some fairly decent voice acting. However, that's where the positive parts of my review end. The story, such an important part of a Final Fantasy game, is so obscure and indecipherable in XIII that at certain points I was completely and utterly lost. The thing is, the story is actually quite straight forward, it's just the game is so poorly written that I foundBeautiful beautiful game with some fairly decent voice acting. However, that's where the positive parts of my review end. The story, such an important part of a Final Fantasy game, is so obscure and indecipherable in XIII that at certain points I was completely and utterly lost. The thing is, the story is actually quite straight forward, it's just the game is so poorly written that I found myself relying on online wikis just to understand it. This isn't helped by some terrible cut scenes that occur at a phenomenal rate. In fact the first 15-20 hours (maybe more) of XIII consist of walking down a corridor from cutscene A to cutscene B. Square Enix could have got away with this if they had created characters that are in any way likeable, but no, again, failure on all fronts. Every character is either depressed and/or completely deluded. They constantly moan about how terrible their lives are which just isn't fun to watch. This is the first final fantasy game where I have detested every single character. As for the battle system, well it's incredibly boring. The paradigm change thing feels very derivative and really limits your character customization. Also, the auto-attack function is just depressing. The game actually tells you what combination of attacks or abilities to use. Of course you can ignore it, but all so very often it's telling you to do what you were already planning, so you just hit auto-attack again, and again, and again, until your health is low and you switch to medic and back again, rinse and repeat. It is extremely boring. Also, you can only control one character in your party of three at any one time while the other two are controlled by the AI, which is disgraceful. Never have I seen a game series become so tremendously dumbed down to the point where the game doesn't need you to proceed. The character progression has also become linear and tremendously unexciting. The weapon crafting is also horrendous and almost completely obsolete. It's also very ugly and boring to use. There are also no towns or NPCs to speak to, no side missions to flesh out the world or add depth to the story, and, contrary to believe, no breaks from the linear formula of the game. Yes you do eventually get to a rather large green area with big monsters that look great. The problem is, there's pretty much nothing to do. Yes you can indulge in some monster hunting like Final Fantasy 12, but it's so charmless and quickly just becomes a list of things to spam auto-attack at to make dead. It has none of the charm of Final Fantasy 12. In this big area there is nothing exciting to explore, no cool items or summons to find or anything else really. Basically this large area that comes into the game after torturous corridor crawling is completely shallow. All style, zero substance. Honestly this game is a travesty. I hear there's a sequel coming out this month? Why Square Enix? Why on earth would you not want to ditch this horrid world and move onto something new?! Apart from some actually very pretty graphics, this is an excruciatingly boring and shallow game.… Expand
  11. Seraphy
    Aug 16, 2010
    4
    Gamepro descriped this game best: "a long hallway toward an orange target symbol on your mini-map that triggers a cutscene, a boss fight, or both. Frankly for the first six chapters I thought this game had longest tutorial ever, with total lack of towns, exploration or people to talk to. In short anything fun. There are some good points in the game of course. Story isn't horrible, it isn'tGamepro descriped this game best: "a long hallway toward an orange target symbol on your mini-map that triggers a cutscene, a boss fight, or both. Frankly for the first six chapters I thought this game had longest tutorial ever, with total lack of towns, exploration or people to talk to. In short anything fun. There are some good points in the game of course. Story isn't horrible, it isn't anything to write home about either, and combat is much improved, however all together game is just bad even with all the improvements. If you want to play final fantasy I suggest you play any other number from I-XII, they are all better than this one.… Expand
  12. muzziklover
    Dec 23, 2011
    1
    New update review: I decided to give 13 another shot since my previous criticism was slightly biased. After 8-10 hours of gameplay, it is still a piece of absolute crap. I'll get the good parts out.:Graphics are astonishingly beautiful, the combat system is quite decent and the soundtrack is awesome. Now to the bad parts: Unbearable and annoying characters, poorly written story,New update review: I decided to give 13 another shot since my previous criticism was slightly biased. After 8-10 hours of gameplay, it is still a piece of absolute crap. I'll get the good parts out.:Graphics are astonishingly beautiful, the combat system is quite decent and the soundtrack is awesome. Now to the bad parts: Unbearable and annoying characters, poorly written story, disengaging gameplay and limited freedom because of linearity. Let me quote the comment of FF13's director on its criticisms on linearity: "It becomes very difficult to tell a compelling story when you're given that much freedom". NO, NO, NO, NO!!! The story in this game is as compelling as watching a clock and waiting for the minute hand to move! Hell, watching a clock is more compelling than the story of this game. If the story was good, then the linearity wouldn't be a problem but it is because the story sucks!!! Have they not learnt from previous FF games that players enjoy exploring the mythology and landscape that they made while at the same time still engaged at the story? The previous games managed to tell a good story without sacrificing freedom. What the hell happened? From the first time I played the game, I instantly hated most of the characters in this game. There are only two kind of likable characters but the rest are unbearable and annoying, especially Hope, who should go die in a ditch. Probably the worst thing about this game is its overall gameplay. The player does little to no involvement in the game and even though the combat system is quite decent, there is little to no strategy. The characters in your party does most of the attacking anyways and the majority of most of your combat involves pressing X (PS3) or A (360) over and over again. This new take on FF's gameplay is so disengaging, it really breaks my heart. I heard that it gets good after 20-25 hours. Are you kidding me??? Why would anyone torture themselves to go through 20 hours of crappy, hard to understand story, unbearable characters and uninteresting gameplay to reach the good part in this abomination? Probably me because I do want to know if its good or not. Final Fantasy 13 scares me. Final Fantasy is one of my most beloved gaming franchise and this is what it came to? As I ended with my previous review, this is the worst Final Fantasy game ever. Wait, I wouldn't even call this a "game".It is a huge betrayal to the series and completely desecrates on what its predecessors achieved in terms of gameplay, characters and storytelling. Overhyped and highly overrated.… Expand
  13. SteveW
    Mar 12, 2010
    2
    I am really disappointed.. I really enjoyed playing FF XII. FF VII I played through 10 times or so. This is really the worst Final Fantasy game I have ever tried. By far, the worst, no question. It feels like a job getting through this game. The graphics are not even that good. There is no way they make up for the horrible game play. The first time I saw the Odin sommon I nearly through I am really disappointed.. I really enjoyed playing FF XII. FF VII I played through 10 times or so. This is really the worst Final Fantasy game I have ever tried. By far, the worst, no question. It feels like a job getting through this game. The graphics are not even that good. There is no way they make up for the horrible game play. The first time I saw the Odin sommon I nearly through my controler it looked so stupid. When you play this game and tell yourself that some things were sacrificed for graphics, then see the horse make the awkward turn, it will make you so mad. You run from movie to movie with very little interaction. Seriously, you tap "X" ("A" on XBOX) over and over. It almost relieving when you die becuase you know you finally get to think. Each movie looks good I guess but this whole game has removed the player completely. Whoever gave this game a good review works for Square. If I wanted to watch a movie, i would put in a DVD! Final Fantasy 12 made leaps and bounds for the series. The annoying screen glass shattering and fighting music started got really old in the previous games. FF 12 got rid of that and allowed you to run during battle. As a player, you could control so much more. How can you go from a game that made so many improvments, to this piece of garbage? They brought back all that was bad and kept non that was good. If you want to make a game with good graphics, re-make FF VII, or ANY final fantasy game from 1 to 8. Seriously, anything would have been better. I will never buy a new FF game again. I was so looking forward to this and it is a huge let down. I gave this game a 2 because of the name and in respect to the series as a whole. It was the best video game series of all time but this game ruined that.… Expand
  14. moholdt
    Dec 3, 2011
    1
    Since the last good Final Fantasy game, FFX, and before that the very best, FFVII, I've been trying out the new games. Hoping to get an equally great experience as the franchise used to give me. However I end up more and more disapointed. It's like having your best friend becoming addicted to heroin. You try your best to support him but at the same time you sort of stand by watching himSince the last good Final Fantasy game, FFX, and before that the very best, FFVII, I've been trying out the new games. Hoping to get an equally great experience as the franchise used to give me. However I end up more and more disapointed. It's like having your best friend becoming addicted to heroin. You try your best to support him but at the same time you sort of stand by watching him slowly ruin himself and getting closer to the enevitable death. The game is linear. Move from point A to point B, watch cutscene, engage in combat with a terrible combat system, learn about shallow characters you couldn't care less about and in the end, if you actually get there before quitting, defeat the final boss. Squaresoft took the winning formula from previous successes, and broke it into pieces. I don't know what's going on. If it's change in management or if they just don't care anymore, but the Final Fantasy that I know is long dead and it's sad.… Expand
  15. JakeSteel
    May 16, 2013
    0
    Such a tragic letdown. After years of being the first name in console RPGs, Square has had nothing but a trilogy of beautiful polished turds in it's last three numbered final fantasies.
  16. NickC
    Apr 21, 2010
    3
    Emo Hallway Simulator 13 is one of the most dissappointing games I've played in years. There isn't much good to say about the gameplay itself. The storyline is worse than laughably bad, the characters are over-emotional and terribly annoying, the graphics are so-so, sound and music are lazy, the cut scenes get stale very quickly, the new fighting system results in mindless Emo Hallway Simulator 13 is one of the most dissappointing games I've played in years. There isn't much good to say about the gameplay itself. The storyline is worse than laughably bad, the characters are over-emotional and terribly annoying, the graphics are so-so, sound and music are lazy, the cut scenes get stale very quickly, the new fighting system results in mindless button mashing.... all that aside the real tradgedy of this game is how it has exposed the unapologetic scam that is the game-review industry. It is beyond me how any professional outfit could rate this junk higher than even a 7/10, yet I'm seeing 10/10s everywhere. Shame on you world.… Expand
  17. Robbaz
    Sep 30, 2010
    3
    Uttter **** the first 6 hours you constantly spam one button and run along a linear corridor, later in the game you can switch stances witch only is useful between the boss fights aka "hours of boring bull**** for some other bull****".

    The story is only good for weaaboos.
  18. ShadowFlare
    Nov 21, 2011
    0
    Maybe the most desapointing Final Fantasy ever. The game has the best beggining of the series, but after chapter 8 it started to get poor and Hope it's the only good character of this game.
    The combat is more like (watch the movie) and this game is so freaking linear. Don't have shops and cities. Bad FF, bad Fabula nova crystallis.
  19. TROTTERPM
    Feb 9, 2011
    4
    The worst FF yet. Square has taken its "can do no wrong franchise" and experimented it out of the whole "RPG' pigeon hole. sure its pretty, and the voice acting is top noch, but its more a "interactive story" now, with an akwardly placed 100 side quests tossed in around chapter 11. not that they are really side quests, rather just hunting missions. it takes 2 hour to just get to the pointThe worst FF yet. Square has taken its "can do no wrong franchise" and experimented it out of the whole "RPG' pigeon hole. sure its pretty, and the voice acting is top noch, but its more a "interactive story" now, with an akwardly placed 100 side quests tossed in around chapter 11. not that they are really side quests, rather just hunting missions. it takes 2 hour to just get to the point where you can start leveling up. Summons are pointless and do less damage than nomal attacks, limit breaks are gone and weapon crafting is frustrating as for the vast majority of the game you cannot earn any money. even now at a cheap $20, i feel ripped off. avoid this game, and square enix as a whole. This company has bit the farm as far as i am concerned. I am baffeled that the same company that made my beloved FF tactics, FF 7, FF9, Crono Trigger, Crono Cross, Xenogears,and FF10 are the same folks that churned out this crap.… Expand
  20. thelawgiver
    Mar 9, 2011
    2
    This is just not a good game. It might have made a good movie (indeed, the graphics are phenomenal), but FFXIII, to the extent that one even "plays" it, is a very poor game. The voice acting is absolutely, positively atrocious. The writing is equally awful. Dialogue is disjointed, nonsensical and usually just silly (but not in the entertaining way). The characters are incrediblyThis is just not a good game. It might have made a good movie (indeed, the graphics are phenomenal), but FFXIII, to the extent that one even "plays" it, is a very poor game. The voice acting is absolutely, positively atrocious. The writing is equally awful. Dialogue is disjointed, nonsensical and usually just silly (but not in the entertaining way). The characters are incredibly annoying, and the story doesn't make sense through most of the game. Combat is streamlined to the point of pointlessness. The leveling system is almost completely linear. There are no sidequests other than "Hunts" similar those in FFXII, but you don't access those until almost 30 hours in. There is no true "open ended" part of the game, where you are free to roam the entire universe of the game. There is nothing at all to redeem the completely lackluster experience of "playing" this game. And I cannot stress enough how poor the writing and voice acting are.… Expand
  21. Evis03
    May 29, 2011
    4
    Nonsensical story telling, bland two dimensional characters and gameplay which more often than not boils down to mashing the A button until it's over. The game is horrendously on rails with nothing to do bar hunt marks once the main story line is done. Graphics are excellent, but that's about it. The battke system shows some ingenuity, but sadly utterly fails to capture all but the mostNonsensical story telling, bland two dimensional characters and gameplay which more often than not boils down to mashing the A button until it's over. The game is horrendously on rails with nothing to do bar hunt marks once the main story line is done. Graphics are excellent, but that's about it. The battke system shows some ingenuity, but sadly utterly fails to capture all but the most basic stratergy and tactics. A true dissapointment and a new lowpoint for the series. Easily the worst of the series so far.… Expand
  22. Vio
    Nov 20, 2011
    4
    Poor story, too much auto combat options, little exploration, good art & movie animations, graphics good.

    This game starts out in all the excitement of a new "Final Fantasy" release, but i'm afraid the more you play it the more disappointed you will feel. In the end the game drags to the point were it feels more like a obligation to try and finish it that a desire. Liked it? - It was    Poor story, too much auto combat options, little exploration, good art & movie animations, graphics good.

    This game starts out in all the excitement of a new "Final Fantasy" release, but i'm afraid the more you play it the more disappointed you will feel. In the end the game drags to the point were it feels more like a obligation to try and finish it that a desire. Liked it? - It was DISAPPOINTING.    … Expand
  23. FinalFantasyG
    May 6, 2012
    0
    terrible. a slap in the face. warning, this is not a rpg folks. I have been playing the FF series since it started. God, where do I start? No freedom, computer does everything, you have no control over anything. Bosses with a millions of hit points, that you begin to fall asleep while you play. Seriously, one boss had 3 million hit points. Only thing that saved this game was the cutterrible. a slap in the face. warning, this is not a rpg folks. I have been playing the FF series since it started. God, where do I start? No freedom, computer does everything, you have no control over anything. Bosses with a millions of hit points, that you begin to fall asleep while you play. Seriously, one boss had 3 million hit points. Only thing that saved this game was the cut scenes, they are beautiful. I felt like I walking through a hallway, and everything was set up for me. The first chapters of the game were BORING. I want to be able to PLAY all my characters, build them the way I see fit. Also, if your person in command dies, the whole team is dead. So lame. I really, really hated this game. I hope to see a big change with 14, or my FF days are done.… Expand
  24. JohnLemon
    Jan 29, 2013
    0
    Game is incomplete garbage! I absolutely hate it. I hate it's gameplay, story, characters, graphics, visuals! EVERY SINGLE ASPECT! Gameplay is worthless boring button masher for +20 hours with exploration of giant hallway in which you won't find anything worth mentioning, ever. Story is boring-ass underdeveloped scrap of what could've not so bad story. Characters are retarded andGame is incomplete garbage! I absolutely hate it. I hate it's gameplay, story, characters, graphics, visuals! EVERY SINGLE ASPECT! Gameplay is worthless boring button masher for +20 hours with exploration of giant hallway in which you won't find anything worth mentioning, ever. Story is boring-ass underdeveloped scrap of what could've not so bad story. Characters are retarded and unlikeable. Graphics are mediocre, textures are okay, but nothing really to look at. Visuals are screwed up. So, okay, we have this "realistic" wanna be graphics, what should we do? ADD A GUY WITH IMPOSSIBLE BLUE HAIR OF COURSE! Or, motorcycle from two half-naked women?! WHY FREAKING NOT!? A teenager that annihilates fully armed and trained army soldiers, WHY NOT?! The world isn't ugly just because graphics aren't horrible, but you won't ever find any place, any building, anything worth mentioning. I simply can't put something, at least one good thing about this game! Oh, wait, i can, music is kinda cool, but they ruined it with some pop-singers. I usually was turning off music every time when some **** pop song started. Game isn't good because it's bad, it's bad, because it's bad. Really, really bad.… Expand
  25. Octavio87
    Feb 16, 2015
    0
    Worst game I have ever played and I started playing on my Gameboy about 20 years ago.

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

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

    I even enjoyed playing Ride to Hell: Retribution more than this, that game made you laugh at least, while FFXIII just makes me angry as hell. So **** this game, **** it to oblivion.    … Expand
  26. Slammin87
    May 20, 2011
    1
    One of the biggest let downs in gaming history. This game is an insult to the millions of true Final Fantasy fans out there. FF fans are RPG fans, as FF's have historically been RPG's. FF13 is NOT an RPG, therefore SE has alienated its core fan base, to gain a new fan base of people who prefer style (nice graphics) over substance.

    Final Fantasy was all about "Take my hand, I'm going to    One of the biggest let downs in gaming history. This game is an insult to the millions of true Final Fantasy fans out there. FF fans are RPG fans, as FF's have historically been RPG's. FF13 is NOT an RPG, therefore SE has alienated its core fan base, to gain a new fan base of people who prefer style (nice graphics) over substance.

    Final Fantasy was all about "Take my hand, I'm going to show you the world"! Not "take my hand, I am now going to force you to go where I say, which is down a bunch of stupid paths"!!

    FF used to be a massive adventure game series.... where is the adventure in this?! The game doesn't let you adventure in the slightest. The characters suck, the battle system is just a pathetic insult to my intelligence! I want to play the game, not you!!! The weapon upgrade system is a joke, their are NO side quests except some stupid pointless stones which offer no reward, hence being totally pointless.

    So long Final Fantasy series, I fell in love with you with FF7, and continued to be in awe of your beauty with FF8, FF10 and even FF12 to some extent. Unfortunately, you have lost your way, and as much as it pains me... this is where we part ways, as you have betrayed me.    … Expand
  27. Land0fChocolate
    Sep 8, 2011
    1
    What FF XIII is is a bunch of atrocious design ideas all heaped up into one great big mess and been decorated in lots of colors and detail that falls hard on its face to hide the shallow game underneath. Of course I've played plenty of JRPGs and I know that poor or outdated design is rather typical of them, FF XIII however just takes the whole cake and runs off with it. I played throughWhat FF XIII is is a bunch of atrocious design ideas all heaped up into one great big mess and been decorated in lots of colors and detail that falls hard on its face to hide the shallow game underneath. Of course I've played plenty of JRPGs and I know that poor or outdated design is rather typical of them, FF XIII however just takes the whole cake and runs off with it. I played through the whole game and not once did I feel impressed by any of the game mechanics, storytelling/plot devices, characters, creature design, leveling process, level design, combat and countless other things that slip my mind. Rather, all of these things are just either really irritating, really boring or both. There was nothing good about the Gameplay and I'm not exaggerating, there is absolutely nothing it that I can think of in my 30+ hours of playing that was well designed. People tell me that FF XIII was made like this so that it could introduce new players to the Final Fantasy franchise. If this is true then Square Enix clearly have no idea what it is they're doing. The game has been dumbed down to the point where it is moving close to the border of what separates a video game from an interactive movie. You spend your first 20 hours selecting auto-attack to win every fight and running down corridors, literally auto-attack for EVERY SINGLE fight excluding boss fights and EVERY SINGLE level in the first 20 hours is a corridor and they don't try to hide it. The unlikable characters and nonsensical story would also contribute in the repelling of any FF newbie. Even after 20 hours there wasn't much more to the maps or the combat, it still felt repetitive, lifeless and utterly boring. I only completed this game for a bet and amazed I didn't kill myself in the process.… Expand
  28. TurbolumberjackZ
    Mar 30, 2010
    3
    This title contains the worst character design and dialog I've seen from Square Enix, and possibly the worst in a modern AAA game. There is no camp value to be had from the playable characters -- they are unlikable in the extreme. The plot and dialog is just awful; it's so bad I can't play this when others are around -- it's just too embarrassing. These would be This title contains the worst character design and dialog I've seen from Square Enix, and possibly the worst in a modern AAA game. There is no camp value to be had from the playable characters -- they are unlikable in the extreme. The plot and dialog is just awful; it's so bad I can't play this when others are around -- it's just too embarrassing. These would be forgivable sins, but for the fact that the title is in love with its own awful brand of storytelling. About the only positive thing to say about the game… Expand
  29. AJ
    Apr 19, 2010
    2
    Awful game. Captures non of the magic of FFVII, the only final fantasy game I ever liked. This game sucks in everyway possible, a game can suck. I cant even face playing it just for the achievements. It
  30. Callmeballs
    Mar 26, 2011
    1
    I only played this game(using the term loosely) for a short while, and that was all it took for me to completely lose faith in Square Enix. They decided to remove as much control from the player as possible. In battle you can choose to have the game auto-pilot and win about 90% of the battles. You don't control player movement, and you can only control the predetermined leader of thatI only played this game(using the term loosely) for a short while, and that was all it took for me to completely lose faith in Square Enix. They decided to remove as much control from the player as possible. In battle you can choose to have the game auto-pilot and win about 90% of the battles. You don't control player movement, and you can only control the predetermined leader of that chapter. This bothered me, because Lightning has an AoE attack at her disposal, but since you can't strafe and bunch the enemies together, you are left to wait on the enemies bunching themselves, and hoping that Lighting gets the attack off before they disperse. All you really get to do is walk a couple steps down a linear corridor, when you get hit by ANOTHER CUT SCENE. Square Enix really wanted to make a movie, not a game. All the characters are annoying, and the voice actors must have had no self respect. Vanil is an obnoxious teenager that giggles after everything she says. Hope is hopelessly depressed and equally obnoxious. Lighting is a b*tch for no reason. Sazh was tolerable until a scene when he stared at Vanil's ass. Pedophiles are hilarious, right? Snow was the only actually tolerable character. The story makes no sense, the characters keep expressing that they want to be turned into crystals, or something. I don't know or care. I hear the game gets good about 40 hours in. I guess I'll never know.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

45
#45 Best Xbox 360 Game of 2010
12
#12 Most Discussed Xbox 360 Game of 2010
22
#22 Most Shared Xbox 360 Game of 2010

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 54 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 43 out of 54
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 54
  3. Negative: 2 out of 54
  1. GamesRadar+
    100
    The streamlined, focused structure eliminates potential tedium without dumbing anything down, and the battle system strikes an elegant balance between strategy and fast-paced action. Stunningly beautiful graphics and a pervasively meticulous level of polish throughout only add to the experience.
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  2. Vandal
    92
    We can't assure it is a turning point in the series, but it manages to make fights fun and it's no doubt an outstanding game.
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  3. Official Xbox Magazine
    90
    While the game's first 10 hours still give me pause, the 60 magnificent hours after those initial steps onto Cocoon make up for the tunnel-vision tutorial. [Apr 2010, p.68]
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