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. el_rico12t7
    Nov 15, 2011
    6
    Final Fantasy XIII is a decent game. Its very liner with good graphics and a decent storey. I cant help but think that its popularity is piggy-backing off the back of final fantasy 7. After playing every final fantasy since FF7 im beginning to lose hope that square enix will ever come close to replicating the greatness of FF7.
  2. chronoT
    Sep 6, 2012
    6
    This game was disappointing to me overall, showing that Final Fantasy may never return to its' epic roots. FF 13 feels more like a generic Devil May Cry than it does a FF. The game is extremely linear once again but even worse than 10/10-2, the story is bland and some of the characters are extremely annoying. This really hurts because as a kid I absolutely loved FF 1-9, and ever since 9This game was disappointing to me overall, showing that Final Fantasy may never return to its' epic roots. FF 13 feels more like a generic Devil May Cry than it does a FF. The game is extremely linear once again but even worse than 10/10-2, the story is bland and some of the characters are extremely annoying. This really hurts because as a kid I absolutely loved FF 1-9, and ever since 9 its has been steadily going downhill. I could name a few positives, the graphics look very nice and battle system is different but actually really fun to use.… Expand
  3. JamMasterJayFan
    May 1, 2014
    6
    I reviewed this game back in late 2013, and I started to get really into it. The problem with me and games is that I won't play a game to completion until something about it grabs my attention, or else I'll play other games and only continue it later. I'm wishy-washy when it comes to completing games nowadays, and what's disheartening about this game was the fact that I was finally aboutI reviewed this game back in late 2013, and I started to get really into it. The problem with me and games is that I won't play a game to completion until something about it grabs my attention, or else I'll play other games and only continue it later. I'm wishy-washy when it comes to completing games nowadays, and what's disheartening about this game was the fact that I was finally about to beat it.

    I purchased this game over the summer and didn't really play it that much until school started. Then all of a sudden the game really ramped up, and I saw myself completing disc one, and after that I was hooked. Disc 2 was an incredible experience from beginning to end, as it was breathtaking visually and the story got more and more interesting. Later on, I beat disc 2, and I couldn't wait to continue on to disc 3, finally beating this game. I was ready for that great sense of completion one gets when they beat a game they've had on their backlog for so long.

    But alas, the third disc was a horrible miscalculation. It went from an enjoyable experience overall to a shocking, horrendous slog. It's so freaking hard that I simply couldn't keep up with the enemies. I put 30 hours into the game, only to have a brick wall erected in front of my progress. It turns out that in order to even stand a chance in disc 3, you're supposed to do all the side missions. This is terrible. And it's a shame too.

    I was having a great time with this game, but unfortunately I was rendered unable to complete it. This game gets a 6 for horrendous difficulty spikes. It really is a shame, because late disc one and all of disc 2 were a very enjoyable way to pass the time.    … Expand
  4. mr_dad
    Aug 30, 2015
    6
    Oh boy, another hallway to run down!

    When it comes to FF13, most people seem to fall into a "love it" or "hate it" category. Not a lot of people fall in the middle, but I happen to be one of them. FF13 tries to combine many different elements from previous games together into what is ultimately a messy cluster of both good and bad in both the story and gameplay. To say this game has    Oh boy, another hallway to run down!

    When it comes to FF13, most people seem to fall into a "love it" or "hate it" category. Not a lot of people fall in the middle, but I happen to be one of them. FF13 tries to combine many different elements from previous games together into what is ultimately a messy cluster of both good and bad in both the story and gameplay. To say this game has NOTHING good I far to extreme, but I think even a lot of its fans agree it's far from perfect.

    And yes, it's linear as heck.

    THE GOOD
    + There's a huge spike in quality in the final hours.
    + The battle system (when fully unlocked) is extremely deep, focusing more on speed and efficiency.

    THE MIXED
    +/- The characters are very hit or miss, depending on how easily annoyed you can be.
    +/- The linear nature greatly reinforces the themes of the game...but it's still super linear.

    The BAD
    - The first 10-20 hours of the game test your patience like few games before (if you can get that far.)    … Expand
  5. Chowda
    Jan 4, 2016
    6
    Graphics, music, sound effects, battle sequences, weapons, upgrades, story, and characters are all great. The the quality of the cut scenes and battle animations are phenomenal......the battle system is different and interesting for about 15 hours and then it feels like just hitting the same button over and over again. I got very bored with the fighting system about 30 hours in and triedGraphics, music, sound effects, battle sequences, weapons, upgrades, story, and characters are all great. The the quality of the cut scenes and battle animations are phenomenal......the battle system is different and interesting for about 15 hours and then it feels like just hitting the same button over and over again. I got very bored with the fighting system about 30 hours in and tried to finish the game as fast as I could. I got to the end of the game and was underpowered and couldn't beat the final boss.

    I lost interest halfway through so the most I can give it is a 6.    … Expand
  6. The3AcademySins
    Jul 3, 2018
    6
    There's a lot to digest when it comes to examining Final Fantasy XIII. There's a lot to this game that I genuinely enjoy, and there is a lot to this game that leaves much to be desired.

    Let's start with the positives. The art design and soundtrack are quite superb. The battle theme is memorable, and the world is pretty to look at, especially once you get to Chapter 10 and are able to    There's a lot to digest when it comes to examining Final Fantasy XIII. There's a lot to this game that I genuinely enjoy, and there is a lot to this game that leaves much to be desired.

    Let's start with the positives.

    The art design and soundtrack are quite superb. The battle theme is memorable, and the world is pretty to look at, especially once you get to Chapter 10 and are able to explore Gran Pulse. The characters are well designed, and there are some solid voice acting performances, particularly from Lightning and Snow. The combat is fast-paced and intuitive once you unlock the whole function over the first 10 chapters. The gameplay itself is well animated, even if the cutscenes are very-over-the-top anime in style.

    Now the negatives:

    The story.

    Dear God, the story.

    It's an incomprehensible mess that requires reading over 400 pages of footnotes that are hidden in Datalogs that explain the nonsense we see in the cutscenes. Not once do the characters explain the world around them, or talk about how the feel. These emotions are almost all hidden in datalogs. The lore of the world is all hidden in these datalogs and slowly unraveled over the first 20 hours. We are expected to know what a L'Cie and a Fal'Cie are off the bat, as well as the Sanctums motivations, and the motivations of the characters with NO CONTEXT and it's a huge roadblock in developing the characters and the story and why we should care about their struggles. Instead this is SLOWLY rolled out through 20 hours of flashbacks, and the story never feels like it goes anywhere. I don't know who wrote this, but this is not an optimal way to tell a story. Things like Memento or Pulp Fiction work because we understand the context, and we never know the context here.

    Another huge problem is the linearity of the game. The first 20 hours are a long endless hallway with pre-determined battles that get you to where the game wants you to be, but the exploration element that made Final Fantasy great is notably absent until you hit Gran Pulse. Even there, inspite of the beauty of the world, there is very little substance other than hunting monsters.

    The Crystarium is a cool concept, and improves on the "GridSphere" feature introduced in Final Fantasy X, but the fact that all of the characters eventually unlock every role really makes them feel identical, and there is no reason to use all of the characters. Games with job systems like Final Fantasy X-2 or Final Fantasy III and V worked because the cast was limited, so you could experiment with classes and jobs as you wanted. With a party of six, and only three participants in combat at a time, it really doesn't add to the gameplay, and instead detracts from it.

    All in all, this is a fun game if you want to turn your brain off and not think too hard for a few hours and look at pretty worlds. Sometimes we need that.    … Expand
  7. Dagamingphoenix
    Jul 25, 2016
    6
    Final Fantasy was THE go-to JRPG series. It MADE Square and is the 10th highest selling video-game franchise of all time with 111 million games sold.
    And my oh my, this series fell
    hard. For a start, 3 of my points go towards the graphics and cinematic cutscenes because one of two redeeming qualities about this game is very pretty. The first time I layed my eyes on those visuals...    Final Fantasy was THE go-to JRPG series. It MADE Square and is the 10th highest selling video-game franchise of all time with 111 million games sold.
    And my oh my, this series fell
    hard.
    For a start, 3 of my points go towards the graphics and cinematic cutscenes because one of two redeeming qualities about this game is very pretty.
    The first time I layed my eyes on those visuals...
    just AMAZING!!
    The other point goes towards Lightning, stoic, determined, fearless. Truly inspiring. (Although she sounds board for the majority of the game and even more so in it's sequels)
    Everything else about the game is bad.
    Autobattle is a crime and is another obstacle in my journey to the abilities tab.
    If it wasn't for the internet, I would have drowned in the swirling storyline.
    The gameplay follows the same pattern, run, fight, run, OOOOHH TREASURE SPHERE!! Run, fight, run, talk, cutscene, boss battle, repeat.
    All characters (except Lightning) are generally "meh"
    And don't get me started on Vanille.
    AND THE MUSIC IS HORRIFIC!!
    Thank God I got this second-hand for 4 quid.    … Expand
  8. BlakeW
    Mar 12, 2010
    5
    I have played and enjoyed every FF game to date except 12. So I thought, hey another FF, good to pass some time right? Wrong, what a waste of $60. I don't normally write in about games like this but wasting $60 (I cant return it to the store) just irks me. This game is on rails, no really, imagine you are on a train track: you have ZERO choice over anything you do, say, explore, I have played and enjoyed every FF game to date except 12. So I thought, hey another FF, good to pass some time right? Wrong, what a waste of $60. I don't normally write in about games like this but wasting $60 (I cant return it to the store) just irks me. This game is on rails, no really, imagine you are on a train track: you have ZERO choice over anything you do, say, explore, attack, I mean literally everything. I don't know how to emphasize this more, every environment you are in is straight and super narrow. Even the fighting is on rails I kid you not. There is an "auto-attack" button that queues up the best attacks for you. The only thing you have to do, on the very rare tough fights, is switch to healing mode for 2 seconds, then switch back to attack mode and mash auto-attack again. There is one exception to the linear path 30 hours into the game, which you are presented a nice huge field to fight monsters in, then it's on rails again to the end. All this wouldn't be so bad if the story was good. But honestly, I was so completely lost on what was going on I thought it was an inside joke or something. The game introduces so much terminology to you with no explanation as to what it means that I had to read on the internet to see what these things actually meant. There is one thing that is amazing about this game though. As with all FF games the graphics are top notch. Can't praise them more. The music is just so-so, some tracks I find myself humming and some get on my nerves. The voice acting is pretty good. To sum it up: buy this game if you enjoy truly excellent cut scenes followed by 1-2 hours of holding up while running through a true tunnel filled with not a single npc, just enemies, and auto attacking while battling (all while having no idea what in the world is going on).… Expand
  9. BryanM.
    Apr 12, 2010
    5
    Bah! This game redefines the word "linear". The first 20 hours you will be walking through corridors using an auto attack combat system that is incredibly tedious. It attempts to add some depth to the combat by way of paradigms to change your parties roles in battle, but this essentially means you will occasionally have to switch someone to be a healer for a little while. The exception Bah! This game redefines the word "linear". The first 20 hours you will be walking through corridors using an auto attack combat system that is incredibly tedious. It attempts to add some depth to the combat by way of paradigms to change your parties roles in battle, but this essentially means you will occasionally have to switch someone to be a healer for a little while. The exception will be the boss battles that requires you to figure out a sequence of paradigms to beat them that you really can't stray from. Other than that... no exploration, no towns, the shops are boring, it has a very simple crafting system... ugh. This is the worst Final Fantasy game in the series. Don't let the people giving this game high marks fool you, if it weren't for the Final Fantasy name no one would be playing this pile of garbage.… Expand
  10. JohnX
    Apr 11, 2010
    5
    The plot is adequate, but the maudlin voice acting and dialogue made me want to stop playing at several points. There's a severe lack of side quests in the game . . . they put in 64 hunting missions and decided that's all they needed. Combat in the game is somewhat interesting, but only because enemies are rather difficult. Other than that, it's not all that ingenius. The plot is adequate, but the maudlin voice acting and dialogue made me want to stop playing at several points. There's a severe lack of side quests in the game . . . they put in 64 hunting missions and decided that's all they needed. Combat in the game is somewhat interesting, but only because enemies are rather difficult. Other than that, it's not all that ingenius. I've played FF VI, VII, VIII, IX, X and XII, and I felt that this entry was by far the weakest in the series.… Expand
  11. VermillionHaze
    May 9, 2012
    5
    This game is a slap in the face to loyal FF fans. All the good things the series is known for such as character development, exploration and a wealth of extra content is thrown out for a simplistic point A to point B experience that will leave you scratching your head. The battle system is equally boring, and it's tutorial lasts about 6 hours. Graphically it's amazing and the cutscenes areThis game is a slap in the face to loyal FF fans. All the good things the series is known for such as character development, exploration and a wealth of extra content is thrown out for a simplistic point A to point B experience that will leave you scratching your head. The battle system is equally boring, and it's tutorial lasts about 6 hours. Graphically it's amazing and the cutscenes are stellar but apart from that it's a dismal direction for FF. I cared absolutely nothing for any of the characters 10 hours in and even less about the mangled excuse for a plot. It's worth a rent or a $9.99 or below price tag.… Expand
  12. makemenuconfig
    Mar 10, 2011
    5
    As a long Final Fantasy fan, I didn't like it much. And after spending 45 hours on it, I really don't have any good experience from it. Nothing is really memorable about this game. It's just mind-numbingly average.

    The plot is very shallow and doesn't have a "soul", it's even below the average "save the world" theme that occurs in most rpg's. You'll often find yourself confused about what    As a long Final Fantasy fan, I didn't like it much. And after spending 45 hours on it, I really don't have any good experience from it. Nothing is really memorable about this game. It's just mind-numbingly average.

    The plot is very shallow and doesn't have a "soul", it's even below the average "save the world" theme that occurs in most rpg's. You'll often find yourself confused about what are you supposed to be doing, what is the goal, who is the bad guy, and all those naming conventions is just atrocious ( L'cie, Fal'cie, Pulse L'cie, Ciet'h ) I mean c'mon did a 5 year old kid came up with those names. You just can't take it seriously. Characters are forgettable and no-one stands out or makes an impact on you. Also don't worry about getting lost, the game is one big hallway, you just force yourself forward.

    The battle system is a disgrace. Seriously, It is a button musher. You can win all the battles in the game just by pressing X all the time. You can only control one character, the other 2 just act on their own. Of course you can assign them jobs at each time, but they still act like retards and do whatever they want.
    There is no strategy on the battles, just Press X not to die, and from time to time switch jobs..
    Pathetic.

    Remember when most of FF music was excellent and had feelings? Your winamp is full of FF albums right? Well, you can skip getting the FFXIII album, because there isn't a single one piece of music that is memorable or that has a heart. I think that all music tracks of this game are all blunt and emotionless....

    Graphics are ok though, but they don't save the mess. If you are an rpg fan, skip this, If you are not an rpg fan, skip it, If you want to play this because you are really curious .. well.. get ready for the worst end boss & ending of any RPG ever made.. you have been warned.    … Expand
  13. cajuncrusher
    Mar 28, 2011
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I have played all the Final Fantasy games and this one takes the prize for worst game of the series. First the Good: Beautiful graphics; No random battles. End of battle you replenish your hit points automatically.
    Bad: Terrible gameplay mechanics, you basically spend your time switching between "classes" to heal, attack and that is basically all you do. There is no strategy to it at all. It is also extremely hard in places especially when you have to defeat Eidolons(creatures you summon) within a certain time period in order to use them(did I mention you have to do it). So in a nutshell a graphically beautiful FF game with little to no redeemable qualities.    … Expand
  14. Gamer10442
    Jun 20, 2011
    5
    Game looks great but i played through the whole thing and do not remember anything. Thats because its a whole lot of hitting a to auto battle and running in straight lines...
  15. jeffcloudy
    Apr 11, 2014
    5
    The game was fine. But a boss along the name of ODIN ruined it for me. The boss battle is unfair and seemingly poorly created. I cannot attack fast enough due to the constant barrage of enemy attacks - most of my time was spent healing myself. When I do manage to get a constant ring of attacks - the timer runs out. Therefor putting me to death. I give this game a 5 out 10 because of this.The game was fine. But a boss along the name of ODIN ruined it for me. The boss battle is unfair and seemingly poorly created. I cannot attack fast enough due to the constant barrage of enemy attacks - most of my time was spent healing myself. When I do manage to get a constant ring of attacks - the timer runs out. Therefor putting me to death. I give this game a 5 out 10 because of this. If I manage to beat the boss in the future - I might reconsider changing this score.… Expand
  16. Locke_Cole
    Apr 23, 2017
    5
    Cuando jugué este juego por primera vez pensé: "Square se relajó al hacer éste Final Fantasy"

    Ahora lo he rejugado varios años después de mi primera experiencia, y sigo creyendo lo mismo. Veo una historia interesante, un buen sistema de pelea, gráficos punteros en su época , una gran banda sonora y un diseño artístico con personalidad. El problema es que todo aquello se ve arruinado por    Cuando jugué este juego por primera vez pensé: "Square se relajó al hacer éste Final Fantasy"

    Ahora lo he rejugado varios años después de mi primera experiencia, y sigo creyendo lo mismo. Veo una historia interesante, un buen sistema de pelea, gráficos punteros en su época , una gran banda sonora y un diseño artístico con personalidad. El problema es que todo aquello se ve arruinado por tres motivos: Mala narrativa, pésimos personajes, horrible diseño de niveles.

    El problema es que esos son tres de los elementos mas importantes en la saga de Final Fantasy, por ello el hate de algunas personas a esta entrega. La forma de la narrativa intenta con todas sus fuerzas que no la entiendas, tomando giros incoherentes y llamando de forma estrambótica cosas muy sencillas. Los personajes son desagradables, actúan sin motivos, sobre reaccionan, van en contra de u propio guion y son clichés de las personalidades mas desagradables que hay, llorones, filósofos inentendibles y malos chistes. Por último el juego es un pasillo, un horrible pasillo que se estructura en base a cinemática/dialogo/luchas/dialogo/esfera de guardado/jefe. Y aunque esa estructura es típica de los juegos, al menos el diseño de nivel lo intenta ocultar, aquí esa formula es incluso visible en el mapa.

    Es una pena lo de éste juego. Tiene bases sólidas, pero algunos de los aspectos mas importantes de cualquier juego, y mas aún de un Final Fantasy son francamente horribles. Al ponderar todo esto en una nota tenemos un juego mediocre, en el sentido literal de la palabra. Un juego medio que no puede ser recomendado. El peor Final Fantasy que he jugado.    … Expand
  17. 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
  18. 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
  19. 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
  20. 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
  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. 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
  24. OutlawTX
    Apr 12, 2022
    4
    Truly one of the most annoying games I’ve ever played. The decisions made in the creation of the game are bafflingly stupid. Walk down a path for 30 hours until you reach an open area grindfest. What makes the bad gameplay even worse is the fact that the characters are so well done. Great, intriguing characters with a good story that’s completely ruined by insanity boring gameplay thatTruly one of the most annoying games I’ve ever played. The decisions made in the creation of the game are bafflingly stupid. Walk down a path for 30 hours until you reach an open area grindfest. What makes the bad gameplay even worse is the fact that the characters are so well done. Great, intriguing characters with a good story that’s completely ruined by insanity boring gameplay that leads to insanely annoying gameplay. I bought the game day 1 when it originally came out but sold it after playing for about 15 hours and literally falling asleep about 7 times while playing. Seeing it on Gamepass, I decided I would make a point to finish it. After enduring the slog of walking down empty linear paths for 25 hours, I’ve spent 7 hours in the open area and can easily say that the combat, upgrade system, level design, progression system and camera control suck beyond belief and I’ve almost completely run out of patience. For a game to have such good presentation with such an abominable user experience is such a let down. All and all, it’s just as much of a turd as I remember it being 12 years ago.… Expand
  25. 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.
  26. brendo214
    May 21, 2019
    4
    After I had to wade through 25 hours of b.s. to get to the 'good' part of the game, I just quit. Nothing about his game is redeemable enough to make up for all the bad stuff.
  27. 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
  28. 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
  29. 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.
  30. 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
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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

All reviews »
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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