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!!

Considering all the detail that went into XII, XIII feels stripped out to the point that I felt I was watching a movie with mandatory battles between scenes. You mean I have to fight this guy to see what happens next? The journey from fight to fight is often (but not always) via a hallway, but I was OK with that, and enjoyed the story (and game) immensely, linearity and flat characters notwithstanding.… Expand

Firstly, I am a Final Fantasy fanboy. Happy to hold up my hand to admit it. FFVII best game in the history of games.
Secondly, before giving this a 1/10 I tried really hard to think of a reason to bump it to a 2 or 3, because I tend to see scores like this as being born of ill-considered hostility, rarely accurately reflecting the true quality of the game.
In all of my 25 years of gaming I have never been so upset about a game in my life. I've been disappointed plenty of times. Aliens CM was disappointing. But FFXIII was damn upsetting. Probably because I'm such a series fanboy. I felt -angry- at Square for insulting the Final Fantasy brand with this piece of garbage.

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

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

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

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

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

SO if you like platform games where you can't do anything but run at an enemy and jam that 'Action' button, and you like RPGs that don't let you go anywhere but forward, and you like story-lines that only make sense if you smoke a little sumtin-sumtin, and characters that make you care about them as much as the that live under your sink, then FFXIII is for you.… Expand

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

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 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

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 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

the storyline for this game keeps you hooked. the only shame is no backtravel and the fact that the game opens up really late into the game big sigh

Final Fantasy is a great series, and many fans would agree that Final Fantasy XIII is the worst in the series, and I highly disagree, while it has some flaws, Final Fantasy XIII is a great game, which consistent gameplay, and a nice crystarium system. With 1,319 positive reviews, 108 mixed reviews, and 293 negative reviews, you will most likely enjoy this game.

Almost as good as X and VII. Very well, made, as well as being a beautiful looking and sounding game. Like the previous installments, It has a wonderful story, and well developed characters. Some people, on the other hand, say it is to linear. I say that if you don't like it, go play another game.

Unbelievable that SE released something like this. Its just going straight running from one cutscene to another and auto battling enemies. The story is not worth to mention, characters are annoying as hell and the soundtrack is the worst, that I ever heard in a Final Fantasy game. The graphics are not that bad though.

I can't stand to play more, and I've gotten about 6 and a half hours in. I don't need to explain my rating, as every other review giving this a mediocre rating contains exactly what I would say.

At first, I gave this game a 3. After I played it more, I know how good it really is. First off I'd just like to state the obvious, this game has some of the best graphics in a video game, and easily the best on console. It also has one of the best soundtracks that I've ever heard for a video game. As for the combat system, it is obviously different than all other Final Fantasies, but that's not a bad thing. The battle system is very rewarding and fun. It does have a big flaw though, the story really isn't as great as you would expect with Final Fantasy, but you should still try the game either way.… Expand

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

A game that excels in some areas and fails in others leaving a pretty mixed experience. The graphics are gorgeous and the locales you visit are incredible to look at. The score for the game is great as expected from a final fantasy game and the story, while not the best in the series was fairly interesting if a little complicated. The characters are mainly likable and the cast is certainly better than the crew from final fantasy X. The main problem is the battle system feels too shallow and doesn't require any strategy except changing formations every once in a while. I didn't really have that much of a problem with the battle system but it did become extremely boring while fighting bosses with large amounts of HP. The main problem I have with this game is for what I played it was a massive straight line which I hated since I loved the world they created but couldn't explore or talk to NPCs. Very much a battle focused game which I wasn't a fan of. I appreciate that it opens up about 30 hours into the game but I can't be bothered to slog through 30 hours of this game to get to the 'good part'.… Expand

OK, i can go on and on about how much i hate this garbage but lets put my hatred to this game very simple,the entire game is a corridor....Enough said!

Final Fantasy XIII is a mess. That simple. It has not only changed the face of the series, but has also damaged the image of the JRPG to the world. With an amazing concept of the floating world above Gran Pulse, where the people have been enslaved by god-like beings called the fal'cie, amazing a beautiful art, as well as memorable and majestic music, the game itself was only destined to fail. Then, what happened? Aren't these things enough to make a good game? No, they aren't. Final Fantasy XIII is one of the most awful and annoying RPG's I've played. Indeed, the game can only be compared to a cheap iOS game in modern days. The story is so boring and confusing, that people can't even get what are Lightning and friends talking about. Not to mention the gameplay, which, again, was a good concept terribly executed. These new Final Fantasy titles are sinning of having extreme complexity, which it is supposed to be good, but this case is not. The gameplay is boring, frustrating and hard for both, simple gamers and hardcore RPG gamers, like me. The great factor that joined all these together, is the linearity of the game. You, are practically not playing at all, as 2/3 of the entire party is played by the AI. The linearity is described by Motomu Toriyama and Square Enix as a "story driven game", but don't cheat on me, it's like if you were playing a visual novel. I can't save much of Final Fantasy XIII, except the great wasted music, as well as the nice visuals, but this time Square Enix, that didn't save your game at all.… Expand

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 its impeccable production and presentation. Gameplay linear, boring and frustrating which only makes sense in the middle of the game until the end… Expand

The worst final fantasy game by a long shot. It is essentially a no surprises typical JRPG with the "goofy" characters, the angsty characters, and just the out right retarded characters. The gameplay is also your typical JRPG fair, just grind a **** ton until you win. The level design is just one huge **** corridor repeated over and over again with an occasional reskin, it may branch off occasionally, but you hit a dead end and have to go back onto the corridor. The story is just outright stupid, and I won't even bother explaining it. Not to mention to keep up with the story you have to read a bunch of stupid journal entries, which is fine in small doses, but TO KEEP UP WITH THE PLOT?! **** that. And seriously? an 8.0 for this game? what horse **** it's probably from the final fantasy fanboys who have been spoon-fed the same bull**** for many years and that's all they want to eat now. This series is just dead, there is nothing redeeming about this series anymore, and there is nothing redeeming about the fanbase anymore either. Seriously, this review is gonna get downvoted to hell, all because of some raging fanboys who think "How DARE he insult this perfect game series", well, **** YOU, go back to masturbating to your creepy final fantasy porn, **** head… Expand

On playing this game, I had many questions about it: why does Square keeps changing for the worse combat systems ever created? Why the story is badly told? Why people think this is action combat when there's an obvious ATB bar? Why the game has positive review when it has nothing positive, except the graphics? The list goes on, and I still wanna know why this game exists. I will admit though, the story IS interesting: the characters are equal in importance (for the most parts) and somehow they all need to be together in order to sucess, which is a LITTLE better than the usual "main protagonist is bettah", even though the game will constantly make us believe that Lightning is the main protagonist (which is extremely bland and totally forgettable, except for the fact she's a girl). But except for the characters there's really nothing good to say, because the game isn't even an rpg: it's more a platform game that has random encounters due to the fact that there's no exploration at all and you'll literally run a hall with basically no detours or places to go. Ok, I lied: there's ONE place that you can explore freely, and that's very late in the game (and ps3 is supposed to have a lot of potential...). The idea of the combat is also interesting, having classes that will do different things, and they are varied enough, but why, oh why, can't we control our characters? You'll just control the leader (which is fixed in the first hours of the game), and only him, while your compagnions will act accordingly to their class, which at least helps (basically a healer will just heal, and nothing else). During the combat you'll HAVE to change classes constantly in order to keep the strategy up (or what's little of it), and unfortunely the swaps are needed because of 2 reasons: 1) even if there's a sort of trinity system (dps, tank, healer), you cannot use all 3 of them because of the small damage you'll do and because you only use 3 characters at time, basically making you use at least 1 mage and 1 melee. And also, another reason why you cannot use the trinity system is...2) THE STAGGER SYSTEM! This is obviously the worst idea ever for this game, and not because it's bad (some other games uses this sort of system too. Just better), but because it needlessly makes battles, even the simple ones, longer than they should be, making the game longer too because of the 10-30 minutes battles (bosses battles are the prime examples). The stagger system basically builds up by attacking with 1 melee and 1 mage at least attacking one enemy (thus the impossibility of the trinity), and once it's builded you'll do extremely high damage, which unfortunely it's NEEDED for defeating the bosses (and some of them are timed too, which means you also need to be fast). Ah, and since the game is very short (without doing subquests, as always), the battle system was probably thought to make the game longer. I really can't give more than 4 for this game: while I hate more FFXII because of the endless amounts of flaws, that game had at least some quality and for a ps2 game was pretty decent. But this is ps3, we expected a great game, and after 5 years of developement, we get a poor RPG with nothing but linear halls and boring combat. Skip this game if you want a good rpg, try it if you are very curious (and I mean very curious), but in any case just...don't expect a good rpg. Consider it a platform game with rpg elements!… Expand

I wouldn't say I'm an avid FF fan. I've played about four of the games, and enjoyed every one immensely. This is no different. Sure, this game, at times, became 'boring'. But I use this word in its loosest sense. The game kept me on my feet, yearning for what was going to happen next. I enjoyed the character's stories and their relationships with others. Many people disliked the battle style, but I found it intriguing and different. So many games are just, *press b to slash* or *hit this button to use a special move*. But you actually had to use your brain for this. Tactics were needed instead of button mashing. I would have given this game a ten, hands down, but one thing. Towards the end, the story sidetracks, and you are placed in the middle of nowhere. You have to fight a billion (quite literally) monsters to be good enough to move on. It took me, personally, at least ten hours (also literally) to be even close to killing the monster in the next area. In some ways, I enjoyed this because I could see how much I improved not only by the amount of damage I could deal, but by the tactics I used. As soon as I finished the game, I immediately went to buy the next one. Final Fantasy XIII is not for everybody, I understand that. It makes you think, it keeps you on your toes, it incorporates a very different battle style to ones used so often today. If you like games that are straight forward, easy, and not satisfying, don't get this game. However, if you are like me, someone who likes to get into their games, who likes to wrap their minds around them, who likes to analyze them and work out the best possible strategy to defeat that certain enemy, buy this game right now. Heck, by a PS3 just to buy this game.… Expand

One of the best games of this generation of consoles. Beautiful graphics, interesting story, great world, deep characters, nice battle system.

Only - is closed-corridors levels.

This game was alright. the story was kinda lack luster at first but it got a lil better. The game has beautiful cutscenes and the ATB works really well. I cant see why anyone hates this game I mean its not called Open world 13 or something like that Its called Final Fantasy 13. And some of the characters i want to kill but you have that with all games. There was a lack of Npcs but the amount of customization in your team was amazing.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I tried hard to like this game but no, FF13 is meant for people who like movies where they can interact a little, if you like to play an j-rpg where you actually are holding the controls this isn't for you, this game was meant for people who decide oh golly what is on the television while hitting the x-button on the controller.
Even though you can choose paradigm's later on it still has so little impact, there is no reason to do anything else than choose a good paradigm then auto-attack to win since it takes a lot longer to stack different attacks, and since the AA chooses the best ones automatically there is no need for that.

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

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

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

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

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


So who can i recommend this movie? People who don't have anything ANYTHING at all to do.
Retards
Casual gamer's, those kinds of casual players who think solitaire is hardcore.… Expand

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 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

For all it's faults, I found Final Fantasy XIII to be an enjoyable experience. Yes, the linearity of 80% of the game is off putting, and yes some of the characters are annoying idiots (looking at you Hope), but I found the scope and history, and most importantly the mystery of this world to be an incredibly absorbing affair. I didn't find reading the Datalog to be too big a deal (This kind of thing is in Mass Effect too people). I actually like the combat system. Yes, it seems limited (especially at first) but once it opens up and lets you experiment you'll find it to be a great and fast paced tactical affair. It's not about selecting attacks, it's about selecting strategies! I found myself warming to most of the characters, the graphics are STILL spectacular, and the music is solid (not Uematsu good, but what is?) It doesn't have the same magic as past Final Fantasies, but it is still a solid entry into the series. If you're a fan of JRPG's check this one out.… Expand

Here is a game riding in on all the fame and glory of the final fantasy series. A legedary rpg franchise with core elements weve come to expect. Towns with npcs stores with weapons and gear not to mention the large story and history filled worlds.....all of which are absent from this entry. Only having controll of 1 character is the first of my dissapointments followed immediately by the healing after every battle factor. In past games youd stock up on phoenix downs potio.s and ether before setting out giving it the true feeling of a journy to come. This game simply heals you entirely after winning the fight which is a serious downgrade to the nature of the game. Next is the summons being transformers.... And of course the fact that the game is 1 set path with no towns or npcs. All stores are on the save cubes making it feel more like shopping at amazon than an ff game. These are just basic rpg elements to emmerse you in the world but dont exist at all here. I wonder how many people noticed that various soundtracks from every ff game ever made were absent as well. The story was ok but several enemies that looked to be interesting only showed up once removing the feeling of having that non final boss arch enemy. Another dumb down factor us paradigm shift. In previous games the class system provided you with the meens to build or use prebuilt classes so you coukd structure the most efficient team. However with paradigm shift everyone can be every class all at the flick of a button mid fight. The combat system LITTERALLY plays itself. Set everyone to ravager and stagger the enemy then switch to assult and kill them. This meens boss fights can be won without looking at the screen when rotating between the 2 with a full medic paradigm in between. Auto attack lets your character do the most effective attacks without you ever even having to think. The game has lost all the rpg elements created a combat system that requires no thought a healing system removing the need to stock items and the lack of a mana bar to pay attention too. Its the perfect final fantasy for any 2nd grader with downsyndrom… Expand

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).

Final Fantasy XIII was one of the first games I played on my PS3. I'd never played a Final Fantasy game before, although I'd heard that the series in general is very good, so I decided I would give this game a go. And I must say, I was impressed... sometimes. There was very little to do other than to follow the plot line, and the level design was extremely linear for most of the game. The story, although interesting, confused the hell out of me quite a lot, tutorials kept throwing themselves at me, and the game bored me frequently during the opening chapters. Still, if you can get past the negatives, there's a lot of fun to be had with this. The playable characters were interesting as people and felt unique to play as - though Vanille will tick you off majorly. The musical score and visual quality of the game were both excellent. The Paradigm Shift and the ATB gauge made combat lively and kept me thinking on my toes, leading to an engaging, strategy-based battle system. All-in-all, I think this game is worth a play, as long as you don't keep you expectations too high.… Expand

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

I honestly could not tell you what the story was about. Why is it so complicated? I played it till the end because of the fun gameplay and nice graphics, but I was kind of bummed that I never really felt a connection to the story. Hopefully they will come up with something better in the future. Overall, I'd recommend it. However, don't plan on being emotionally driven at all during that time.

This game is the abomination of everything Final Fantasy has ever been. You liked FF for its deep characters with interesting substories? Here you have lame characters with lame stories, a bunch of idiots that journey together almost without a reason (there is a reason, but, guess what, it's lame and thrown in there just to give the player a party). You liked FF for its cities, shops, npcs full of informations? All gone to hell: no explorable cities, no shops, almost no npcs. You liked FF for its immersive, complex and strategic combat system? **** it, just press "X"! You liked FF for its methods to acquire new abilities for the characters? There you go: the lamest progression method EVER. You liked FF for the summons? They changed every single one of them and made them totally useless in battle. You liked FF for the explorations? Sorry, only long corridoors interrupted by boss fights and/or cutscenes. You liked FFfor its epic score? Enjoy the lamest score ever put in a FF. You liked FF for its replay value and its mini-games? Only mini-game: go to point A, acquire mission, go to point B, defeat monster, return to point A, get the reward. You liked FF for the plots? FF XIII plot starts confusing, evolves intriguing and ends lame and incomprehensible. You liked old FF? Stay the hell away from this piece of s*it.… Expand

Linear some people say, but most of them had probably not finished the marks off. I think the game is well up there with most of the FF games with epic scenery´s, very good environment art work and a good story. However, I´m not fully satisfied with the characters personality wise even though the game overall did not let me down. I recommend this game, one of the best RPGs for sure for PS3.… Expand

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

I give FF XIII a solid ten because it is the most bold game to come out of Japan in years. People go on about how bad of an rpg it is, when this game is not really an rpg, neither was it designed as one. It's a brilliant combination of action, rpg and strategy.

It's a bold game because it completely ignored gaming trends and presented something unique. In terms of battle it was not about simple grinding and leveling but about thinking, planing ahead and acting fast. But at the same time it was an evolution of previous battle systems as well. In terms of story it broke from the classic protagonist versus antagonist duel theme into a drama that was centered around the team itself and the in-between the members friction. It is a pretty linear game since for one it is heavily action influenced but mainly because it was designed as a huge story driven ride, more than any FF before. While controversial, it played the factor of story delivery to the best possible degree.

FF XIII is a game that has been heavily criticized for all the things it was not. I rather focused on all the things it was.

It features one of the greatest protagonists in any FF game. An environment that is not only based on graphics but unmatched aesthetics as well. The scenario is probably the most complicated and hard to follow, compared to any other FF game to date. Holding its own rather well into 2012.

Majestic sites, some very hard and rewarding battles, fast paced action, dazzling pre-rendered CGI movie in blu ray quality and an epic story to unveil.… Expand

Final Fantasy XIII is awful.

I consider myself a FF fan, but I am not a hardcore fan. I

Look I KNOW this is not your typical FF game but that doesn't mean it is bad or that it abandoned its roots and all that BS, ALL the bad reviews for this game be it users or critics center around just one point: that it is not your typical FF game and by that most of the people mean FF 7 and FF 10, I am a gamer for more than 15 years and you know what: this game is AWESOME and then some and the only thing that will bug you a bit is the weird ending (sad) but it has a sequel.
I am a guy who respects other people's opinions but with all due respect to the negative review guys; if gaming did not develop past its "roots" then you will be bored and your negative reviews will be about how repetitive the game is.
TO SUMMARISE: this is a great game with great graphics, story, gameplay and above all else deep and engaging characters that you are going to love if you can see past auron, tidus, yuna, cloud and tifa.… Expand

Before I write the review I just have to say FFXIII trolls give this game way too much crap. This game is a great game, the linearity was not a huge issue. It's just westerners have gotten used to these WRPGs where you have a wide open world that you can easily get lost in (literally), not to mention the story is usually lacking. So the bad reviews is just westerners complaining that the JRPG is a different type of RPG. Also, the FF fanbase is very split and conflicted. If Square does one thing then half are going to be pleased and half not pleased. Honestly, I think you can't ever please more than 60% of the fanbase at one time anymore because we all want different things. Now on to the review.......Final Fantasy XIII is another great addition to the franchise. The story is a compelling tale and the characters play well off of eachother. The only short coming is Vanille's high pitched voice, but thats the voice coach's fault for wanting it that way. The characters are well developed and you see the main protagonist mature through the course of the game. The combat is fantastic, very flashy and fun, as well as fast-paced. It offers a refreshing change up for the series. The music is good also, but not quite up to what Nobuo Uematsu has offered for previous installments. That doesn't stop the soundtrack from being good, though. There are also over 60 sidequests to indulge in when you get the chance which offer plenty of post-story play. Final Fantasy XIII's more streamlined nature pays off in this epic tale of heroism.… Expand

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.

FF13 is definitely one of my guilty pleasures, and this makes the game hard to recommend. It has its highlights, but the restriction required to get there isn't often worth it. The battle system is fast and fun, but easily exploitable. The plot is good but horribly executed. The characters are multi-dimensional but deliver rotten dialogue. The game's world is beautiful but restrictive. Every aspect of the game has at least one issue holding it back. Did I enjoy my time with it though? Oddly enough I did. You might be one of the few like me to get something out of it though.… Expand

Final Fantasy XIII is a game that has garnered quite a bit of backlash for largely misunderstood reasons. The game is linear yes, is that a negative aspect of the game? no it is not. Is the plot really that convoluted? no it isn't, you aren't even required to read the datalog that so many people dislike. The story of Final Fantasy XIII is it's strong point. The main character of the game is a young woman named Lightning. The story begins with her attempt to rescue her younger sister from the clutches of a god like being known as a fal'Cie. From there Lightning and her friends are put on the path of an adventure that will test both their battle prowess and who they are as human beings, calling into questions their morals.

The battle system is a fresh take on the ATB system. Being able to que up to six consecutive attacks is something that the series has needed for a long time. The system revolves around two things, first is the paradigm shift system, which is the roles that you assign to your characters, second is the stagger meter, a bar that once full staggers said opponent and lowers their defence allowing you to inflict massive damage. The battle system has been criticized by "fans" of the series saying that it only consists of pressing X. That is not true but even if it were, what series have they been playing for all these years? Every FF game requires an over abundance of the use of X, that is just selective whining. XIII will require you to use the L1, directional pad and X in battle, not just one, unless you want to lose that is. The biggest bright points among Final Fantasy XIII when compared to the rest of the series is the protagonist of the game, Lightning, the character development of the party and their interactions of a group. Lightning has been compared to Cloud on a lot of message boards, but that isn't an apt comparison, there is a world of difference between the two. The development and characterization that Lightning undergoes through the game is a lot more human than anything Cloud has to offer. She is a very strong female lead that is so relatable that almost any player should be able to relate to her.

The character development of the party as a whole is done a lot better than in previous iterations. Each character will come to realizations throughout the quest that will change who they are and how they view the world. The chemistry of the group also makes their interactions that much more meaningful. Another criticism is just how linear the game is. It's true that the game is indeed linear but it is done for a purpose. Final Fantasy XIII is a story driven game, moreso than it's predecessors. The linearity of the game is used as a story telling tool to help put you into Lightning and co's shoes. They are on the run and have no where to go but forward, they cannot stop to shop and lolly gag in towns because they are fugitives. The game is simply being realistic in it's plot and should be commended for taking such an effective approach to telling the story of Lightning so that you could relate to her situation and how she would be feeling. The soundtrack is also top notch, including beautiful orchestral pieces that fit perfectly with each scene. It adds another layer to the storytelling.

Overall Final Fantasy XIII deserves a ten out of ten for it's epic plot, memorable protagonist and addicting battle system. There is not a better release in the series than this one. Definitely worth playing through.… Expand

Despite the problems with linearity and lack of towns and restricted freedom, this game is still fun. Call me a old-school gamer but as long as a game is fun its worth a chance. The game also makes up for linearity with its stunning graphics, brilliant battle systems, and interesting characters leaving me with one of my favorite games.

Extremely linear and streamlined. However, the visuals and music are the best I've seen and heard on PlayStation 3. The game focuses heavily on the battles. More so than any other Final Fantasy game. The battle system is fast paced and requires good skill of paragram shifts. It's pretty straight forward. Generally, the game is a bit of a disappointment. FFXIII makes FFX feel like all three of the Lord of the Rings movies. FFXIII feels more like The Hobbit. It's just not as epic. There are no towns to speak of. No airships. No open worlds. Regardless, the game will keep you coming back for more. The characters are all interesting if not generic. The battle system here is truly addicting. The Beautiful visuals and battle system is what makes this game work.… Expand

I thought this was a decent entry. Not the best, but not the worst. I've played much worse FF series than this. Anybody remember the rusty FF1, the terrible FF2 or the mediocre FF3? How about the boring FF11, the bland and slow FF12, or the disastrous FF14? And dare I say that we should not be reminded of titles like FFX-2, Dirge of Cerberus, or Revenant Wings? Again, I have played much worse than this title.

Story was average, but could have used some tweaking. It looks like there was something that had been well developed, but it was not tightened enough. It seemed like SE wanted to go complex, but don't seem to understand that a complex storyline does not always mean a good storyline. I think what got people was the very big bombastic confusing beginning (remind you of Inception in that regards readers? Confusing as hell beginning but then flattened out?) They should have used characters like Hope and Vanille as exposition like Tidus was in FF10. Tidus may have been whiney, but he was good to get exposition provided.

Gamplay was decent, I was interested in the Paradigm shift because it gave a different kind of control towards the players. I was able to get to my medic, spell-caster and attack class at much more easily. It even made me use the status ailments more often, which is something I thought was a bother in the past installments. Now rebuffs and buffs have a much bigger and better purpose. But the only thing that this system could have done without was the auto attack button. Maybe then this battle system could have worked. Much better than the slow tedious gameplay of FF12. Still, I think the turn based combat was not broken, so SE I have to asks why they felt the need to fix it?

Linearity did not get to me, but I do believe that that could have been broken up with some openness. I did enjoy Lightning, Sazh and Fang (I'm on the fence with Snow), but Hope and Vanille were pretty bad characters. It seems like these two were the product of cranking the "Tidus and Yuffie" personality to 11 and this is the result of what happens. It's not like these personalities have not shown up before in the FF, but they do plague the series. Hopefully Square can get rid of these kinds of characters in future installments. I did have more connection to these 3 characters I liked than any of the bland characters in FF12. Thankfully Lightning did not turn out to be nothing more than a ruse of a main character like a certain character I know *coughcough-Vann-coughcough*. Sazh was one cool dude and Fang

All and all, I'm giving this an 8 out of 10. That seems like the the most fair sense I did not give into any of the hype of FF13. In fact, I did not buy this title until 6 months after the game came out because FF12 had given me such a bad taste of boring and bland. I was satisfied with my purchase and love to see Versus 13 and how that story will handle the Etro mythology. Good luck to you Tetsuya Nomura!… Expand

The characters are uninspiring, flat, and disappointing. They're a badly cobbled-together cookie-cutter Jrpg bunch, and in a way that does no credit to the genre. The world is nonsensical. SE clearly has the money to put out eye-popping visuals -- why not spend a bit more time and make a good story/compelling narrative/creative world? Instead, they gave us a rehashed plot with blow-up dolls for characters. Disgusting and disappointing. If you're a FF fan, or a RPG fan: run from this game.… Expand

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

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

The only positive thing with Final Fantasy XIII is that the next installment (besides FF13-2) will be better. Really, this is feels like something put together just to show off what the crystal tools for PS3 are capable of.… Expand

Final Fantasy XIII looks amazing. Everything is so detailed and gorgeous with great characters to flesh out it's interesting world, but unfortunately half of the game is very linear and you can't fully customize your party until the 20 hour mark. I can actually understand the linearity because it fits in with the opening chapters of the story which is good because there's a great story here and a more better one than FFXII. There are hunt quests present similar to XII's and they are challenging and fun. The non-linear part of the game on the world of Gran Pulse is big with new regions to unlock. FFXIII's battle system is my personal favourite but the lengthy tutorials in the beginning of the game may put some players off. The music is fantastic and some are memorable like the battle theme. I spent over 60 hours with this game with over 40 hours just on Gran Pulse. Overall it's a great game that will be liked by some and disliked by others.… Expand

A great JRPG, a terrible Final Fantasy game. Very linear, poor and confusing story, easy combat. Soundtrack and graphics are good. It's the worst Final Fantasy I've played to date, but... it's still a good game with high production values.

This is not what Final Fantasy is supposed to be. If anything, this is Final Fantasy for Dummies. There is no exploration, no leveling up, and no incentive to keep playing. The story is boring, the gameplay is UTTERLY linear, and the characters are annoying. Not only that, but it is way WAY too easy at first, then takes a drastic jump in difficulty. As for the individual characters, Hope is so annoyingly whiny he should be named Shinji, Vanille sounds like she's making sex noises all the time, Snow says stupid idiotic one-liners like "Heroes don't quit!" ALL THE TIME, Lightning goes through mood swings you wouldn't believe, and Sazh... well, I liked Sazh. He was funny, and the only character that didn't actively annoy me. I could forgive this game its shortcomings if the battle system actually required much input, OR if you could actually explore the beautiful environments, OR if it were more focused on gameplay and less cutscenes, OR if it were actually fun. Honestly this game came across as nothing more than Squenix trying to make a movie but failing, and then deciding to turn it into a game. If this is the big fantastic HD Final Fantasy game people have been clamoring for for years, then give me PS1 graphics back. Maybe then, a little more effort could be put into the gameplay. A mark of a good game is one that I can't wait to play again. THIS game, however, I can't wait for Gamefly to receive so they can send me my next game. Now excuse me while I go play a real RPG, like Xenoblade.… Expand

Even though this Final Fantasy game has beautiful graphics and breathtaking locations it cannot save this entry from being one of the worst. The game structure is too linear and it keeps the game from being any fun. There are no towns, no overworld, no gameplay variety and barely any NPC's (non-player characters) and when the game starts to open up the game you will already have almost completed the game so when it comes to this it is one of those "too little too late" situations...it really upset me. Combat gets way too hard especially the boss fights the bosses feel almost invincible and you will spend hours using the crystarium and upgrading your weapons just to get past a boss, the lack of control in battle is also infuriating because you can only control one character during battle and once the character you are controlling dies then it's Game Over. The story is also problematic all it is is just a bunch of cutscenes crammed together and in turn it makes it feel too much like a long boring movie than a game that is supposed to be enjoyed. Plot twists, characters, and story development are badly done they are predictable and cliche and they screw up in more ways than one. I have been a RPG and Final Fantasy nut for a long time but this entry takes the cake this game does not live up to any of the series standards (apart from the graphics). Whatever Square Enix is doing they driving the series in a bad direction with this entry I had high hopes but they have been crushed big time. If you are a fan of older entries like Final Fantasy 5, 6 or even 7 you are better off playing those but whatever you do avoid this Final Fantasy game at all costs I beg of you.… Expand

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 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

Final fantasy 13, a game so divisive that the mere mention of it can cause fan rage all over the internet.

I am one of the few that actually liked the game, because for the first time in years I was interested in the story, From the very beginning I was hooked, shocked, intrigued and I kept playing just to see what was going to happen. Exploration may seem linear, but is it really an issue? Were earlier final fantasies really open world to begin with? In earlier installments it was easier to fake non-linearity by using technical limitations as cheap tricks.
I think that a lot of content was cut or dumbed down in order to fit into the xbox dvd format, even the lack of back tracking, it's obvious that each area is stored in different dvds.
Fighting is fun, fast paced and it's very different from "press x until the monster dies". I loved the paradigm shift system because now fighting requires more strategy.
I thought that the main content of the game was the fighting itself instead of running around during useless fetch quests.
I also thought that it would have been better to be in control of some situations instead of watching an action cutscene.
In the end, though, I have to admit that I loved the game, I reccomend it if you like a mature story with a lot of twist and engaging characters.
Linearity can put off someone, but give it a chance, you might be surprised.… Expand

A FINAL FANTASY at a height of the saga. It is possible that it is linear in excess but in the rest of other aspects it dazzles. Very nice the history of lu´cie and the fal´cie, Cocoon, Pulse, Lighning and Serah. The beautiful recreation, your powerful sonorous band, the intelligent system of combat or the emotion of your prominent figures, complete an excellent game. It is not FFVII, not X, but it is Final Fantasy undoubtedly.… Expand

It was good, but nothing special. A far cry from Final Fantasies of year's past. The cast was pretty much, blah. Lightning was a good protagonist though. This game just lacks the old nostalgic feel of previous final fantasies, like the WORLD MAP. It is still an enjoyable game but if you're playing this expecting to have that old FF nostalgic feeling, then you're setting yourself up for disappointment.… Expand

This game is just amazing.If you give it a chance and play it for more than 5 hours you won't regret it.Graphics is one of the best as of today.Music made by Masashi Hamauzu is great and in my opinion,only FFX's soundtrack is better.All the characters are really charismatic and you will see how each of them will develop trough the story.CG scenes are absolutely magnificent.The battle system looks too easy in the beginning,but after you progress through the story a little bit,you will see how deep and enjoyable it can be.
Don't listen to people that give this game 0 and consider it the worst in the series.I completed all of the FF's from 1 to 13(excluding the online ones) and FF13(alongside FF10) is my favorite game of all time.… Expand

Yet again another amazing story line, i was disappointed in how linear it was, but the story so made up for it, FF XIII - 2 had an amazing gameplay but even so still a good story, but not quite as good as ff XIII, IX still has the best story of em all, then VIII is second, id say XIII is third and VII being fourth

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Millions of things have been sad about this game, and I have to agree with anyone who says this game does not feel like Final Fantasy game at all.

The premise of the game sounds promising at first glimpse, a large, futuristic town (Cocoon) built to protect its citizens from the wild world (Pulse) that lies beneath. Due to certain reasons, some inhabitants of Cocoon are supposed to be purged to Pulse, and in that progress our heroes arise because they are somehow connected with the purge. Sounds promising, right? You would expect epic clashes between the two different worlds, exploration of two gigantic areas with an enormous amount of different places, towns, NPCs, travveling between the two worlds and lots of characters with interesting stories to tell, right? Well, you don't get any of that. what really bothered me is that what sounds like a simple idea is twisted around and made so unnecessarily complicated that even people like me who play these games mainly for the story will become confused. Sometimes, keeping it simple works best, but they decided to go the exact opposite way.

Until the end, I failed to understand what the deal with Pulse is anyway, and I forgot the names of 90% of the bad guys just because they were that unappealing and boring. Wasn't that what FF used to be about? Memorable villains like Kefka or infamous Sephiroth? The game is that fast-paced that you won't even have the chance to think about the story, there is no balance between tough areas with lots of enemies and towns to relax. From the first moment, you force your way through all kinds of enemies. No towns, no time to relax, just dashing forward and never look back, much like Resident Evil 5.

The characters aren't very appealing either. I really did like Lightning as the main character, as she fits well with former characters, straight-forward, silent, brave and merciless but with a big heart. The other characters don't offer the variety former casts did, and most of them will only be a nuisance.

Storytelling-wise, all kinds of new things and names are thrown at you during the cutscenes, but as soon as you regain control it is the same rushing and fighting non-stop until the end. The game even teases you by having a pilot in the party and giving you an airplane twice, only to have it shot down shortly after. The feeling of slow advancing, getting a kind of vehicle to enable you to reach an area that was unreachable before, a world map that slowly grows, it is not there.

Despite all that, I still finished this game to platinum status, and I will tell you why. For one thing, I really like Lighning. She gets some ridiculous phrases ("worst birthday ever") but her bad-assness paired with her fighting abilities, sense of fairness and her serious tone just makes me like her. Second, this game is gorgeous. Sometimes, I just stood around somewhere, enjoying the scenery, especially on Pulse. (You will know the place when you see it)

The main factor why I wanted to mater this game was the fighting system. It appeals me in a strange why, maybe because there are some optional enemies that really force you to become a master in that system. As a Final Fantasy game, this game fails in almost every aspect except graphics. If you can get into the fighting system and the challenge the optional bosses offer, it can still be a somewhat worthwhile experience.… Expand

game play and plot that is emotionally driven and to the point without the abundance of side quests that are common in the series, personally i would not change a single minute of the experience

I thought this game was great. Awesome battle system, beautiful graphics. The story was going along great until I got to the final boss, then i was like, "WTF"?! It's also pretty difficult when you get to the last level, but other than that, I think this is a great entry in the series and it shows the company moving forward and trying new things.

Final Fantasy XIII is the worst Final Fantasys I have played. I started out with IV and each Final Fantasy follows certain JRPG conventions that have stuck throughout not only the series but also other games because they work. Final Fantasy XIII ditches these conventions to create a more mainstream experience. This makes for an extremely dumbed down game with none of the excitement from past titles and a whole lot of boredom. The list of why this game is bad is so long that it makes me angry just thinking about it. The plot is boring. The characters are uninteresting and the only thing theyâ… Expand

I love this game. So beautiful and action packed with a story line that is entrancing as it is involved. I will continue to love this game for all time and it will go down as the most beautiful console game to date. The grinding will get on your nerves a little after the game is complete, but that should only worry the Platinum hunters. Oh yeah, that treasure hunter trophy is a nightmare and is definitely missable. I will support this franchise from here on.… Expand

Despite being a polarized Final Fantasy, especially for letting many elements of previous titles aside, there is much to enjoy in Final Fantasy XIII. With a fast and functional battle system, flawless artistic direction, great narrative and a high quality soundtrack, Square-Enix proves that traditions are not necessary to forge an excellent game in the series.

Purchased the game at launch and in almost 2 years I could not bring myself to finish it. For even a linear RPG it's far too linear. Mazes, dungeons, or instances should never be just strait hallways all the way through. The battle system is basically auto play, and trying to do otherwise will result in failure. I usually like to keep my games, and until the system dies I usually buy new. This game has gone into the small pile of trade-ins of unplayable games.… Expand

This game was my first final fantasy and I enjoyed it. Battle system was great. The characters are great, The story is OK. This deserves a well earned 10

This game is a masterpiece. The best RPG of this generaion (but XIII-2 looks even better).
Everybody should buy and enjoy this masterpiece.
A true Final Fantasy, and one of the best games of all the story (or maybe the best).

Story was a little hard to understand at first, over time you start to understand it. The story is okay, but I wasn't quite all the way captivated like in previous final fantasies. Beautiful graphics and are battle system has potential, though you can't control your teammates. Allies are limited somewhat in battle and limits of characters are not as useful. Challenging battles, especially toward the middle going to end. Summoning battle system is very nice. Side quests are challenging and they are many. It's better than okay yet it lacks that enjoyable feeling you get from adventuring in previous final fantasies.… Expand

Amazing visuals, amazing gameplay. This is my first final fantasy and since the start of the game i've been dragged into the plotline, its not the perfect game but it has a thrilling battling system that will keep you constantly involved in the combat and not just the usual turn for turn rpg. Yes it has his flaws like the slow develop of the gameplay but once you are in the 4th chapter of the game the battle system will begin to build itslef and will become extremly fun. Easly controled and no tedious waiting for attack turns since when you are not attacking you can use objects or watch the other npc's attack the enemies, despite the fact the other 2 members of your party ar ai controlled you'll have a truly "final fantasy" experience. I highly recommend this game to those who are beautiful graphics and strong story lovers.… Expand

For the typical Final Fantasy fan, you will love this game, but to those who are hardcore FF fans might find this game a bit displeasing due to the changes made into the overall game compared to other games in the series. Regardless, Final Fantasy XIII brings in a breath of Fresh air when it comes to Character Design, Battle System, Music and overall story telling. You will enjoy this game and it is worth every penny!… Expand

This game looks really really really good, I don't enjoy how linear it is and the combat can be frustrating but I can't blame SE for taking things in a different direct as it feels like a fair effort was put forward on it, It's not blatantly lazy and with a crap story like Dragon age 2 that's for sure. Be ready to commit 35 hours though this game takes time.

I played this game for 25 hours. I really wanted to enjoy it. Even after i had heard that it was linear, with no real overworld, I still wanted desperately to believe this was a great addition to a great series of games. Once i got to the 25 hour mark, i realized that I could not go on deceiving myself. The story of the game was fairly engaging, but to understand all of the things going on, there was an encyclopedia that was there to basically enhance your knowledge of the world that you found yourself in. As i spent more and more time reading these entries, I did not feel a connection growing with this world, rather it felt like boring reads that added nothing real to the game. When I play RPG's i tend to enjoy overleveling myself. this allows me to enjoy the story of the game without having to worry about the combat as much. When I discovered that there were caps to how powerful your characters could get at any given point in the game, it was upsetting. The combat itself was much less engaging than just about any other game i have ever played. I found myself analyzing my enemy, and selecting auto-attack over and over again, as the game would pick the best abilities to use anyway, and my input was hardly needed. this removed me further from the actual game, and made me feel more like i was watching a movie than playing a game. One of the things that really hooked me when I started the game was the graphics, but once the allure wore off, i began to realize that amazing graphics, while nice, did not make up for horrible story and gameplay. Square likes to change things up between Final Fantasies, and they definitely did that here. I will not condemn that, they did something innovative and new, even though it did not work out.… Expand

Great story, great battle system, and an amazingly beautiful game. Sure there are no towns and the game play is linear but when the story is about these characters fleeing from the purge, is it realistic that they have time to poke around towns with NPC's being friendly, or to wander on meaningless side quests as if they had all the time in the world? Sure these things could have been written into the story, but it wasn't and I respect that decision. The game was worth the $60 I paid at its release and it is surely worth the $20 it costs now, especially with its sequel XIII-2 coming out on 1/31/12, which will have towns and side quests etc. I highly recommend this game.… Expand

I play the Final Fantasy series since the V. I really love RPGs and, like many others, VII is my favorite and it will always be. But I think many people people simple don't understand that not only games changes as time passes, but also our preferences and desires. Final Fantasy XIII is far from the previous ones for its linearity and an optional auto battle. A game consists not only in gameplay, but also plot, soundtrack, graphics and fun. Each FF offers you new experiences, and that is why the series get high rates in most websites. Games must innovate in some way. We don't want more from the same, like most shooters. Square makes some mistakes, but they're trying. And gamers should recognize it, because one day Square can make something really awesome. My life changed a lot since FF V. Today I work, I have a girlfriend, social life, personal projects and family to give attention. I don't have time to explore 100% of what the game offers. FF XIII has an advantage on its linearity: if you have short time to play games and if you love RPGs, FF XIII is great for you. I loved it and I'll buy FF XIII-2. If you want to focus on traditional gameplay and more from the same, maybe you should take a look at some shooters out there, like Call of Duty. Maybe a lot of players didn't like FF XIII, but no one can deny that each time you get a new FF you'll see something different. And that is something many companies aren't capable of. Open your mind for new experiences: it will be good for your games and your life.… Expand

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 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

Good story, interesting and flashy combat, excellent soundtrack, lush enviroments. Very linear though to the point you may find it annoying if you prefer to just wander. Never the less, quite an enjoyable game.

Like most negative reviewers i was deeply and utterly disappointed with this game. Looking at the amount of positive reviews this got, they just can not be true FFFs. I remember getting this game it was a friday (the day of release) i was extremely excited as i just purchased one of the greatest rpg series around. within 2-3 hours in i HATED it. I've played FF7-10 and within the said time i became completely immersed (read ChristopherC. reviews) in the final fantasy world, but not his rubbish. I hated the characters i couldn't careless about them, in fact i REALLY hoped (no pun intended) hope was killed in the most horrible way. His constant whining was giving me a headache and i still hear vanille's voice when i close my eyes. Also am i the person who felt that the characters DIDN'T actually look like there represented ages?? Snow looked AT LEAST 25+ and serah looked 12. It was disgusting to say the least and i just DIDN'T feel anything for them when serah turned to crystal/ice, i just didn't care at all.

everything from summoning to battles was just out of place and disjointed. RPG is meant to immerse the player make them feel that they are they for the long haul and at the end you'd get a sense of happiness and enjoyment; that the world is now saved. how this game got such a high score when it is soo badly linear is beyond me i don't care how well presented the game FF is all about character development, rich graphics and a happy ending. this game has none of those.… Expand

Industry leading graphics, really good music (minus that disgusting fruity-pie song that was "popular" for a bit), and some really great menus and options. But why the failing score? For starters; the cast is completely forgettable. The story is predictable and poorly dialogued. And the game is very much on rails most of the time. The inventory system overall feels overly-simplified. Actually, the main problem here is: everything essential about this game seems too streamlined and simplified. I've been hoping since FF8 that the series would grow in complexity and challenge, and offer me an even bigger open-world to explore. But what's happened is that SE is only interested in making things "more accessible" to gamers. In this case it shows. And it shows way too much. No open-worlds to explore, just graphics, graphics, graphics. A boring, cheesy, lame-charactered snore-fest that should have never been included in the Numbered Series of FF. Not where games (especially RPGs) should be headed. It's an interactive movie with battles tacked on, with a weak character building system and world. This game broke my faith in the franchise. The final nail in the coffin for me.… Expand

First off, I absolutely loved this game. But my score may confuse you? Well even though i clocked around 150 hours in total into this game, i can still see a lot of flaws. The storyline is great but it has the classic "WTF" square enix feel, and can become confusing. on my second playthrough i understood a lot better however. the graphics, well they are absolutely stunning and theres no question to that, the different areas are all very well designed and unique, unfortunately though my xbox copy lost framerate in the open world area. not sure what went wrong there, ive seen bigger worlds play better in other games. the sound is absolutely amazing and possibly my favourite part of the game. the soundtrack is possibly my favourite ff to date! but whilst still on sound, the voice for vanille became annoying fast. finally the gameplay, well there is a lot of debate on this. some people absolutely despise this game because of its linearity. but through my eyes i can hardly tell the difference between any other jrpg. all jrpgs are linear, they are all story driven. i guess too many people have been playing open world rpgs, that they forgot the structure of a jrpg. sure ffx had the airship, near the end of the game. xiii has the portal near the end of the game, no difference. as for combat, a lot of people are giving this grief aswell. they say its basic and dumbed down. i admit it starts slow but it has to, or it will confuse all of the new audience, which it did gain btw. id didnt annoy the first time around as i was locked into the story. anyway the battle system becomes very enjoyable as the game progresses and becomes quite hectic in boss battles. i for one think it was a brave move by square and i personally really enjoyed it. so my final score is around 8.3 as of course it could of been better, but gave it a good shot. lets see if they improve with xiii-2.… Expand

This was fun game all the way through. It was the right difficulty level, the battles were interesting, and the graphics, great. The cut scenes were fun, although occasionally the story lost me, and the characters were a bit unbelievable. My only real complaint with the game is the linearity, which I found to be a touch annoying because I thought having multiple roads to follow would have been cool. However, by and by, this a great game, a must play for any JRPG fan.… Expand

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 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

Final Fantasy should be called Final Corridor XIII or Final Hallway XIII. This game is so linear and doesn't live up to the previous Final Fantasy titles at all. Never get this game. Wait for Kingdom Hearts 3 or Final Fantasy versus 13 , because this game is horrible.

Final Fantasy XIII is an interesting game to say the least. As an old time Final Fantasy fan since PSX Final Fantasy games, I was eagerly anticipating FFXIII. Before I bought it I heard a lot of controversial opinions about this game. In fact, my own opinion about it wasn't clear until about 2/3 of my own playthrough of FF13. The thing is, FF13 is different from its predecessors in many ways, but there is one thing that is the same. The quality, my friends. This game was meant to be exactly what it is and the execution is pretty much perfect. And here comes the major problem. A lot of people are expecting traditional Final Fantasy elements to be in every new numbered Final Fantasy games, and they will see the lack of aforementioned elements as a major flaw. In short, don't buy this game if you're looking to see many traditional Final Fantasy elements, you will be severely disappointed. However, if you're looking for a good JRPG with high-production values, plot that focuses on main characters (personally, I haven't seen that in the main series since FF10, 10 years ago), fun and fast battle system, stunning design and graphics and an outstanding soundtrack from one of the FF10's composers then Final Fantasy XIII is definitely worth checking out.… Expand

Way too linear as everybody mentions, what happened to the choice in exploring and return visits for necessary missions ? Very limited in this regard. A trigger happy x button child could complete 90percent of the game successfully. Too slow to start and leveling up above level 4 was just painful. This could have been a good game but poor story line and limited choices spoilt it. Glad to complete it and stop wasting my time. In the end feels like they all failed and the l,ice was successful in destroying cocoon after all - what a disappointment .… Expand

a perfect Final fantasy game, from the story to the graphics to the actual gameplay. i could literally play for most of a day at a time and still want to keep going

After playing IV to X of Final Fantasy series, I must say that I had such high expectations of this...
But sadly, the game was just a long long, long movie :/ Played about 5 hrs, then quit.

There's no denying that Final Fantasy XIII is a devisive game, but I still believe it is a good one. I understand why some people don't like it, I really do- it's different. But it's still an enjoyable entry in a great series of games. The story is interesting. I've always been impressed in the lore behind each new FF game, and XIII doesn't dissapoint. Interesting themes concerning a war between utopias, great voice acting (for the most part) and complex characters add to a very epic storyline. The only flaw I feel is present is that the datalog sometimes becomes overbearing, carrying details about the plot that should have been weaved into the narrative. Still, not a dealbreaker.
It's worth mentioning that the game is absolutely gorgeous. Square Enix put an incredible amount of detail into this game, and everything from the characters to the locations screams polish. Once you reach the beautiful Gran Pulse area, all bets are off, and you're free to explore a vast wilderness and undertake side quests. The music is fantastic as well, with many stirring tracks, including one of the best orchestral boss battle themes I've ever heard.
Now, the gameplay, easily the most divisive part of XIII. The fact that the game is linear doesn't really bother me. After all, Final Fantasy X was linear, and I loved FFX. I honestly believe the linearity was a conscious decision on the developers part to carry the story, and I'm fine with that. The real meat of the game is in the combat. Now, I've heard the criticism that the game simply plays itself, and all the player needs to do is press X. This is a load of crap. XIII's combat does indeed feature an auto-battle option- which can be switched off- but even if you use it, you'll still be swept up in fast-paced combat, where quick reflexes mean just as much as your strategy. Using loadouts known as Paradigms, you give orders to your party, who follow your commands quite well using excellent AI. Having the right Paradigm loadouts is imperative, and being quick enough to pick the right abilities is important if you want to survive. XIII's combat is fast-paced and intense. As far as character growth goes, the Crystarium features a path of stat upgrades and new abilities (sort of like, I don't know, LEVELING UP), but allows each character to master new classes and learn abilities in each of the six roles available, and when upgrades start to get expensive, you'll have many touch choices concerning your character's builds.
All in all, Final Fantasy XIII is a flawed, but still highly entertaining gem in this fantastic series. I loved it, and will continue to look forward to the future games in the series. FFXIII isn't perfect, but it's still good.… Expand

Pros: Amazing graphics. Details are impeccable and all aspects of the game ,visually, is wonderful. The gameplay is also ridiculously addicting and fun to explore.

Cons: Terribly forced dialogue which leads to forced emotions which leads to an awful way to present an already boring story.
Typical character line-up; angsty protagonist, comedic relief, hot-head, annoying girl, etc. The plot is linear: you cannot go between worlds or revisit worlds. Side quests are a joke.

Over-all, I didn't care much for the game. My emotional attachment to is none existent.… Expand

Major disappointments with this game. It doesn't live up to expectations from the previous series. Boring storyline, gameplay, game design, linear straight path for the most part of the game. A real disappointments for those buying a ps3 just for this game.

The worst game quality/price that i had ever played. Only graphics game. Really hard end it. In the beginning i was expected, some hours later i was deathly bored. Frustrating pay more than 100 euros for it + guide. The worst buy in my life.

I've never seen a Final Fantasy game that is so big, even Cloud Strife ever had a sword. Final Fantasy XIII is without a shadow of a doubt, the best game of 2010. Call it like you mean it, but with a phenomenal set of battle systems, impact challenges, and even new characters like the always talented Lightning, the fans keep spreading the word after almost 25 years of JRPG awesomeness. I'm am so dying for a sequel to Final Fantasy XIII because it's coming out next January. Until then, maybe I'll spend time playing hour after hour until I may die tryin'. But Final Fantasy XIII is the best game since Final Fantasy X.… Expand

Yeah this game has it's pitfalls but it doesn't deserve such awful press, ok it's not up to the standard of some other RPG's out there or even the other final fantasy titles. But after playing this on both the xbox 360 and the PS3 I feel this game does more right than it does wrong, the storyline has engaging moments although they do occasionaly fall through due to a bit of cheesy voice acting or the under development of some characters. The autobattle system takes away some of the thinking on your but the paradigm system more than adds an intruiging twist to the gameplay. The crystarium system is not a highlight of the game although there was some promise there. I agree the game is very linear and this took a point off my score. The game has stunning visuals and open enviroments and has a stellar cast of characters and as before stated the paradigm system adds a layer of depth hopefully issues and more depth will be added with xii-2… Expand

While still playing this game, I can assure you that Square-enix took one step in the right direction. In Final Fantasy XIII you will find everything a game should have: Great story, well-developed and compelling characters, stunning enviroments, one of the best musical scores of the series, entertaining battle system, and DIFFICULTY. Every role is vital, and strategies are key for some battles. For those who like to compare FFXIII to other FFS just remember how great were FFVIII & FFVII, but how easy they were as well. I found that FFXIII is the oppossite of FFXII. Whereas FFXII gave you the freedom you 'need', tons of quests, it offered, IMO, the weakest story and character development of the series. In contrast, FFXIII is brilliantly developed, as characters and story is concerned. Sure, some things can be improved, some towns and quest can be added, but I, for one, cannot complain, as this game exceeded my expectations and I can't wait for its sequel. It's not a 10, as I gave. I would probably rate it as a 9.5, but hey, some put 0s and 1s so I wanted to raise the user score.… Expand

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

I'm not surprised that people say that the game has no challenge. This isn't true, as it is arguably is one of the most difficult of the series, but it takes so long before the game actually gives you a challenging fight. The first time most people will die is usually the eidolon boss fights, but you only have to be aware of your characters primary role to overcome them. If you exclude these as challenges then you may spend close to 20 hours of gameplay before you come across a challenging boss. For people who have a few hours of play time a day, this is going to be hard to take. Those who are used to playing hours on end won't find it to be a problem. Those who state that you can mash "x" to win are correct, as you can use auto battle throughout the whole game, but you just need to use the correct paradigms at the right moments. Linearity is fine, but repetition isn't and this game rarely stops to take a break from fighting. There was nothing like the Golden Saucer to mess about with for a while. This game doesn't even try to hide it. I felt that the music was disappointing as it was mostly atmospheric music rather than the memorable, melodic songs that have been in previous installments (to zanarkand/fishermans horizon/melodies of life). I don't believe that the open world of Grand Pulse makes the game any better, as you are still just fighting/grinding, except you now have a chance to get lost rather than just travel in one direction. It certainly isn't enough for the amount of time it takes to get there anyway. The saving grace of the gameplay is the boss fights in the later stages of the game, which provided enough challenge to make the game decent for me. Without them, it would have certainly been a poor game.… Expand

Starting off my review, I must say that the reason why I give this so low of a score is not because Square made changes to FF that took the franchise in a different direction... it's because the changes they made were terrible. I understand Square has to evolve FF to a more action styled experience to accomodate to the times and to compete with bioware games... so it was no surprise that the turn based style was more active. Although they evolved the game, they should not have completely left everything that made FF so special; guided yet open exploring, deep engaging characters, incredible story, immersive world, and strategic gameplay... And only one of those was even close to being fulfilled. The characters were all cliche's: Lightning was the tom-boy, Fang was the clone of Lightning, Hope was the vulnerable child, Snow is the jar-head, Panille is the free spirit, and Sazh is the only character who contains depth. That is honestly all they tell you about the characters, and that's also all you need to know. As for story, the story was not BAD, mainly because it wasn't even really there, the story is vague and barely engaging at all, and the pacing is awful. The only real story development is actually character development, which I have already stated that the characters are uninteresting empty shells. As for the open world? Simply put...THERE IS NONE. The world the game puts you in looks nice enough and on the exterior seems amazing but due to the lack of characters, story, and the extremely linear feel of the game... the seemingly awesome world is reduced to nothing. The gameplay is really the only place the game shows innovation. Don't get me wrong, it's far from perfect, but for Square's first "crack at it," it presents a good milestone for them to improve and perfect in later titles. The main drawback to the gameplay is the level up system, you are held back to "level up" by milestones in the story. Example: You cant excede level 1 warrior until you reach the next chapter even though you have enough crystal points. And for the game mechanic titled "Paradigm," it promotes side jobs but the level up system punishes you for venturing into side-jobs... it's extremely counter intuitive. For example: For Lightning to level up her warrior to level 1 costs 10,000..... but for Lightning to level up Sentinel to level 1, will cost 1,000,000. This by itself does not RUIN the combat , but all the minor flaws with the combat do add up. The Good: Although graphics are nothing more than scenery, the game is gorgeous and presents a lot of detail in design. And square does-in-fact show a few innovative ideas which however werent entirely capitalized on. The Bad: Simply put... Square takes away everything that FF fans and RPG fans alike would expect. If this game was any other RPG game, i would give the game a 5.5/10, because it does have a few fun moments and amazing graphics. But for the final fantasy game it was suppose to be, it's barely worth a rent at redbox… Expand

This is definitely my least favorite final fantasy game, and I've played them all. I had previously felt that FF12 was a real let down, and playing this made me sincerely miss 12. It was that bad. None of the characters were interesting at all, Vanille was annoying as hell to listen to, the plot was not particularly interesting, nor was it told very well, and the music was not at all memorable (which to me is perhaps the biggest let-down since the music of the previous games was arguably the best part). There were no towns to explore, shops to visit, NPCs to interact with, side quests to perform, or other basic RPG elements. The leveling system was really dumb: the tried to give the illusion of choice by having a pathway with branches so you could either pick like HP+200 or Str+50 for example, but each branch was only 1-2 elements long, so it's not like you could choose different ways to specialize your characters. The battle system was horrible because you really couldn't tell what was going on. Often I would upgrade a weapon or learn a new spell and try to use it in battle to see how much damage it did, but there are so many numbers flying all over the place it was really hard to tell who was doing how much damage with what. It basically devolves into mashing 'X' and switching to a more defensive paradigm if you're getting hurt too much. For all final fantasy games until this one, when the game was over I felt sad for a little while, like I wished it would continue because I missed the characters and places. When this game ended, I was glad I would never have to touch it again. I felt like I had finished a homework assignment. "That's done, now I can go do something fun." Please don't waste your money on this crap, and don't let square enix think it's okay to butcher their series like this.… Expand

i heard such mixed reviews from my friends and other on this game that i waited awhile to buy it and since sqaure's track record hasnt been very good lately on RPG's. the first thing ill say is wow the graphics are fantastic it looks amazing . then you start playing and you are like huh? what the hell is going on? and after 7 hours i was still asking myself that . the combat system just sucked and sucked so hard . honetsly this makes FF8's combat system look kinda good . the ability to control only 1 charicter just burned me . when i play a RPG i want 100% control on what my party is doing . not i control the leader which by the way swiches up every 30 minuites and annoyed the living hell out of me and have my other 2 party members doing what they want. so what they have instead is this switch tactics mode which feels so very very very very very off and HORRABLE! i mean usaully i can get through a crappy combat system if the story is solid like FF8 i mean that combat system in that game sucked but the charicters and story are very well done and i could get past that . but after 7 hours of going WTF IS GOING ON!? i couldnt do it any more . i mean the charicters seemed like they might get intresting and they wernt badly voice acted at all but after 7 hours i just couldnt care any more .… Expand

Final Fantasy is dead. This game is proof. It's a boring slog through one long corridor with little to no attention from the player. Everything is dumbed down to the point where an 8 year old could beat it with both hands tied behind their back. The storyline is needlessly complicated and just non sensical and all of the characters are insufferable. The creative well at Square Enix has been dry for a long time and this game shows it. Long gone is Sakaguchi and all that is left is a bunch of amateurs drowning in a kiddie pool. This series has become a joke.… Expand

While it still has the production values one would expect from an AAA game, Final Fantasy XIII ultimately fails in the "game" part. It nearly plays itself; much of the game is spent running down repetitive corridors with no element of choice involved, and the combat and customization are similarly one-dimensional. As per usual for the FF series the graphics are fantastic and soundtrack is good, but they can't save a game that isn't any fun to play.… Expand

I don't see how people don't like this. It has excellent characters, excellent game-play, and an excellent plot. The voice acting was wonderful and it is very challenging at some points. Looking for a challenging time killer? This is for you. Oh, and the graphics are also wonderful.