Customer Ratings & Reviews

the graphics are amazing and the game has a very good storyline. one of the characters, though, is really over-emotional and annoying which bothers me. also, there is this "theme song" sung by some woman with a really irritating voice, and in one level the song loops for literally three hours. i got so irritated that i had to mute my tv and turn on some other music. the gameplay is pretty easy and not very challenging. some of the bosses can be tough but you can always just go on line and read a strategy guide and they are a piece of cake. the game is long (three disks), which can be good or bad, depending on what you like.

FINALLY! Final Fantasy has arrived on Xbox 360 with what looks to be "The killer of Final Fantasy VII" - says a Japanese Game Creator. Final Fantasy XIII looks to have all the needs to make a great game. Graphics, story line, suspense, even the new battle system looks great! What else is great? There is finally a FEMALE lead [and not along side a male] that is the exact copy of Cloud Stife [as the creator of Lightning says and was told to make!]. Everything about this game looks to be promicing and I just can't wait till March 9th for it! And lets give a big round of applause to Leona Lewis, who's amazing ballad, "My Hands" made it as the EU and NA versions theme song! It gives me goosebumps everytime I listen to it while watching the International trailer! I reccomend this game to anyone who is serious about Final Fantasy, and who generally likes a great game or RPG! Buyers should also look into getting the Collector's Edition Strategy Guide by Piggyback [ The greatest guides around] for a full out experience and just to have a signature copy of a one-time print limited edition item for Final Fantasy!!

Ignore the poor reviews. Throw them out. Sure, an average of 8.2/10 isn't that bad, but it deserves better. 9.5-better. Story: You won't find many games these days with a story so intricate and developed that it needs its own datalog to explain what everything means. The story is very unique -- it's based around human nature and the struggles normal individuals face, and with struggles those with power have. You witness genocide, bigotry, segregation -- you name it -- but all of these are unique to the gameworld, not any of this as we'd recognize it. All characters choose to fight in their own unique way, from their personal struggles, to personal goals, to saving the world. Yes, it's a save-the-world story, but you're in one heck of a surprise if you expect the normal cookie-cutter story. My only complaint is the pacing, things don't get deep until the 9th (of 13) chapter, but is vindicated by all coming together in the end. Sound: Voice acting is the best in the series, hands down. Lip synching is almost spot on. A lot of areas' music has vocals, which is nice for ambience -- no theme songs here until the end -- which you will hear only once ("My Hands"). My only complaint is some of the dialogue is downright wacky -- and Lightning's voice is like nails on a chalkboard. Gameplay: There are no levels as we know it here. The game uses a system called Crystarium, which is very similar to Final Fantasy X's sphere grid, if not almost exactly the same. Enemies grant CP, or Crystarium Points. There are no random battles, but rather enemies on the field -- all of which are aggressive unless you encounter them without spotting you. There are a lot of rewards for the hard work later on, and if you work hard enough, endgame will be a breeze. Let's not forget about Paradigms. Paradigms are custom class designations. You can choose a class for each character, and create six of each at a time and switch instantly in battle. Weapons can be leveled with items, and later on, can be maxed out to their epic status with rarer items. My only complaints are as follows: you traverse through one long corridor, pretty much, things don't get very open or branch off until near the end. It's not a big deal because the Crystarium system is rewarding, but it'd be nice to have villages and such. Also, some of the battles are longer than they should be early on. Graphics: The art is amazing. Faces are well-rendered, and some of the enivironments are awe-inspiring (you can see for miles, this "wide-open world" at the end is HUGE). There's a lot going on screen in a lot of cases that looks really cool. However, the 360 version suffers from blocky/grainy FMV not found in the lossless 1080P PS3 version. The 360 version is sluggish sometimes when you turn the camera coming around the corner. Also, the hair on the female characters is blocky and an eyesore. Characters could use more polygons. I could write a 10-page review and that still wouldn't be enough to detail this game. When things seem convoluted, don't give up, finish the game and smile at the ending -- it'll break your heart with every emotion a game could conjure. The game's Crystarium and endgame rewards are worth coming back for, but once you finish absolutely everything (there's more when you finish the game), there's nothing to comeback to except looking at the box and being proud of the 100+ hours you spent maxing out absolutely everything.

i feel it was stupid how they did not put mana into this game it make some of the battles 20+ minutes long and those battles were not even a challenge (hit hit hit heal heal heal) the length of the game was nice it made it kinda seem worth buying it took me roughly 80 hours to beat the game the graphics are amazing in this game sound on the other hand nothing memorable like all the other final fantasys overall it was a fun game the paradigm system in the game keeps you going

Final Fantasy XIII is right up there with Final Fantasy X! I'm really enjoying the game! The storyline is easy to follow! It pulls you right into the story with twists and turns at every corner all while pulling on your heart strings! Game play and graphics are excellent! Some of the best I've seen throughout the FF trilogie! If you don't want to struggle I suggest you buy the complete offical guide it is a God sent! It allows you get the hang of game really fast and unlocks a lot of secrets all without spoiling the storyline and game! You can find both the game and the guide at Best Buy killiing two birds with one stone! Talk about convience! Hope you enjoy the game as much as I am!

So far I have played Final Fantasy 7, 10 and 12 and have liked all of them. With all of the hype going on around Final Fantasy 13, I decided to give this one a try and here is what I thought. PROS. PARADIGM COMBAT SYSTEM: This game utilizes unique turn based combat system. To me, this combat system was the BEST ASPECT of the game. In Final fantasy games so far (other than 12), you have to do each action such as attack, healing, magic one by one by one. This game gives you option to do that or you can have "auto battle" mode where things are taken care for you. So the enemies you want to deal with "personally" you can combat them yourselves, but then you are not stuck hitting same command again and again for each fight you do in the game. Think of it this way, in other final fantasies, you are acting as individual soldiers while in this game you are mainly acting as commander. So instead of controlling each of the party member's action individually, you can set up a "paradigm" where you can focus more on physical or magical or healing or combination of these actions. At first you will find it a bit puzzling but once you get it, you will most likely love it. STAGGERING ENEMIES: To win a battle, you have to punish an enemy (or enemies) up to the point that they "stagger". At this point, the enemy will take a lot more damage and is less likely to attack. While it is not necessary to stagger an enemy to defeat it, for most game, you will find it difficult to defeat enemies without staggering them. So what is so special about staggering enemies? In order to stagger them in most cases you will have to use variety of paradigms and will have to come up with different strategies. Again, in the beginning you may find this difficult to understand, but once you get it, it gets to be quite fun. VARIETY OF BOSSES AND ENEMIES: Yup, there is great variety of enemies and different bosses in this game (as expected of "final fantasy"). Before you finish the game, you will have defeat quite a few different enemies and bosses and to defeat them you will have to use different strategies. While most enemies you may find it pretty straightforward to beat (especially in the beginning of the game), many later on enemies and bosses will be quite difficult until you figure out the right strategy. But don't worry there are ways to defeat them and you will find these challenges fun rather than frustrating. CRYSTAL LEVELING UP SYSTEM: This game has similar leveling up system as Final Fantasy 10. Defeating each enemies gives you points and then you use these points to level up different characters. The difference is you can level up a character in different direction (i.e. you can make a character better at magic, physical attacks, healing, sabotaging enemies, etc.) Each character will have 3 specialty areas and later on you can develop the character in all 6 different classes. Pretty addicting if you ask me. TONS OF SIDEQUEST BOSSES: So it takes a while to get up to this point, but once the open world portion of the game begins, there are tons of (>60) mini and major bosses to beat in the game. There is this portion called TITAN CHALLENGE (won't spoil much) which is very interesting. Here you will have to defeat a series of enemies in certain way. I liked it. SPECTACULAR SUMMONS: In this game each character gets a cool summon. While you don't have control over when you can obtain it, in order obtain them you have to beat them. LOVED IT. Once you obtain them you get to use their awesome powers and most importantly limit breaks. This has been my favorite part in many of the final fantasy game and just like previous final fantasies, this game has delivered them nicely. BEAUTIFUL AND ELEGANT FANTASY WORLD: The creation of Cocoon and Pulse are just mind blowing. Everything in these worlds is very elegantly designed. If you look carefully designers have truly given attention to details. Loved just loved each and every level. WEIRD BUT UNDERSTANDABLE STORY: Really can't tell you much without spoiling it, but like in many Japanese games, this one also has a very strange, but unique story with a great underlying theme. WEAPON AND ARMAMENT LEVELING UP: I am happy in addition to character they also have weapon leveling up in this game. To level up your weapon though you have to collect and use different items in a unique manner. For example, certain weapons can only be leveled up to level 11; however, if you obtain these unique item you can break that limit and level it up even further turning it into a completely different weapon. If you like this type of stuff the game will keep you occupy for a LONG TIME. CONS LACK OF CONTROL OVER BATTLE TEAM: As described in pros, you have to design specific paradims and you can use them in the battle to your liking. However, these combination are not limitless. In other words, you won't be able to control all three of the party members in the exact manner you want to. For example, with characters A,B, and C, I want both characters A and B to attack the same enemies with physical attacks, I don't have that option. Also if I want to revive character B before healing character C that is also not an option (unless the character I control is the healer). While it seems like a major issue, it really is not. There is not a single enemy you won't be able to beat due to this problem. WHINY CHARACTERS: Ever since Final Fantasy 10, they have been having so many whiny characters in these games. Hate it, just hate it. Good thing is whiny character in this game will only whine for first quarter of the game. Also, what Japanese people and Westerners find "awesome" and "funny" are quite different. Some dialogues that Japanese may find awesome will simply sound lame to us. So that is also a problem in this game. CONCLUSION Contrary to the cons I described, this is a great game. Battle System, leveling up and hunt for different bosses and items will keep you busy and entertained for a long time. With side quests, it has taken me about 84 hours and I am still not quite done. With lowered prices, I would say this is a MUST OWN game.

Overall I love the game! Great graphics and I love the unique leveling system. I love how you can change fighting styles mid fight and how each character have several different fighting styles you can choose from. I love customizing them for different battle situations. The only con I really can find on the game is that it can get kind of chaotic trying to switch the battle types during a rough battle.

First off just wanted to say I've played the other final fantasy games and I did like them but never got into them in depth or finished em. This game is just so good all around from the epic cyberpunk-fantasy style storyline to the strategy based gameplay. I'm a Halo Pro and I cant help but play final fantasy 13 when I should be practicing lol. But overall AWESOME game..well worth 60 dollars. Would I recommend this to a friend?..no I recommend it to anyone who loves great game play and an epicly awesome storyline.

Final Fantasy XIII is a great RPG, the combat system developed well and gives the player different setups and choices to play around with. The story develops well with a great environment that fits well with the current emotions of the characters. Long lasting, engaging, fulfilling... I can't think of anything negative about it, it's a great game.

I loved this game. It's been out for awhile and I saw this for the price and decided to buy it. Great price. The graphics, story, & characters are all great. I played this game all night. It is addicting well for me. If your looking you found it.

It's different from other FF games I've played. Most of the game is linear in that you walk straight down a path with little to no branching off. Therefore, there is no real exploring. The game seemed pretty short. I was on disc 3 in no time. The storyline was great. Some characters (Vanille) are quite annoying. The graphics are unbelievable. I loved the new battle system though it takes a long time to get used to. Overall, it's an excellent game.

This game is amazing! Very fun and it lasts a long time with 3 disks. I am at the very end of disk 2 currenly and I have had this game since the day it came out. In-game graphics are amazing, best I've seen. I only wish that Square didn't reduce the cutscene resolution.

Even though I haven't gotten past the first big boss yet, you can tell that Square Enix has put a LOT of time & care into it. I do have to say that the first boss is a little too hard, tried to fight it many times & haven't played it since-was frustrating. Never had such a bad time trying to fight such like that at the beginning of a game. The characters are incredible & I love them already. So far the story has me hooked & will go back to trying that boss when I'm in the mood. All in all, I'd have to say it's an incredible game.

I'm a longtime, diehard FF fanatic and I expect the game to be a bounce back from the previous tiltle. I'll update this posting next week with details on gameplay, sound and the battle system.

I'm currently about halfway into playing, and let me say wow, it took everything to put this game down to write this review. This game's very fun to play. Athough it is true that the battle systems are a bit simple compared to other FF games, you do have the ability to change the attack stategy of your team, which can be very strategic with the big bosses. I only have two complaints; I'm not really in love with the story, it seems a little juvenile. Going hand in hand with that, this game seems to have way too many cutscense. I feel more like I'm watching a movie sometimes than I'm playing a game. Having said that, the story and the cutscenes are very perceptive, and for $60 dollars, you can't beat the price, and you'll definately get your moneys worth.

This game has had seriously split reviews. I bought the Japanese version for PS3, and have been playing it. I'm up to 64 hours of gameplay, and am just sick of it. If you're expecting something amazing out of this addition to the series, don't get your hopes up. I would strongly advise against buying this for $59.99 and would wait for those that did to return their copies so you can buy it used for less. I would not pay more than $39.99 if I had known what I know now. Google "disappointed FFXIII" and take a look at the reviews you find. On a side note, *stop giving this game, or any other game, 5-star reviews when you haven't even played it yet!*

The game has awesome graphics. I just got the game today and only have 4hrs of gameplay but for that 4hrs, no new attacks or magic yet. Still basic attacks. Thats how slow the game is.

Always been a FF fan and i enjoyed my recent purchase of FF13. Great Story and challenges. The new fighting system is really good and easy to learn. i really dont like that you have to be different characters throughout the story but that is how you experience everyones story and how they came to be

Final Fantasy 13 is but no means a bad game. Quite the opposite. There are so many good characteristics about this game that make it great. The one down fall it had for me was that it didn't ever feel like a final fantasy game to me. The game is very linear and and that goes for the character builds too. I loved suiting up each character in all the armors in the previous titles. Unfortunately, there isn't much room for that in this title.

I bought this game hoping it would fill a niche since I just finished Final Fantasy IV on Nintendo DS. While there are many promising things about the game, overall, the game basically loses a lot of enjoyment for me due to the fact that it is basically a ton of cutscenes followed by very narrow paths to walk through to move through the game. In addition, the fight system is totally based on autocasting. You choose to heal, debuff, buff, or attack, and the game determines which spells to cast - this is optional for the main character but there is no way to give explicit commands to the rest of your party. Due to the guided nature of the game and the feeling of auto-fighting, I was disappointed and didn't get a lot of enjoyment out of this game.