Customer Ratings & Reviews

FF13 had a lot of build up. The game lived up to some of that build up. You will not find better graphics. The character look real and the cutscenes look like movies. The main plot was a disappointment because it was short and easy. Hardest part of the game is earning 5-star ratings on fights. The missions are fairly easy, yet I still need to beat the last 7. In all the past Final Fantasy games, gil(currency) was important from start to finish. It only become important near the end. The weapon and armor was very limited and disappointing. I played FFXI for 5 years, this part of the game was a serious step back in the armor and weapons department. No EXP and no leveling was major change. When you think of RPG you think of levling and growing more powerful. That aspect just wasn't in this game. I did enjoy the game and graphics. If you are waiting for FFIV to come out this will hold you over but it will not provide the addiction that FFXI had. Now that SE has improved its graphics, time to go back to the challenging gameplay that made FF series famous.

FF13 excells in graphics and of course the music sticks with you. What you may notice about this game however is how linear the play is. There is one way through it and that is it. Not to mention the fact that... despite the captivating mystery surrounding the story in how their lives intertwine, you may easily finish the first 80% of the game by using ur right thumb to press only one button. That's still fine though because the story and mystery draws you in, up until the often frustrating difficulty spikes (not necessarily a bad thing... frustrating as these spikes were, I welcomed the challenge after what seemed like an easy ride through the game pressing one button... paradigms become very fun here). Overall I would recommend this game to any RPG fan (if you were a hardcore ff fan then I assume you would have already beaten it like I have). My favorite is still ff6 (ff3 in USA).

The Good: The graphics in this game are amazing and the cut scenes are frequent, long, and entertaining. Also, some of the game play changes are neat like the paradigm shifts and weapons/accessories upgrades. The Not so Good: For those of us who have played nearly all of the FF titles this game is much more linear than past games. There is not the ability to explore at your leisure. You just plod along killing monsters, then cut scene, then killing more monsters, then another cut scene, and on and on. Also, the cut scenes while cool can get very corny at times. That being said this game is still good but for me, someone who has been looking forward to this game for a few years now, it falls a little short. I should disclose that I am playing chapter 10 right now (about 25-30 hours in) and have not finished the game so maybe it will open up more.

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.

I don't understand what the complaints are about. The only bad things I've heard about this game and seeing it firsthand myself is the linear gameplay. Other than that, this game is challenging and it brings back the fun that I had when playing FF 7-9. If you didn't have a problem with FF10, you shouldn't have too much of a problem with FF13. Though I enjoyed FF9-10, the replay value wasn't all that great for me. After FF7-8, I thought the FF series had lost the challenging aspect of the game. I was not a huge fan of FF12 at all because the battle system among other aspects was enough to drive me up the wall. However, after seeing this game and playing the Japanese version, I can say that Square Enix have redeemed themselves regardless of the linear aspect.

I wasn't sure how I was going to enjoy the game, considering how painful FFX-2 was (to the point I did not finish), but it turned out to be a remarkably good game. I've been playing the series since the original for the NES, and the only complaint I have is how linear the game is. There are two points where you can branch off and do 'your own thing'; the first time you reach grand pulse and before the last boss. Overall the storyline was good, the cg was amazing -- glad I waited for a PS3 1080p -- and the characters and their development were well done. The sphere grid has been replaced by something much more simplistic, yet it's still a 'sphere grid' and don't expect to earn gil from killing things. Item drops are based on how well you do, how well you do is based on a 'par time' calculated into a formula, regardless you farm gil in specific areas and in others (should you chose to fight) you earn CP used for character development. I've finished the game in terms of storyline completion, but there is a ridiculous amount of extraneous content that could have been factored in throughout the storyline allowing for the game to be less linear. Whether I'll go back and progress my characters to the point of doing everything, unlikely due to time constraints, but only time will tell.

Good old Final Fantasy XIII, takes quite a while to get its momentum rolling but once it does it gets pretty good with its addictive battle system. The first 20 or so hours are completely linear and while I see what they were trying to do with the pacing, it still didn't quite fit the game or make it any better. The story is pretty weak although the characters are quite alright with Lightning being an interesting protagonist. The battle system is fun and its saving grace. While the game isn't perfect, I still spent over 100 hours in this world. It is worth buying and having in your collection just keep an open mind and don't expect old school Final Fantasy.

Good game. Great if you're already into the Final Fantasy franchise The graphics are great. The music/ sounds are beutiful. The gameplay and storyline are intriguing so far. I've only just started playing but it is bound to get better. Most in the FF series do. I highly recommend this game.

I went into this game expecting to be decently pleased as I am with all Final Fantasy games, however it turned out to be much more then I could have hoped for. The graphics are absolutely amazing, the game runs extremely smooth and is always a pleasure to look at. All of the characters are interesting in their own ways and I enjoy their interactions. As to be expected with any Final Fantasy, the story is great, and creative, I find myself always wanting to know what will happen next. This game is a great choice not only for Final Fantasy Fans, but anyone who enjoys RPGs.

First let me say this, This game is for hardcore gamers. If you have a lot of free time on your hands and love grinding.. This game is for you. I had high hopes as this is the first Final Fantasy game since FF9 that I've played. The good things about the game include: Character models look lifelike ( hair and clothing move.) New combat system that is faster paced. Some of the bad things: The story is the same generic story. Voice acting will make you want to puke. The story is very linear with no open map exploration. You traverse one hallway to the next, just in a different scene. Monster and boss fights can go from extemely easy to full party annihilation in just a few steps. Overall I would say this is a must have for die hard fans but if you're a casual gamer, I would suggest renting it.

After such a long wait for the game's release, I was quite certain that the game wasn't going to live up to my expectations since I had so long to hype it up in my mind, but to my surprise, it was just as good as I had hoped it would be. There were plenty of cut scenes and a pretty good story line. The ending was a bit confusing and didn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but was at least thought provoking. I'm glad that the folks at Square Enix took the time to really perfect this game. It runs smoothly. There's really no latency and the graphics are great. The game play is fun. Half way through the game, I determined that I needed a strategy guide in order to properly upgrade my in game weapons. It was also needed in order to defeat some of the optional bosses. Unfortunately, by the time, I purchased a strategy guide, I had already completed most of the first half of the game, which you can't go back to. The later content can be revisited as much as you want, however, and is really probably where you would stay anyways other than to search for secrets that you missed. One thing that I found odd was that part of your abilities don't unlock until after you complete the main story line. Anything you do after that is really just surrounding further character development, increasing abilities and weapon upgrades, which in turn helps you defeat even more monsters, which you would not have been able to beat during the main story line. That being said, I loved the game, and although I have already beat the main storyline, I intend to keep playing a few times a week until I can fully upgrade the character weapon upgrades. This is definitely a must have for final fantasy lovers.

I've played FF1,2,7,8,9,10,10-2, and 12. I hate to say it but FF13 is most similar to FF12. Yes, that mean it's boring. The graphics are amazing and the new battle-system is good but the learning curve is about 3 hours. Sometimes i win a battle without knowing what happened. Why did Square take out the traditional FF musics and themes? Why can't it be like FF9 and FF10 where the victory song is most emphasized? FF13 does not have any specific music or theme that'll bring back memories after playing the game unlike FF10 or even, FF7 and FF9. It's all jazz and what seemingly sound like "generic" background musics in FF13. Storyline is hard to follow and is slow to start off. It's like reading a boring book with a boring plot and finally understanding what's going on after 5 chapters of reading. All in all, FF13 was an amazing game with excellent visuals just that it feels too similar to FF12 and FFX-2 in terms of the music, gameplay, and BORINGNESS.

If you have seen the trailers to this game then you know how great it looks. This installment of the game seems to fully use the ps3's horsepower as much as it can. The graphics are amazingly detailed. With so much space on the disk, Square-enix developed a new fighting style on the game which catches every single movement that the character makes. Although this is just one of the two games that Square-enix is making for the ps3, versus is being developed by the same people that made kingdom hearts and final fantasy VII: Advent Children so we can expect to see more in this version than the other final fantasy. Both of the games are said to be set in the same universe but happening at different times. The pink haired character from the other final fantasy installment seems to look like Yuna from Final Fantasy X and X-2 but she could be someone else. Both games seem to be great so we can expect to see more of these games soon and hopefully there will be some sort of limited edition that comes with both games and more, so be on your toes fanboys.

First off, I have NEVER played a FF game - ever. The only RPG-esque games I've played are Fallout 3 and Oblivion (and those aren't true RPG). I have to say that after playing FFXIII for 6 hours, I'm now a believer. The graphics are stunning and the severely linear play is far from annoying. The combat system (of course totally new to me) is slick and fast paced and the enemies have a decent level of difficulty. I am totally in to this game and have a new appreciation for RPG's. Some of you who are FF veterans have had negative things to say about the apparent radical change from the past FF styles, but for a newbie like me, I have to admit that I will no longer hesitate to play RPG's. The only complaint I have (and it's a small one) is the constant monosyllabic sounds and grunts the characters make, but hey, what type of Japanese anime/games don't include that? This is a holler out to all those who poo-poo RPG's or have never played a FF game... this game will get you hooked! So clear your calendar.

If you have seen the trailers to this game then you know how great it looks. This installment of the game seems to fully use the ps3's horsepower as much as it can. The graphics are amazingly detailed. With so much space on the disk, Square-enix developed a new fighting style on the game which catches every single movement that the character makes. The pink haired character from the other final fantasy installment seems to look like Yuna from Final Fantasy X and X-2 but she could be someone else. If you loved the others Final Fantasy games; then you will love this game.

Final Fantasy XIII is my favorite out of the final fantasy games that I have played. The graphics blow me away and the gameplay is so much fun. Although the battle system is hard to get used to at first, it easily grows on you and creates a new kind of gaming experience that requires you to think and use your mind other than just your fingers. I bought the game the day it came out and i am still playing. Storylines of the FF games have always been very unique and this one doesn't fail the reputation. Overall, this is an amazing game but if they could change one thing about it, it should be the linear game play. There is really only one path to take but they manage to create a lot around that to make it more interesting. I suggest this game to anyone looking for a great RPG to play in your downtime.

What can I say, that has not already been said. This game is fantastic on all levels. The gameplay, the story, the graphics. It really immerses you like a true final fantasy game should. True, you don't have to 'freedom' to roam like in previous titles, but this installment makes up for that in other ways. Any final fantasy fan would appreciate the length and depth of time and ingenuity that went into creating this game. Expect at least 60 hours of solid gameplay.Well done Square Enix. Can't wait for the next chapter.

Finally the long awaited FF game is out. For a long time players of the FF series this game may throw u for a loop..(but only if u are not open 2 new things...in my opinion.) The battle system has been completely re-done. I, who have been a long time FF series player, (since super nintendo,) like the new battle system. It's different and i think a nice added twist. There are no towns, which i miss, and leveling up is a cross of FFX and FFXII...(Sphere grid from X, and the checker board, from XII.) They did bring back the job classes though, in a way but when u get the game you'll see. The graphics are sick like the swine flu, and the dialogue, and character voices are on point. Bottom line be open minded when u play this game and u wont be disappointed...FF Lives on...

I was in awe of the graphics on this one from the opening scene. I am very much into graphics and this one hit spot on. The story line is excellent. I only hate that there is no two player mode for my kid and I to adventure together, that would have saved me from having to buy copies (yes I did). So far, both of us are still thoroughly enthralled with this game even though I have a feeling we are both coming to the end of the story. This game is so good it will go onto a shelf and be broken out to be played again instead of being traded.

The game is great. I am currently playing it. Even though I don't understand it but hey I still love it. The graphics is amazing. Best I've seen so far on the ps3 but maybe that will change soon when something else comes out. The story I can't say much about as I don't understand it without knowing what they are saying. Fun well I guess with the new battle system and new leveling scheme it keeps me in the game and also to see the story unfold. The cinematics is beautiful. Length of the game well I'm not sure how long it is but I'm hoping it will be long so it can keep me busy.