Final Fantasy XIII

I've been a huge Final Fantasy fan for over 15 years. I remember that I couldn't wait for the new releases to come out and start playing them.

What makes me love Final Fantasy so much is definitely the story-line; all the deep, fantastic and full of emotions storylines. We can't even forget all those precious and timeless FF moments that stay with us forever, like the Opera Scene (FFVI), Aeris' Death (FFVII), Squall rescuing Rinoa at Lunatic Pandora (FFVIII), etc etc...

I have ALL of the FF's. I've beaten all of them. I've beaten FFVIII for 30+ times! I couldn't wait for more and more...

Final Fantasy XIII was a HUGE disappointment for me. It has been like that since FFX-2, though...but faith is the last thing to die, right?

Where's the Final Fantasy soul? While playing the game, I was getting confused and bored!... I was always thinking "Ok...when does the "fantasy" come? Now?... What about now?". Well, it didn't. I completed the game in 72 hours (!!) thinking that *maybe* I'd get some of the true FF's spirit by the ending... But, not even close!

So, if you're a true Final Fantasy fan, you'll hate that:

- FFXIII doesn't have towns...at all. You're only running in a straight line, having battles all-the-time (I can't remember batteling SO much, not even when I was trying to level up in the previous FFs!!), and just running straight...all the time. Oh, and always inside a tunel-like-place.

- FFXIII's story-line is EXTREMELY linear, EXTREMELY confusing and...BORING! For the 1st like, I don't know, 10hrs?, I didn't know what I was doing there! Nothing! I had to google for explanations!...

- The battle system is extremely...reductive. You have this "Auto Battle" option, that does everything for you (how nice) and you just need to keep hitting "X" all the time. Yay. How fun! Oh and now you have this Paradigms, that are all about the characters' jobs (classes) all reunited in a kind of, well, paradigm, to use in battle. You can switch it by hitting L1. So, battle is like: X X X X X X L1 X X X X X X X L1 X X X X X X X L1...WIN. (or not)

- Eidolons. I remember I was always so excited when I was getting a new eidolon and using it for the 1st time! Well, in Final Fantasy XIII they aren't really any good. They don't help you at all! They're useless in battles. Oh, and since you can only control ONE character (the one you set to be your main one - yes, the others are controled by the cpu) and since each character has their own eidolon, you can only see each eidolon if you switch main characters...so you can't choose whom will stick with that eidolon, or that one..

- The characters were another HUG disappointment. They're extremely reductive, linear, stereotyped and lack of personality. Remember when we used to LOVE that character or hate it because they used to be so so evil and destroy everything? Well, you really can't have any feelings towards any of these. They're completely blank.

- The cut-scenes... Oh the cut scenes. What are they all about anyway? They don't help us at all! They don't give us any storyline at all... There's not a peaceful moment when we can talk to other people (oh that's right, now towns, appart from one that you need to pass by because you REALLY have to)... Nothing.

- The music. I was so so sad to know that Nobuo Uematsu wasn't the creator or the soundtrack... Don't take me wrong, I like it! Masashi Hamauzu did an amazing work, but...where's the "Victory Fanfarre"? When I won my 1st battle I was waiting to hear it but...instead, I heard something else...very robotic, and I asked "Where is it?...". Where's the "Prelude"? Final Fantasy needs them. It's a trademark! I know, we need to change things and evolute but, those are from Final Fantasy.

What really made me so sad was also the ending. So, so so so so so so so small!!! Nothing happened at all! The FF endings use to be AMAZING! Like, in every way! I don't think there was ONE ending which I didn't cry. I was just watching it, with my mouth open and suddenly it ended and I wanted to cry. Seriously. I removed the disk and said "Is this REALLY Final Fantasy? What happened?"

Oh and guess what, the game doesn't really end after you beat the final boss. You can save it after the ending, because the last stage of the crystal-stuff pop up after the ending (wow) and you can go and do the side-quest (the only one there is...which is batteling...yay). I didn't even bother.

- Oh yes, there are NO side quests!! Oh and there are NO shops! NO Inns! Nothing!!!

...

I'm really sad that many future FF fans are only starting to play Final Fantasy now. They won't ever know what a true FF feels like. Please go a play the previous one (after before FFX). You'll see what a great FF feels and is like!

The great thing about this Final Fantasy are definitely the graffics. They're superb! Of course, I couldn't expect less from them. But...there's no soul in it. I don't care for the visual, I care for the inside!

Bring back the Final Fantasy soul! Please!!

I have been a fan of Final Fantasy since its birth on the NES and I was looking forward to playing this one. I don't have time to write an in-depth review so I will just highlight the good and bad.

::Good::

Graphics: The in-game graphics are quite nice and the cut scenes look amazing.

Sound: Awesome sound track

Story: Grabbed me from the start. The characters are all unique and diverse and the plot keeps you wanting to know more.

Death: If or when you die in battle you have the option to 'retry' which takes you to just before the fight and gives you another go.

::Not So Good::

Combat: I still don't know if I like it. The battles are very dynamic and fast paced but it all feels like complexity for the sake of it, like they where trying too hard. Also you are only in complete control of one character in battle at any one battle.

::Bad::

Linear Gameplay: This is the only part of the game I really dislike. I can tell you exactly how your experience of the game will play out. You will walk along a little path, have a few fights then keep walking along the path, until a cut scene. Then you will walk along the same path or maybe a new one, have more fights then a cut scene. Rinse and then repeat. The gameplay is so boring and repetitive it destroys the entire game.

It is such a shame, the game could had been great. I guess if you are really into the story of games this is worth getting just for that. If not, then I would give this stinker a wide-birth.

At £12.99 this "game" is still over priced. The only way it would be worth the money is if someone paid YOU to play it. Even then it would still be torture. I reviewed this a while back, when it was full price and I really can't understand people giving it five stars. The graphics are cracking, obviously, but when I'm watching one massive cutscene after another, I realize I don't care about what I'm seeing. That's because I don't give a monkeys about any of the protagonists, the world they inhabit or the illogical and badly written story that's unfolding.

This is a one star game, and that star is for the graphics and sound alone.