20 reasons why Final Fantasy XIII is not a good Final Fantasy game

In FFXIII-2 we learn that the L'Cie are only released from their eternal crystal prison because the universe's most worthless and stupid goddess, Etro, decided to take pity on our main characters, hence dooming the entire timeline as a result.

When people first finished FFXIII, they would NOT have yet known that Lightning and company escape their eternal crystal prison because of Etro. FFXIII rolls with the idea of trying to fight against your predestined fate. Here you are, a bunch of doomed L'Cie, whose only salvation lies in an eternal crystal sleep, otherwise, unless you just decide to shoot yourself in the face, you're done for as a crystal zombie, or later a bit of rock. The first half of the game features your characters aimlessly running around, mostly lost at what they ought to do, with ridiculously contradicting interpretations until Barthandelus clearly drills into their heads that their fate is to destroy Orphan and send the entire dyson sphere planetoid into the earth.

By the time the final fight against Orphan begins, four of the six main characters manage to snap themselves out of zombie mode because apparently they believed in a better future hard enough. They inexplicably decide to turn their blades/spears/guns/fists/fishing rods/boomerangs on Orphan, doing exactly what the villains of the game have been chanting for them to do in the entire second half of the game. Their reasoning? Well, firstly they go along with Raines's crusade of a society where humans control their own lives and fates, not the despotic Fal'Cie. Secondly, they have in their minds that if they WISH for a miracle hard enough, they can free the world from Fal'Cie tyranny by doing exactly what Barty has told them to do, but WITHOUT killing everyone.

That would have been the impression a perceptive player would get from the final battle and ending. Believe hard enough in a miracle and it can totally happen! Frankly, that's just balls stupid. It would have seemed to be one of the worst cop-outs ever, and the player would not have known until the sequel that this isn't really the case. Oh, how Lightning, Hope, Snow and Sazh get out of crystal zombie mode in the Cradle remains the same, presumably: they wished hard enough.

But it does not negate what is an absolutely ridiculous "plan". Hey guys, let's kill Orphan. You know, the thing that Barthandelus told us exactly to do in order to kill everyone and call back a neglectful God of some description. But let's hope for a miracle that this doesn't kill everyone, nor will it call back a neglectful God of some description. Let's just attack Orphan with no actual basis of knowing that the destruction of Cocoon can also save it! Wonderful non-plan, fellas. It's almost like Snow came up with it.
 
Its a good game, people are just upset about it because it isnt what they wanted in a game. Some people dont like change, some people embrace it, some people like it. Just gotta keep an open mind when playing it and remember that its a SEPERATE FF game, not one of a sequel. It is its own game, own plot/story/characters.

That's completely true. but never in the history of FF, have they ever lowered their quality in gaming. isn't that why FFXV is being made onto ps4? so that they wouldn't have to lower their standards?

their own plot? fine....i personally believe it was crap. characters? yeah, i hated them too. I can hate any plot or characters in any individual FF game, yet still consider it a decent FF game. But XIII doesn't give me that option. It gives me just two options: "love it, or hate it" and imagine all the bad aspects and good aspects were marked in color and ina revolving wheel. the chances of me loving it are extremely low and i'll tell you why.

the part of the game that sucks (as a game in general) is the fact that it doesn't have any other redeeming qualities. many people didn't like ffv's story, but the gameplay and world was still topnotch. The gameplay was incredibly easy, and it practically played itself. Unlike XII, XIII forces you to play it their way, or let them play it for you. So battles aren't fun, but redundant and tedious. and yes, you can say all turn-based games are tedious and redundant, but not as much as XIII. XIII made any attack about the same, the HP bar was too low.


you're constant speech about "embrace change" doesn't really count here. yes, this is an individual FF game, but when have you seen a numbered FF-game that didn't have an open world, restricting battle, and questionable plot/story all wrapped in one? FFX is the only example of no open world, but even then, it still offered great gameplay and replayability.
 
I still think its a good game. I like it, but your all right, in no way shape or form is it as good as 7-10. ive said that before and always will. However i do believe its a good game, and deserves to be treated as that, I know im not part of majority vote when i say that, but thats how i feel. it was a good game, not worth the 8 times playthrough like i did with X. or the run of beating FF7 within 4 days, its just one of those game where you either like it, or you dont. and personally i do. and you guys dont. fair enough.
And im pretty sure i read somewhere that it did really well in japan so thats why theyre continuing and did 13-2 and will do LR. SE just knows that if they dont send us FF that alot of their sales will drop, so in all honesty they probably could care less about how americans or other countries feel about the game, their main focus is the japanese fanbase considering they feel like Lightning is one of the best female protagonists in any game ever, which i disagree with but whatever. its still a good game imo.
 
I still think its a good game. I like it, but your all right, in no way shape or form is it as good as 7-10. ive said that before and always will. However i do believe its a good game, and deserves to be treated as that, I know im not part of majority vote when i say that, but thats how i feel. it was a good game, not worth the 8 times playthrough like i did with X. or the run of beating FF7 within 4 days, its just one of those game where you either like it, or you dont. and personally i do. and you guys dont. fair enough.
And im pretty sure i read somewhere that it did really well in japan so thats why theyre continuing and did 13-2 and will do LR. SE just knows that if they dont send us FF that alot of their sales will drop, so in all honesty they probably could care less about how americans or other countries feel about the game, their main focus is the japanese fanbase considering they feel like Lightning is one of the best female protagonists in any game ever, which i disagree with but whatever. its still a good game imo.

i believe, give credit where credit is due. just because you like it, doesn't mean it "deserves" to be treated as a good game. Because its as you said, "you either like it, or you don't". The game was set up in such a difficult way, its either a hit or a miss, no middle ground. scratch that the only middle ground both haters and fans can agree on is the graphics. but thats it.


its arguably a good "interactive movie disguised as a game" but a fullblown game? i dont really care about XIII enough to constantly give an answer, i just don't like it when fans make it seem like it's the fan's fault for not liking XIII (per say, reminding us each FF is different). In which i defend, it's all about standards.
 
Final Fantasy XIII would of been better off as a movie I feel. Sort of like Advent Children on Blu-Ray and DVD. I mean it was almost a movie and not much of a game. Call it " Cocoon " or something and have Lightning on the front cover and yeah. Then make have FF XIII-2 and Lightning Returns spin off games on the Vita.

2010- Final Fantasy Cocoon Movie on Blu-ray/ DVD

2011-Final Fantasy Cocoon II Serah's story- PlayStation Vita

2012- Final Fantasy XIV = Final Fantasy XIII

2013- Final Fantasy Versus = Final Fantasy XIV

2014-Final Fantasy Cocoon III Lightning Returns- PlayStation Vita
 
3. I NEVER changed my weapons. I upgraded them, but every weapon i found was virtually pointless aside from selling. The fist weapons you get usually end up being the best. Some others are slightly better but by the time you get them your first weapons should be upgraded far beyond them. So you never bothered chamging weapons therefore different weapons are worthless. Makes sense.

4. No minigames or REAL sidequests like 6, 7, 8, 9, X, XII, or tactics. This allows for longer playability. Sidequests in the game don't exist if they're inconvenient for my whining.

5. The chocobo digging is a pitiful glimpse of an attempt of what 9's chocobo digging was. And no chocobo activities compare to the difficulty and fun of 7's breeding and racing. Did i say fun? It was a pain in the ass. But it was still something. Even X’s chocobo trials were better. And those SUCKED. Oh wait, I thought there were no minigames or sidequests? Are you saying you're a lying delusional loser?

6. 3 of my Eidolons were only used once because 3 of my characters were never in my battle team and if they were, they were not the lead. Hell, Hope has been in my battle team since the beginning and he only lead twice, and one of those times was just to see what Alexander could do. I only ever used Odin and Bahamut because I only ever used Lightning and Fang as my leads. Congratulations, you played a certain way and blame the game for that.

7. The world map is terrible, even if the plot IS about exile and isolation. FFX was also linear but still allowed for some small free roaming here and there. That's a shameless lie and you know it.

8. Seriously if i have to fight one more f***ing adamantoise..... "I keep fighting these powerful enemies I can easily avoid if I'm not stupid, and that's the game's fault!"

9. "Holy" has been in EVERY SINGLE FINAL FANTASY GAME except this one. Its a nostalgia issue. And personally I look forward to both Holy and Ultima. I let Ultima go from the list because the Adamantoise has it but Holy had to go on. Alexander doesn’t count. Final Fantasy VII. Oh wait, I forgot. It's perfectly fine to do whatever because you say so. (Not to mention, Last Resort.)

10. So.... when someone turns to crystal their crystal form is nude. but when the awake they are still wearing clothes. There are many ways to do nudity and creatively not show "anything." I know, this is a trivial complaint but its about believability. It takes you out of the illusion. This is a dumb stupid "complaint".

11. So… I don’t get to fight Titan?.... That’s a crushing blow to this game. No all powerful super boss like omega weapon, ruby weapon, etc... VII, VIICC, VIII, IX, X, XII, and Tactics all have super bosses. I wanted to snap the disc when i learned there wasn't a near impossible boss in this game. That Sieth at the end of Titan's trials is not a super boss. He was kinda tough but i beat him on my second try, and then got 5 stars on my 3rd try. Other enemies were tough but no super boss. There are numerous superbosses, such as Long Gui and Vercingtorix. Again, this is "X doesn't exist! Well, it does, but I'm going to pretend it doesn't because I'm an idiot."

12. Being strictly linear maps, the fact that you can HEAR the nearby treasure chest eliminates all the need to search every last corner. AND If there is a stray path, 9 times out of 10 there is a treasure at the end. Everything is given to you. You don’t have to look for anything. Wow, this blatant bullshit again?

13. Seeing as how several major enemies can inflict massive amounts of damage to my entire party in a single hit, why then won’t a medic class continue casting Curas after 90% health? The A.I. switches to casting single cures 1 at a time. WHY?!!!!! JUST HEAL ME 100% AND BE DONE WITH IT!!!! Casting multiple Cure spells at a time is more efficient. This is why the AI conserves actions when everyone's at high HP—if you then take a massive amount of damage, the Medics can quickly cast a full stock of healing spells to heal everyone quickly when they need it.

14. The Crystalarium allows no room for character personalization like such great post FFV titles like……most of them. The Crystalarium is in no way similar to The Sphere Grid from FFX. The Sphere Grid allows no personalization because every character is ultimately identical. The Crystarium (you can't even spell it right) actually has differing roles and allows you to choose which to specialize in, and your choice of weapons and accessories also impacts characters' roles in battle. (See how that works?)

16. Im going to make the argument about no Towns for 2 reasons. The first being that even when Sazh and Vanille are nearing the parade, the town is still boring and LINEAR. AND At this point in the game you’re not known fugitives yet. The second reason is questioning why they couldn’t just put on disguises. I mean, the people of Cocoon didn’t appear to be very smart. They probably wouldn’t have noticed. Snow on the beach was about the closest it got. FFX was linear with towns, what about like that? Yes, they can just pull disguises out of their asses. And no, it's not fucking linear, we all know that and YOU know that.

17. No Gravity Magic. Not a very big deal. Its better in some games than others. Most don’t use it but its actually a badass magic and helps speed fights up dramatically. Pointless bitching.

18. No Flare, Meteor, or any related massive damage magic attack. Partly nostalgia. But mostly because they are massive damage magics! More pointless bitching.

19. Seriously?.....a save point around every single turn? AND RETRY?! Why not wrap this game in a pretty little bow and do everything for us? It makes you reckless and carefree, eliminating a huge challenge and the pressure of survival. No, it makes each battle an individual challenge and doesn't reduce the gameplay to a mere war of attrition against the player.

20. The battle with Orphan consisted of Orphan doing the same move of taking me down to 1% life then allowing me more than enough time to fully heal and attack for 20 seconds or so then repeat. So disappointing. This is complete and utter bullshit and you know it.

21. How many times did YOU press X? Very rarely. More "I played the game a certain way and that's totally the game's fault!" bullshit.

22. My roommate stopped playing early in the game because as he put it.,… “I’m not playing and video game with the line ‘Moms are tough’ twice in the first 40 minutes of the game.” I mean… hes got a point. Oh no, he didn't like a mother trying to reassure her son. He's a moron and so are you.

23. Good music but other games have far more memorable music. "This is what I think!" More useless, stupid whining.

24. This is a design criticism but Odin’s horse has forever had 6 legs. I don’t care if HE has 2 arms and 2 legs and transforms into the horse. Add legs somehow. That to me is half of what made Odin so Spectacular in the past. He rides a 6 legged horse and cuts you in half. Odin's horse has frequently appeared with only four legs. Roughly half of his appearance, in fact. Again, you don't know jack shit about the series.

25. Barthandelus never EVER even once posed the slightest threat to me. Every battle with him was near effortless and easy.

BONUS: Final Fantasy XIII is so incredibly easy it’s insulting. And like I said, If you find this to be difficult you are not using your paradigms correctly. Horrible difficulty curve. You haven't the slightest fucking clue how to even play the game, and claiming this just proves you are completely full of shit.

So really, if anyone has praised this dumb fucking shit, you know they don't have any clue what they're talking about and are only part of a retarded circlejerk intend on bullying, harassing, and terrorizing fans of a game these assholes have never actually played.
 
^Dude..u need to get off the internet for a few months/years -whatever it takes. It's just a game. A really really REALLY shitty game. If u gonna rage over something make it something worthwhile.


Like FFXIII-2 and Lightning Returns being also shitty.


I agree with OP on practically everything esp:

now...
25 things I find wrong with FFXIII

1. No control of your 2nd and 3rd characters or at least the order of A.I. like FFXII's Gambit system.

2. If limiting user control to one character only, allow ability to change the characters during battle like, VIII(ish), X, and XII.

3. I NEVER changed my weapons. I upgraded them, but every weapon i found was virtually pointless aside from selling. The fist weapons you get usually end up being the best. Some others are slightly better but by the time you get them your first weapons should be upgraded far beyond them.

4. No minigames or REAL sidequests like 6, 7, 8, 9, X, XII, or tactics. This allows for longer playability.

5. The chocobo digging is a pitiful glimpse of an attempt of what 9's chocobo digging was. And no chocobo activities compare to the difficulty and fun of 7's breeding and racing. Did i say fun? It was a pain in the ass. But it was still something. Even X’s chocobo trials were better. And those SUCKED.

6. 3 of my Eidolons were only used once because 3 of my characters were never in my battle team and if they were, they were not the lead. Hell, Hope has been in my battle team since the beginning and he only lead twice, and one of those times was just to see what Alexander could do. I only ever used Odin and Bahamut because I only ever used Lightning and Fang as my leads.

7. The world map is terrible, even if the plot IS about exile and isolation. FFX was also linear but still allowed for some small free roaming here and there.

8. Seriously if i have to fight one more f***ing adamantoise.....

9. "Holy" has been in EVERY SINGLE FINAL FANTASY GAME except this one. Its a nostalgia issue. And personally I look forward to both Holy and Ultima. I let Ultima go from the list because the Adamantoise has it but Holy had to go on. Alexander doesn’t count.

10. So.... when someone turns to crystal their crystal form is nude. but when the awake they are still wearing clothes. There are many ways to do nudity and creatively not show "anything." I know, this is a trivial complaint but its about believability. It takes you out of the illusion.

11. So… I don’t get to fight Titan?.... That’s a crushing blow to this game. No all powerful super boss like omega weapon, ruby weapon, etc... VII, VIICC, VIII, IX, X, XII, and Tactics all have super bosses. I wanted to snap the disc when i learned there wasn't a near impossible boss in this game. That Sieth at the end of Titan's trials is not a super boss. He was kinda tough but i beat him on my second try, and then got 5 stars on my 3rd try. Other enemies were tough but no super boss.

12. Being strictly linear maps, the fact that you can HEAR the nearby treasure chest eliminates all the need to search every last corner. AND If there is a stray path, 9 times out of 10 there is a treasure at the end. Everything is given to you. You don’t have to look for anything.

13. Seeing as how several major enemies can inflict massive amounts of damage to my entire party in a single hit, why then won’t a medic class continue casting Curas after 90% health? The A.I. switches to casting single cures 1 at a time. WHY?!!!!! JUST HEAL ME 100% AND BE DONE WITH IT!!!!

14. The Crystalarium allows no room for character personalization like such great post FFV titles like……most of them. The Crystalarium is in no way similar to The Sphere Grid from FFX.

15. There were very few puzzles or riddles to figure out. Trajen’s Tower is the closest the game comes to making you actually think but even that was handed to you with detailed instructions. Even free roaming. “Where do I go? Nevermind, the map tells me exactly where to go.”

16. Im going to make the argument about no Towns for 2 reasons. The first being that even when Sazh and Vanille are nearing the parade, the town is still boring and LINEAR. AND At this point in the game you’re not known fugitives yet. The second reason is questioning why they couldn’t just put on disguises. I mean, the people of Cocoon didn’t appear to be very smart. They probably wouldn’t have noticed. Snow on the beach was about the closest it got. FFX was linear with towns, what about like that?

17. No Gravity Magic. Not a very big deal. Its better in some games than others. Most don’t use it but its actually a badass magic and helps speed fights up dramatically.

18. No Flare, Meteor, or any related massive damage magic attack. Partly nostalgia. But mostly because they are massive damage magics!

19. Seriously?.....a save point around every single turn? AND RETRY?! Why not wrap this game in a pretty little bow and do everything for us? It makes you reckless and carefree, eliminating a huge challenge and the pressure of survival.

20. The battle with Orphan consisted of Orphan doing the same move of taking me down to 1% life then allowing me more than enough time to fully heal and attack for 20 seconds or so then repeat. So disappointing.

21. How many times did YOU press X?

22. My roommate stopped playing early in the game because as he put it.,… “I’m not playing and video game with the line ‘Moms are tough’ twice in the first 40 minutes of the game.” I mean… hes got a point.

23. Good music but other games have far more memorable music.

24. This is a design criticism but Odin’s horse has forever had 6 legs. I don’t care if HE has 2 arms and 2 legs and transforms into the horse. Add legs somehow. That to me is half of what made Odin so Spectacular in the past. He rides a 6 legged horse and cuts you in half.

25. Barthandelus never EVER even once posed the slightest threat to me. Every battle with him was near effortless and easy.

BONUS: Final Fantasy XIII is so incredibly easy it’s insulting. And like I said, If you find this to be difficult you are not using your paradigms correctly. Horrible difficulty curve.

Lord praise this blessed thread.
 
Honestly, these people who post here in this thread have such hate boners, it is ridiculous. FFXIII is the new FFVIII of the now, everyone used to complain about how bad FFVIII was. The game is truly one of the best in the series, but that is me. You have named issues that were in the game, but some of these issues were in other games but you don't see anyone having a severe hate boner for those games do you? FFX was one of the most linear games in the series, and every character was all the same because how they were developed. FFXIII had some of the best story telling in a video game. It is clear that not only did you guys buy the game, many of you played the extra sequels that came afterward -- which is a little sad, if you did not want to play it, then why did you come back to it again and again?

FFXIII has some of the deepest lore of any of the FFs to date, going deeply into it to the point where it is a fully fledged world. There was so much to read that if you chose to keep your hate boner, then it is really the viciousness of your bad attitude that kept you from liking it. I have never seen so much nasty, vicious people when speaking about FFXIII. You might not like it, but tbh? A lot of other people do and consensus also gave it good reviews, so lol.
 
Honestly, these people who post here in this thread have such hate boners, it is ridiculous. FFXIII is the new FFVIII of the now, everyone used to complain about how bad FFVIII was. The game is truly one of the best in the series, but that is me. You have named issues that were in the game, but some of these issues were in other games but you don't see anyone having a severe hate boner for those games do you? FFX was one of the most linear games in the series, and every character was all the same because how they were developed. FFXIII had some of the best story telling in a video game. It is clear that not only did you guys buy the game, many of you played the extra sequels that came afterward -- which is a little sad, if you did not want to play it, then why did you come back to it again and again?

FFXIII has some of the deepest lore of any of the FFs to date, going deeply into it to the point where it is a fully fledged world. There was so much to read that if you chose to keep your hate boner, then it is really the viciousness of your bad attitude that kept you from liking it. I have never seen so much nasty, vicious people when speaking about FFXIII. You might not like it, but tbh? A lot of other people do and consensus also gave it good reviews, so lol.

Thank you for this, I've never really understood why there is so much hate for certain games on FF forums or Facebook groups. It makes me question why I even subscribe to them. I understand that people can like one game more than another but a Final Fantasy Fan page is hardly the place to post your hatred for a Final Fantasy game.
 
Thank you for this, I've never really understood why there is so much hate for certain games on FF forums or Facebook groups. It makes me question why I even subscribe to them. I understand that people can like one game more than another but a Final Fantasy Fan page is hardly the place to post your hatred for a Final Fantasy game.

You know, in my time as an FF fan, I have realized that some people have hate boners no matter how many times you argue your way out of their vicious paper bag with them. How many of us who love FFVII have heard the FFIV fan vicious hate on it? You go around and round with this person, and then you realize that no matter how much proof you give them that FFVII is an amazing game with an amazing story that they will NEVER like it. I believe some of it has to do with it being too different from the last installment. For example, if someone LOVED 6? They probably have a hate boner for FFVII. If they love FFVII? Probably a hate boner for 8. People who like IX hate everything that isn't the old, old shit. You like FFX? You probably hated 12 or didn't even play it.

The ONE problem with Final Fantasy in general is that every game is a different, fresh and new experience that is very much similar to their M.O but very outside of the last one. Personally, the only FF I disliked was FFVIII, but it is because I feel they wasted Squall's character in exchange for some lazy writing because he is easily one of my favourite characters of all time. I feel they cheapened the characters in FFVIII, which will always hurt me because there were some serious issues I have with some of the deeper connections between the characters that I felt were glazed over --- that does not mean that I hate the game(I did when I was younger though).

It is kind of funny to me, because I played the Suikoden games and they offer something very similar but no one has the problem that FF community has. If someone has a hater boner for a video game they actually played, did they really play it with an open mind? I highly doubt that. In FFXIII, you can clearly see how many nods they offered to FFVII and how each character brought something to the table in combat and to the story. A lot of people have problem with Snow, for example, because he is so positive that is can be rage inducing because he never gives up. Did we literally need 5 people who were angry, wallowing or crying about their situation constantly? I am going to say that it was Snow that kept the group going for so long, he kept pushing and pushing. Snow was there for Lightning to be mad at, he was there for Hope to hate on, and he was there to keep Sazh from dwelling too much.


It's just unfortunate that some people in the fandom haven't learned how to show maturity when they dislike something, especially when they know better.
 
I just want to point out that the people complaining about FFXIII (in a thread dedicated to discussing a dislike of the game) are not representative of the whole FF community, or of Final Fantasy Forums here. As it happens it is a fairly widespread opinion that FFXIII had serious flaws (and so you will find a lot of it here in this thread), but it isn't a universally accepted truth and there are fans on here who like the game too.

Personally I liked FFXIII, though I do recognise that it failed in many ways too (many FF games have shortcomings as well as being good in other areas). The FFXIII universe had a unique feel to it (helped by the rather experimental soundtrack), and I am happy to have experienced it.


Do I think the FFXIII franchise could have been better? Absolutely. Was it terrible and do I wish it never happened? Not at all.
 
I just want to point out that the people complaining about FFXIII (in a thread dedicated to discussing a dislike of the game) are not representative of the whole FF community, or of Final Fantasy Forums here. As it happens it is a fairly widespread opinion that FFXIII had serious flaws (and so you will find a lot of it here in this thread), but it isn't a universally accepted truth and there are fans on here who like the game too.

Personally I liked FFXIII, though I do recognise that it failed in many ways too (many FF games have shortcomings as well as being good in other areas). The FFXIII universe had a unique feel to it (helped by the rather experimental soundtrack), and I am happy to have experienced it.


Do I think the FFXIII franchise could have been better? Absolutely. Was it terrible and do I wish it never happened? Not at all.

This. I honestly don't care whether people like or dislike XIII, or any of the other titles. And luckily, in my time on this forum I've seen very little of the sporadic, blind hatred for XIII that is in other communities. Granted, I haven't read this specific thread, and actively choose to ignore it. But the point is that these dialogues are usually confined by choice, to specific threads. It allows these people to have their discussions, while also not upsetting those who may disagree by spamming the thoughts everywhere else.

That being said, when this kind of topic is brought up, (anywhere, not just here) I personally wish that it it was more focused on facts. There's a difference between saying "Final Fantasy XIII is not good", and saying "I didn't like Final Fantasy XIII". The latter is an opinion, and the former is an attempt at stating fact. If you're gonna state fact, you'd better know what in the hell you're talking about... which most people don't, let's be real. Game design is incredibly complicated. When we don't clearly delineate the difference between opinion and fact, that's when feelings get hurt and discussion goes sour. It's when echo chambers and factions arise, which is never beneficial. We can discuss the quality of a title without also trashing the taste of others, whether we like the game in question or dislike it.
 
Honestly, these people who post here in this thread have such hate boners, it is ridiculous. FFXIII is the new FFVIII of the now, everyone used to complain about how bad FFVIII was. The game is truly one of the best in the series, but that is me. You have named issues that were in the game, but some of these issues were in other games but you don't see anyone having a severe hate boner for those games do you? FFX was one of the most linear games in the series, and every character was all the same because how they were developed. FFXIII had some of the best story telling in a video game. It is clear that not only did you guys buy the game, many of you played the extra sequels that came afterward -- which is a little sad, if you did not want to play it, then why did you come back to it again and again?

FFXIII has some of the deepest lore of any of the FFs to date, going deeply into it to the point where it is a fully fledged world. There was so much to read that if you chose to keep your hate boner, then it is really the viciousness of your bad attitude that kept you from liking it. I have never seen so much nasty, vicious people when speaking about FFXIII. You might not like it, but tbh? A lot of other people do and consensus also gave it good reviews, so lol.

Here's a friendly suggestion. I would take your post a bit more seriously if:

1) You refrain from dismissively classifying all criticisms directed at the game as "hate boners". Talk about starting off on the wrong foot when you choose to be antagonistic. Final Fantasy websites do not exist to simply lavish praise on the games. Forums are an avenue to discuss all matters of a game and if it happens that one particular game generates harsh responses from fans who are deeply disappointed with this particular entry, so be it. It's a place where users can express their own opinions on the game and you can help elevate the discussion if you wish by civilly responding to their points and putting forward your own case for why you believe the game to be an underrated and solid entry;

2) You cease being so dramatic about how allegedly you "have never seen so much nasty, vicious people when speaking about FFXIII". What you perceive to be nasty behaviour is what I am currently seeing as posters articulating (some very harshly, some less so) the reasons why they dislike the game. At best they're attacking the game and not its fans. The game doesn't have feelings. Plus there isn't an endemic case of ad hominems being thrown around and personal attacks leveled at posters for daring to admit that they enjoy and love the game. Perhaps you will find these things on websites like GameFAQs, but we're a forum with moderators. Personal attacks don't fly here, or at least nowhere to the extent of somewhere like GameFAQs. So chill. I'm not going to think less of you for liking FFXIII; and

3) The fact that FFXIII has fans and was given positive reviews at the outset does not invalidate the opinions of people who dislike the game. I think we are perfectly aware that our thoughts on the game are not some reflection of objective reality.
 
I can't believe this game still gets this much hate, even after all of this time. I wasn't around post FFXIII, but did anything after this get as much criticism and hate as this one did? From small things I read here and there, I don't think they did. I took all of this criticism as being the internet fad to just have hatred for pretty much everything. Honestly, I've always felt like most all FF games were fairly equal in there overall pros and cons. Maybe the cons just hit home harder with this one? For all of the things said about this game, I honestly still found it to be an unusually fun game to play. Sure, the criticisms are fair, but I think the battle system was a lot of fun, even if the lead character qualms were really annoying. I'm not one to make a big fuss about graphics, but I think the scenery in this game was excellent. I could stare at Sunleth Waterscape and Sulya Springs all day long. I guess for me, these few pros outweighed a lot of the cons.
 
A reminder that OP never said that Final Fantasy XIII was a bad game, they said that it was a bad Final Fantasy. Different. They argued that it's a bad Final Fantasy because it completely removes too many good qualities of what a makes Final Fantasy work as a whole.

edit: Why did my sig change to a pokemon ???
 
If that's the case though and that was entirely OP's goal, that to me is a weak argument, because their points are mostly critical of the game's design and execution; it does almost nothing but critique the game, when arguing it 'doesn't make for a good Final Fantasy' is more of a reflection on the market's view of a franchise. That idea can really only argue XIII was a bad business decision because it didn't fit the market's perception of the franchise, an argument which most of their criticisms don't really add any value to. Trying to conflate the two as many often do makes for a weak argument. What someone sees as 'Final Fantasy' will be different from what another does. I for example have always identified Final Fantasy the most with it's willingness to uproot it's entire formula and build something brand new. So from that perspective, XIII fits perfectly to me.

I think that argument becomes much more valuable when taken ONLY under the context of it being a business decision. But again, the problem is that people love to use that as a basis for why 'this mechanic' or 'that character' suck, which is a completely different topic being force fed into the conversation.
 
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It's just unfortunate that some people in the fandom haven't learned how to show maturity when they dislike something, especially when they know better.

Considering the entire tirade and temper tantrum you've thrown over people just "having hate boners" for XIII, THIS is seriously hilarious.
Talk about hypocrisy. Plenty of people dislike the game, plenty of people also love the game. Get over yourself.
Sheesh.
 
1. No control of your 2nd and 3rd characters or at least the order of A.I. like FFXII's Gambit system.
Agreed - Though I didn't find XII's faff of gambits any better.

2. If limiting user control to one character only, allow ability to change the characters during battle like, VIII(ish), X, and XII.
Agreed - Though this was arguably fixed within XIII-2

3. I NEVER changed my weapons. I upgraded them, but every weapon i found was virtually pointless aside from selling. The fist weapons you get usually end up being the best. Some others are slightly better but by the time you get them your first weapons should be upgraded far beyond them.
Agreed - The weapons system was very lackluster in general, you never found weapons in chests or had locations to get them. Also grinding for the Ultimate Weapons was beyond a chore!

4. No minigames or REAL sidequests like 6, 7, 8, 9, X, XII, or tactics. This allows for longer playability.
Agreed - Though once again, I don't think XII should be in the clear with this one as it really only has Monster Hunts like XIII.

5. The chocobo digging is a pitiful glimpse of an attempt of what 9's chocobo digging was. And no chocobo activities compare to the difficulty and fun of 7's breeding and racing. Did i say fun? It was a pain in the ass. But it was still something. Even X’s chocobo trials were better. And those SUCKED.
Agreed - It's not the best Chocobo System by any means, But as limited as it was I will as I LOVED traversing that one massive area!

6. 3 of my Eidolons were only used once because 3 of my characters were never in my battle team and if they were, they were not the lead. Hell, Hope has been in my battle team since the beginning and he only lead twice, and one of those times was just to see what Alexander could do. I only ever used Odin and Bahamut because I only ever used Lightning and Fang as my leads.
Agreed - One I got Bahumat, that was all I ever needed. It did sort of force me to have Fang as the main playable character because of this though. Still I think they handled Summons better than XV...

7. The world map is terrible, even if the plot IS about exile and isolation. FFX was also linear but still allowed for some small free roaming here and there.
Agreed - Honestly, I never even considered the linear nature of the game till everyone else complained about it. I in retrospect I agree, the areas didn't have much life to them, not many NPCs to interact with - but the games decent pace of story made up for it IMO.

8. Seriously if i have to fight one more f***ing adamantoise.....
Agreed - The grind for the Ultimate Weapons are absurd!

9. "Holy" has been in EVERY SINGLE FINAL FANTASY GAME except this one. Its a nostalgia issue. And personally I look forward to both Holy and Ultima. I let Ultima go from the list because the Adamantoise has it but Holy had to go on. Alexander doesn’t count.
Disagree - A little petty, I can let go of things like this, like how VIII doesn't have RAMUH for the thunder summon.

10. So.... when someone turns to crystal their crystal form is nude. but when the awake they are still wearing clothes. There are many ways to do nudity and creatively not show "anything." I know, this is a trivial complaint but its about believability. It takes you out of the illusion.
Disagree - Never even noticed to be fair, I think it was just a design choice to have the outline of the body more in focus.

11. So… I don’t get to fight Titan?.... That’s a crushing blow to this game. No all powerful super boss like omega weapon, ruby weapon, etc... VII, VIICC, VIII, IX, X, XII, and Tactics all have super bosses. I wanted to snap the disc when i learned there wasn't a near impossible boss in this game. That Sieth at the end of Titan's trials is not a super boss. He was kinda tough but i beat him on my second try, and then got 5 stars on my 3rd try. Other enemies were tough but no super boss.
Agree - The Titan is a complete tease and should have been the Ultimate Weapon of XIII, you even see scenes of it handing down other enemies like they're little toy solders. But once again, they at least fixed this in XIII-2 :)

12. Being strictly linear maps, the fact that you can HEAR the nearby treasure chest eliminates all the need to search every last corner. AND If there is a stray path, 9 times out of 10 there is a treasure at the end. Everything is given to you. You don’t have to look for anything.

Disagree - Once again that comes down to the linear map which we have mentioned before, but in regards to the treasure chests having sound indications I have no issue with that - I recently played Devil May Cry 4, which did the same thing for Hidden Missions.

13. Seeing as how several major enemies can inflict massive amounts of damage to my entire party in a single hit, why then won’t a medic class continue casting Curas after 90% health? The A.I. switches to casting single cures 1 at a time. WHY?!!!!! JUST HEAL ME 100% AND BE DONE WITH IT!!!!
Agreed - not having a manual way to have Hope cast cure was a pain!

14. The Crystalarium allows no room for character personalization like such great post FFV titles like……most of them. The Crystalarium is in no way similar to The Sphere Grid from FFX.
Disagree - It is very similar to X's sphere grid where the characters growth is dependent on the line they follow, at least XIII gives you the chance to choose which branch you want to expand on through out the game - Well, 3 for each character to start on, but it beats X's Sphere Grid in the sense of it's single linear path until it expands... then everyone basically plays the same and it's down to whose OverDrive is better,

15. There were very few puzzles or riddles to figure out. Trajen’s Tower is the closest the game comes to making you actually think but even that was handed to you with detailed instructions. Even free roaming. “Where do I go? Nevermind, the map tells me exactly where to go.”
Disagree - While it lacked puzzles to a point, I don't see that a as major hindrance to the overall experience - I don't particularly enjoy the Summoner Trails in X.

16. I'm going to make the argument about no Towns for 2 reasons. The first being that even when Sazh and Vanille are nearing the parade, the town is still boring and LINEAR. AND At this point in the game you’re not known fugitives yet. The second reason is questioning why they couldn’t just put on disguises. I mean, the people of Cocoon didn’t appear to be very smart. They probably wouldn’t have noticed. Snow on the beach was about the closest it got. FFX was linear with towns, what about like that?
Agreed - There should have been more towns with little areas to explore, I wouldn't mind linear interconnecting landscapes inbetween a main area location. Even XIII's towns are linear and narrative driven.

17. No Gravity Magic. Not a very big deal. Its better in some games than others. Most don’t use it but its actually a badass magic and helps speed fights up dramatically.
Disagree - Not something I ever considered.

18. No Flare, Meteor, or any related massive damage magic attack. Partly nostalgia. But mostly because they are massive damage magics!
Disagree - Magic in general isn't really the main focus in FF's combat or narrative and I am fine with that as many other FF games have that as their primary focus, which is also fine. I see Magic as a sort of buff to mix with your normal attacks to keep the battles from being boring - Which XIII's combat system is anything but!

19. Seriously?.....a save point around every single turn? AND RETRY?! Why not wrap this game in a pretty little bow and do everything for us? It makes you reckless and carefree, eliminating a huge challenge and the pressure of survival.
Disagree - Never saw this as an issue, it's rather common in modern games too.

20. The battle with Orphan consisted of Orphan doing the same move of taking me down to 1% life then allowing me more than enough time to fully heal and attack for 20 seconds or so then repeat. So disappointing.
Disagree - This is very common of many Last Encounters, bringing that devastating attack that causes you to panic and replenish.

21. How many times did YOU press X?
Disagree - As much as any other FF games combat demands? If this is a dig at XIII's Auto-Battle function, then I'll say what I say to anyone who uses it - your playing XIII wrong. It's far more fun to choose your own commands and you can also utilise the ATB bars better!

22. My roommate stopped playing early in the game because as he put it.,… “I’m not playing and video game with the line ‘Moms are tough’ twice in the first 40 minutes of the game.” I mean… hes got a point.
Disagree - It's not that bad, X has far more worse Voice Acting at times...

23. Good music but other games have far more memorable music.

Disagree - Up for opinion, I agree to a point but I think XIII's score stands well enough on its own merit.

24. This is a design criticism but Odin’s horse has forever had 6 legs. I don’t care if HE has 2 arms and 2 legs and transforms into the horse. Add legs somehow. That to me is half of what made Odin so Spectacular in the past. He rides a 6 legged horse and cuts you in half.
Disagree - It's a new adaptation of the lore like every FF, so they can make changes like this without breaking any form of continuity.

25. Barthandelus never EVER even once posed the slightest threat to me. Every battle with him was near effortless and easy.

Disagree - Chapter 9's Boss battle was the hardest encounter of the game for me! I expanded the Crystrium to max with all characters and still struggle - The Crystrium having a chapter cap is a valid complaint in my eye.

BONUS: Final Fantasy XIII is so incredibly easy it’s insulting. And like I said, If you find this to be difficult you are not using your paradigms correctly. Horrible difficulty curve.
The thing is XIII's battle system is all about the Paradigms, swapping them at just the right moment to keep leverage on the battle - If anything I think it demands more attention than most FF's battle systems.

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So I agree with the OP in near half of their points, XIII certainly has it's flaws - One which I'm surprised wasn't added was how vague the game and the sequels even handle the godly presence. I think as a JRPG it has tremendous shortcomings on its exploration and sidequests. But I do appreciate the pace of XIII's story, I was never bored playing XIII as the narrative is always at focus, which after XII I still appreciate tremendously.
 
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