Why people didn't like this game

[Calliope]

As someone who had never played through a FF game before, this took most of the work out of it - I liked the paradigm shifts, and that because there was nowhere to explore, I didn't get lost. I presume that this means it is a terrible game, and I don't mind.

Of the characters, I liked Sazh, was indifferent to Lightning; and disliked everyone else. The battles seems to drag on for way too long, particularly the Orphan battles. Nothing happened, it just took a really long time - one of them was over 20 minutes! For me, most of the last chapter was difficult to play in that there were too many random flashing lights and things shifting, and the whole "random entities creating portals and shifting platforms around" didn't really serve any purpose.

[Sephiroth]

Final Fantasy XIII was very linear but that would not have been the problem, just the lack of options in general, some extra sidequests, some NPCs, no visible monsters on linear roads and Final Fantasy XIII-2 has causality paradoxes that would never actually occur, Final Fantasy XIII-3 has some plot holes as well but when I look at so many flawed aspects of the other Final Fantasys I can accept them as that is just normal. The most important things for me are wonderful.

[escobert]

So I've never played this one but, in the first few posts I see people talking about how X is so much better for x reasons. God no... X is the worst piece of crap I ever put into my PS2 so if that is the case then this must be the worst game ever made

[Bolivar]

I've started to look at this game in a slightly different light after my last FFVII playthrough (unfinished). I noticed how VII had you going through story scenarios in unique locations one after another, as opposed to the traditional RPG - 1) go to town, 2) go to dungeon, 3) find next town, 4) repeat. I can see more of the pedigree of why FFXIII came out the way it did, tracing its lineage back to what FFVII did for the genre.

Admittedly, there is a plethora of problems in the execution, but I do appreciate what the game was trying to do a bit more now.

[Spuuky]

No, you see, that makes me remember that I hate Final Fantasy VII for "what it did for the genre." Final Fantasy VII itself is a good game, but it's despite a lot of the things in the game, not because of them - and they have continuously extended all the wrong parts of it over time. The result is this.

I will say that FFXIII has the worst final dungeon design of any RPG I've ever played. And I've played a lot of RPGs. Overall, the game suffers from a lot of the exact same problems (down to combat feel, story choices, pretentiousness, everything) that plagued Xenosaga Episode 2. I can expand on this point for anyone interested, but it's not really relevant here.

[escobert]

To much cut sceneness?

[Mirage]

So I've never played this one but, in the first few posts I see people talking about how X is so much better for x reasons. God no... X is the worst piece of crap I ever put into my PS2 so if that is the case then this must be the worst game ever made

In some aspects it is, in others it isn't. That's what the "X-reasons" detail out i guess.

[Spuuky]

To much cut sceneness?

No. That's one of the only things that wasn't a problem with Xenosaga Episode 2.

[Bolivar]

No, you see, that makes me remember that I hate Final Fantasy VII for "what it did for the genre." Final Fantasy VII itself is a good game, but it's despite a lot of the things in the game, not because of them - and they have continuously extended all the wrong parts of it over time. The result is this.

I will say that FFXIII has the worst final dungeon design of any RPG I've ever played. And I've played a lot of RPGs. Overall, the game suffers from a lot of the exact same problems (down to combat feel, story choices, pretentiousness, everything) that plagued Xenosaga Episode 2. I can expand on this point for anyone interested, but it's not really relevant here.

Xenogears final dungeon was far worse.

I can't join you with Square extending the wrong parts of the game over time since they made so many classic games since 1997.

[NeoCracker]

Yeah, Xenogears has teh worst smurfing final dungeon I have ever scene.

And I can definitely see where you are coming from with the Xenosaga 2 comparison, though I still hold that wasn't as bad a game as some people made it out to be.

[Marionette Cherry]

I didn't mind this game.

It's not my favorite Final Fantasy, but it's not the worst. I never really understood the linear complaint since most Final Fantasy games are go from point A to point B to advance the story. I think most people just missed the towns you could kill some time in and get see some world building by interacting with characters.

Anyways, doubt I'll replay it any time soon. I'm having fun with its sequel though.

[magemasher]

I didn't hate the game but I had a lot of issues with it. I didn't have to get involved with it to progress with the story, for example I could surf the net or play another game on the laptop whilst running the endless corridor of ff13( I love the way the bit before the last fight is a corridor GSOH SE) I liked it though it wasn't very engaging. Other little gripes were Snow and Hope but you can't like everyone right?

[Fynn]

I didn't hate the game but I had a lot of issues with it. I didn't have to get involved with it to progress with the story, for example I could surf the net or play another game on the laptop whilst running the endless corridor of ff13( I love the way the bit before the last fight is a corridor GSOH SE) I liked it though it wasn't very engaging. Other little gripes were Snow and Hope but you can't like everyone right?

You can if your writer isn't an inept hack.

[NeoCracker]

I find it hard to like all the player characters in most RPGs, I can think of almost no exceptions to this outside of two games.

The problem with 13 was most of the cast was dull and unlikable, not just a couple people.

[Skyblade]

I find it hard to like all the player characters in most RPGs, I can think of almost no exceptions to this outside of two games.

Let me guess, both of those games were made by ATLUS?