Comparing opinions on Final Fantasy XIII between newcomers and existing fans

[ZeoVGM]

Why?
Which ff did you start with?

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VII and VI.

It's very linear but I adore the battle system, world and music. I like most of the characters and their individual character arcs.

I ended up appreciating XIII more after XV, which I tried multiple times to get into and couldn't because of the boring, empty open world and its battle system which didn't feel fun or satisfying.

 

[Era of not Yakuza]

I think it's impossible to make judgment calls on the whole series when they tend to be so different from each other. If someone said they hate the gameplay of Final Fantasy after playing XII you would laugh at them.

VII Remake is amazing

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X felt too linear for my taste, but it was good
never played 12, I see people praising it, I may give it a chance one day
13 was... let's say that in the first 30 minutes I was enough the hate everything, there wasn't a single thing that I liked
I tried XV demo and did not click for me, most of my friend said it was a mess so I didn't care enough to try

VII Remake is amazing indeed. Lets say the higher numbers aren't my cup of tea

 

[Kahhhhyle]

That's unfortunate. You were introduced on a low note.

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Yeah I know. I intend on playing another game at some point. Either the 7 remake or the X games on Switch. I've been told they're both great.

 

[Elfgore]

It was my first JRPG. I enjoyed it for the most part, but never finished it. The corridors bit didn't bother me when I had literally nothing to compare it with. I did and still do dislike a vast majority of the cast and the combat is.... not the best. Story grabbed me quite a bit though.

 

[brinstar]

I've been playing since FF1 and I thought it was godawful. It took basically everything I enjoyed about the series and chucked it into the trash can.

 

[Nephtes]

As a series regular, I loved the combat system and some of the characters.

But the tutorial corridor slog and bonkers story were giant turn offs.

Insult to injury, after like 20 hours going down a corridor, when the game finally opens up, it's overwhelming, "what? No! What is all this openness? You conditioned me to be comfortable in a non-branching hallway!"

 

[Crossing Eden]

Oh my god is this where that bullshit started? I fucking hate trailers like that.

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It helps to just...tune the hell out when the main theme starts. 😂

 

[Deleted member 4212]

I started playing Final Fantasy with FF7. I didn't really dislike XIII from what I played, but it was just so slow and restrictive in the beginning that I dropped it. I tried playing it 3 times and I kept dropping it. I'd still like to play through the series but I don't know if I ever will. It seems like you just have to force yourself to get through the first 10 hours or so which seems like a big ask. I had no problem playing through 7-10, 12, 15, and 7R. I also played a few of the classic games on DS.

I've heard that the X-enhanced version of XIII is the best version, so I guess if that comes to game pass I'll give it another try.

 

[Butch]

I don't think it's a bad game at all, I just loved 12 so much back then and it wasn't what I was expecting, felt like the series was going backwards in some aspects... years later I gave it one more chance and ended up liking it, even tho I never finished it.

 

[Rotobit]

XIII-2 and Lightning Returns are fantastic (although personally the latter was only fun once I knocked the difficulty down)

The original is probably my least favourite of the mainline Final Fantasy games, though. The graphics are pretty and the music's fantastic but outside of the odd occasion the battles flow perfectly, it's just a bit of a slog.

 

[ZeoVGM]

Crossing my fingers for a XIII trilogy remaster collection for PS5 sooner than later.

 

[GattsuSama]

I'll say it again and again but the Final Fantasy series was "ruined" starting on 10.

It was on that game that the compromises started because of the tech and that is when they changed their formula. I initially thought 10 was just learning to work with PS2 and all of that, but they kept changing and changing the games after that.

I say "ruined" because I have enjoyed 10-15 but not as much as the older games and I feel they have been trying to get the series bck to that same level of acclaim that the older entries had.

13 was a looker and decent, but as a FF game it just missed many marks and these are some of the reasons:

• The game opened up too late. I know other game open up at the end but it felt like a corridor game until the end end when that big field opened
• Summons/Eidolon sucked and that has been a norm since after 10. They look pretty sure, but they seem pointless were before they were the OP spells.
• Too linear
• Story was meh.

 

[Truno]

Considering the positive reception of FF7R and how linear and padded the game feels, would FFXIII be better received with a remaster on modern platforms? This is coming from a person who's never played FFXIII

 

[hussmk]

I'm a diehard FF fan.

FFXIII is definitely one of my most replayed FFs. I absolutely LOVED the combat and paradigm shift system. Very satisfying and addictive. I don't care for linearity in a JRPG because you can't interact with the environment anyway. The story was OK I guess, though I always skipped cutscenes on replays. For me, XIII is all about the gameplay.

XIII-2 was a lot of fun too but I found the story to be atrocious. I know this is an unpopular opinion but I thought the monster system was broken and unsatisfying... it's not easy leveling up your monsters and they quickly become underpowered.

Lightning Returns was just not my cup of tea. I played a few hours and gave up. I just wasn't hooked on it and I didn't care for the story or changing Lightning's outfits.

Interestingly, you could feel the budget drop drastically with each installment lol XIII remains beautiful and holds up very well even today, XIII-2 less so, and LR looks ancient now. I also didn't like the change in musical direction in XIII-2 and LR... that's not to say there aren't good tracks in those games, but I just don't like this sound in my FF.

 

[No Depth]

Been playing the series since FF1 myself and I was very mixed on XIII. The story, characters, and writing were garbage...just embarrasing. However, the music was lovely and I quite enjoyed the combat(once you get to the late game when you can really experience the full thrust of it).

Some prefer XIII-2 but I found it even worse. The story went off the rails further, the combat had some of the worst game balancing in the franchise history with zero challenge that capitalized on the design, even with basic triangular mage shape things as your monster backup I was decimating with ease and had all weakpoints covered practically. Super disappointing the tactical edge was kind of lost. But it did still have nice music and a much improved progression structure. But the game was braindead coming off some of what XIII delivered in its combat.

Never even bothered with XIII-3.

Oh and I would absolutely rank all these games above XV. Even the one I didn't even play.

 

[spman2099]

I was a series faithful when XIII released. My faith was seriously shaken. It was the first Final Fantasy game that I hated the story of (though I did think the combat was a good time). To be fair, I wasn't a huge fan of X either, but XIII had me rolling my eyes from the first moment to the last.

 

[FrostweaveBandage]

I can't even respond to the poll really because while I enjoyed my time with it I'd never be able to go back to it. It was just okay for me.

Edit: For the sake of the topic, though, I've played and completed nearly all mainline games, dabbled in the sequels of the series, played XIV a bit, etc. It's my favorite franchise.

 

[Dougieflesh]

It was an ok game to me. towards the lower end of my FF rankings, but not at the bottom with the likes of 2, 8, and 12.

 

[mute]

I got into it kinda late that gen but I had played all the other games and honestly was more into what FFXIII was doing than the PS2 games. The maps weren't great but by that point I had given up on that aspect ever coming back, and I liked Lightning and the other characters at lot, the battle/progression system, and the world, as obtuse as it was. I also enjoyed 13-2 a ton. Never played the third one.

 

[Plywood]

I like the first one fairly enough, but I also got it used for like 15 bucks. When the battle system opens up it has a pretty nice flow. Same with the second, but I never got far into the second though the soundtrack gave me major Sonic Adventure vibes early on.

 

[SirNinja]

Series regular here. Despite XIII's many flaws, I really enjoyed things like the soundtrack and the world design. Wouldn't mind a remaster. (Given the game's obsession with the number 13, I wouldn't be surprised if we got one in 2022 — on the game's 13th anniversary. Feel old yet?)

XIII-2 and Lightning Returns are both excellent, however. The former fixes quite a few of XIII's flaws, and the latter is so much better than I initially gave it credit for. I'm currently playing through it on PC on NG+ (Hard difficulty) and it's so damn good once you start really mastering the combat system. Far more people need to play through it.

 

[Janus]

Not a fan, played FF 6 - 12 before playing 13. Somehow couldn't really connect to the characters and the story, therefore one of my least favorite FF entry. Skipped 13-2 and Lightning Returns.

 

[jmsebastian]

I wasn't a really long time fan of the series, as the only two games I had spent a lot of time with were VII and VIII, which I loved. I had played a bit of XII, but it didn't really grab me, so for whatever reason, I picked up XIII and was just so impressed by its visuals. I liked the way the battle system worked and didn't really care that it was so linear. I'm not very big on side questing in games, so having no ambiguity about where to go or what to do was kind of refreshing. Only thing I really didn't care for was that I couldn't really over level, since it locks you to only certain upgrades based on where you are in the story. Because of that, I had to spend a ton of time grinding (I'm bad at the game) so that I could beat the final boss. That was annoying.

But overall that's a pretty minor complaint given how great the music was, how impressive the environments were, and how engaging the combat mechanics were.

 

[julia crawford]

the music is too fuckin good

and FF8 was my first ff and i have played every one since with the exception of MMOs

 

[lusca_bueno]

Series regular and I love the trilogy. Lightning is great in XIII-1, and even though she's kinda disfigured completely in the next games, I still live for it. XIII trilogy is way ahead of the patch of grass that is FFXV at least, XIII was fun, had great environments, had an enjoyable diverse party full of drama, great music, visuals, there's not much to dislike besides the linearity and gameplay simplicity, and the sequels acted on top of these issues to some degree, and served pretty nice new environments too including cities.

 

[srtrestre]

I was a series regular. Even though I felt the series had already started to decline in quality by that point, it was still was surprising to me how mediocre the game was across the board. I paid full price for it, too.

 

[AnimaRize]

Series veteran and I liked it, but maybe I am an outlier because I think 12 is probably one of not the worst mainline title in the series (sorry it was just terrible to play and the grinding it emphasized with completely unfun combat made it a horrible experience and I keep retrying it and keep failing to like it)

13 trilogy in contrast was fun to play in each game, and while ridiculous the story wasn't completely unsalvageable to me and I didn't hate lightning as a main character unlike vaan

 

[Deleted member 15395]

Said this before and I'll say it again: XIII is not a good Final Fantasy game but its a decent JRPG. Nothing more, nothing less.

XIII-2 though? that's another story, that one is a good FF game. Well worth the name.

 

[MilkBeard]

Series regular, and I put "was a fan" with the explanation being that I thought it was "pretty good" though not one of my favorites.

Game of course deserved some criticism but it was incredibly overblown

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

Series regular. I liked the chapter on Pulse. The rest, too straightforward and not enough room to breathe. Pulled from event to event by characters I didn't particularly like or agree with. Character upgrade system felt like FFX's wrapped into the third dimension to make it less easy to follow. Haven't played either of the sequels.

 

[MaxAugust]

Considering the positive reception of FF7R and how linear and padded the game feels, would FFXIII be better received with a remaster on modern platforms? This is coming from a person who's never played FFXIII

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Ehh, I doubt it. The fundamental problems with FFXIII for me are one that are not present in 7R. While both are structurally fairly linear, XIII really feels like it. Up until way too late, you are basically just going going down hallways. 7R has a lot more interesting visual level design and more breaks where you can walk around in a little area with stuff to do. X was also linear but like 7R feels "interesting" to navigate in a way XIII never really is. XIII also has terrible writing and lacks the sense of fun that permeates 7R. I think even people who take issue with 7R's overall plot would probably admit that a lot of the voice acting and banter writing is pretty entertaining. Obviously, this is all just my opinion but I don't think it is too out of line with the general spirit of the criticism of XIII.

They also play quite differently in combat.

 

[Trigonometrize]

It was one of my first final fantasies (I believe I at least played the PSP remake of the original FF first).

It's OK. I liked the doomer tone as you're a dysfunctional group of fugitives through this beautiful world with sublime music. The battle system is cool but gets old once you get a handle on how to play. It's so simple but manages to be exciting at the toughest moments. It'd make more sense if the game was 1/3 the length.

It's... a finished product. But if the creative minds behind the project had much bigger ideas for what this game could be, I have no idea what those would be. It's a game you walk through hallways for most of it, don't have access to meaningful customization options for most of it, and you (hopefully) are engaged by the cutscenes. It's really as simple as that.

 

[StraySheep]

Series regular, and I put "was a fan" with the explanation being that I thought it was "pretty good" though not one of my favorites.

Game of course deserved some criticism but it was incredibly overblown

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That fits! What I was hoping for with the labels

 

[Trigonometrize]

Considering the positive reception of FF7R and how linear and padded the game feels, would FFXIII be better received with a remaster on modern platforms? This is coming from a person who's never played FFXIII

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No because the story and characters of Final Fantasy VII are good which go a long way.

 

[pbayne]

Series regular and i just found it odd at the time, Over time i do think it probably got a bit more flak than it deserved.
I think what made me and maybe other turn on it was the sequels. That the FF series was tied to 13 for so long. XIII-2 was just XIII again with some different characters and a slighlty better story. and id completly lost interest when Lightning Returns hit and it was the first FF game i skipped since getting into the series.

 

[Sanchoco]

Need an option of being a casual fan

My first mainline was FF XV, my first intro to something remotely FF was KH Chain of Memories(GBA), Crisis Core and Theatrhythm final fantasy.(Edit: forgot to mention I also played the Dissidia games on PSP)

I entered FF XIII after playing these titles(GameStop was having a sale and I got the trilogy for 15 bucks total) and I honestly enjoyed the game.

 

[HMD]

Auto-Battle should have been accompanied with Auto-Walk for the endless corridors of this game.

Gran Pulse was fun though, I guess.

 

[RetroMG]

Series Regular. Technically started with 1, but didn't really GET the series until 6.
Didn't like FF13. My biggest issue with it was the terminology. It throws a lot at you at the beginning, (Falcie, la cie, etc) and doesn't really explain much. I figured out early that there was a glossary but I was pretty turned off by then.
Also, corridors. SO MANY CORRIDORS.

Anyway, I keep meaning to go back and give it a more fair shake, but I keep not getting to it.

 

[ghibli99]

I've (almost) played them all, and I had a rather negative response to it when it was new. I went back to it when it received the One X 4K enhancement, and the combat felt like a revelation after all this time. Must be because I've become much more familiar with auto/semi-auto battle systems, so it felt much more natural and fun to play than it did back in the day. In that sense, it was probably way ahead of its time. Still need to finish it though.

 

[Beth Cyra]

By the time XIII released I had owned the entire (western released main) franchise and beat all of them but I/II/III/VI/XI and I loved it.

Still do in fact. Lightning wasn't the lead I hoped she was going to be, but then I got Fang who is one of if not my favorite female cast member in the franchise and an amazing combat system.

Though I do differ from XIII fans as I think it's much much better than the goddess awful XIII2/3.

 

[Kikujiro]

Not considering I to III (too old), this is the only mainline FF I dislike, one of my biggest disappointment.
FFXIII-2 was fun.

 

[Dinjoralo]

It wasn't my first Final Fantasy, but I would not consider myself a regular at all.

I liked it a lot more than FFX, at least.

 

[Phendrift]

As someone who played all the FFs for the first time like 4 or 5 years ago, I loved XIII after being exposed to the hate on here I was surprised. It's the prettiest game in the series AET style wise except maybe X, and it has my favorite battle system. Great OST too

XIII-2 is even better and a top 5 game in the series

 

[Jimmypython]

X felt too linear for my taste, but it was good
never played 12, I see people praising it, I may give it a chance one day
13 was... let's say that in the first 30 minutes I was enough the hate everything, there wasn't a single thing that I liked
I tried XV demo and did not click for me, most of my friend said it was a mess so I didn't care enough to try

VII Remake is amazing indeed. Lets say the higher numbers aren't my cup of tea

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Did 7 remake's battle system makes up for its linearity, since this game is way more linear than FF10?

 

[Shiloh]

XIII is still my favorite battle system. The optional bosses were a lot of fun.

 

[Lari]

No clue where I fall on this... i'm technically a newcomer, but recently played the entire series in order... so 13 wasn't my first.
But I really liked it. Thought the hate was way overblown.

 

[Deleted member 61531]

Considering the positive reception of FF7R and how linear and padded the game feels, would FFXIII be better received with a remaster on modern platforms? This is coming from a person who's never played FFXIII

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It absolutely would. I think the time is ripe for a remaster or re-release.

Linear cinematic games are way more accepted now than they were when this game came out, and I think after spending so much time in open-world wildernesses, players have come to appreciate the benefits a guided experience can provide.

 

[StraySheep]

No clue where I fall on this... i'm technically a newcomer, but recently played the entire series in order... so 13 wasn't my first.
But I really liked it. Thought the hate was way overblown.

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Under this poll that would put you at series regular.

Spoiler

but feel free to vote for the first option and help prove my point. I won't tell

 

[Wein Cruz]

I am a series regular since the NES and I thought it was pretty bad.

The battle system is "press X to win" easy and the characters were forgettable. Plus the story presented wasn't very good either and I'll never forget that Deus ex machina at the end.

 

[Goldenhen]

I rather replay FF13 over F15 simply having playable female characters in the party and combat.