I really loved FFVII, FFVIII and FFX, the other's I could care less for, convince me to buy this game today as I am going to GameStop later and can't figure out what to buy....

The game is structured very similar to FFX minus the temple puzzle stuff that was love/hate anyway. Also minus all the towns, a few areas with no enemies occasionally but not as much as FFX, otherwise the 2 have a lot of similarities.

I rented it to see if I would like it and went into it thinking I wouldn't.   I have never played a FF game ever just so everyone knows.   However after the slow beginning like many others have mentioned I am really starting to get into it. Pretty much when you get to the Crystal part for me was when it started to click (About 3 hours in).   That is when you start to get ex and the fighting system is a little more than just pressing X all the time.   With having to change paradigms and stuff.   I actually like all the characters so far and the graphics are simple amazing.

Rent it if you’re so unsure;)

Well it's a great game.  Ignore all the hate, they just hate it because its a popular franchise.  If you like Final Fantasy, then you will most likely like this game.  Battles are very fast paced, and you can be at full health killing everything, to almost dead and healing every second in two seconds.  The linearity doesn't bother me, I just turn off the radar and you barely notice it anymore.  Yes the start is slow, but after a while, you really get into it and the game becomes much more challenging. 
 
Like stated above, rent it if you're unsure.

If you like running in a straight line, shifting battle formations constantly (all with their own annoying mini-cutscenes, which disrupt the flow of battle) being only able to control one character per fight, constantly scanning enemies, saving every 5 seconds, watching cutscenes, fiddling with a dodgy camera, getting stuck in the scenary when trying to evade enemies and sitting through 40 hours of a boring story, with little or no interesting characters (Snow was nearly worthy of being one too) then this game is perfect.
 
5/10 Teamxbox
5/10 Edge
 
:- )

This is my first time out with the Final Fantasy franchise as well.  I'm a huge fan of anything BioWare but having a PS3 I finally had a chance to give the landmark JRPG franchise a shot.  First three hours are pretty mediocre, but just like Mike it started clicking for me around the Crystal part.  I see some merit in the way the gameplay works, I think I may ultimately prefer Dragon Age style commands to FFXIII commands but this is a new and different experience so the jury's still out.  One thing I knew would bug me going in does in fact bug me, this quirky JRPG crap with the bird in the oversized afro, the annoying children, and the extreme teenage sexual tension.  Still, I try to look past.  That said even if I love this game I could never rate it too highly against the evolved WRPG brand, it's like Japan's stuck in the past and content to stay there.

if someone has to convince you, then you probably shouldnt get it.

If you enjoyed X, I think you'll probably enjoy this game. It's got a lot of similarities with that game, structure wise. The difference is that the battles are more fast paced and I think the story and characters are better than X (and this is from someone who enjoyed those aspects in X).
 
The first two or three hours are a bit slow, but once the battle system opens up the game becomes amazing.

Buy it.

" if someone has to convince you, then you probably shouldnt get it. "

Don't listen to the people hatin this game. They're all MW2 jarheads. Anyways, like other people said, if you like Final Fantasy X, then you'll like this one. The only downside is that in the beginning the story kind of throws you off. But as you go through you start picking up on it. And if you want some answers to your story questions, they have a datalog that adds on additional stuff to the story and about every single character, town, and plot that goes on. 
 
Oh, and one more thing, Trophy's and Achievements. When you unlock one of the 7 difficult Trophy's or Achievements you also unlock a gamer picture or XMB theme.

You can ride a Chocobo.

There is a baby chocobo in it, and you get to look for it in a park with lots of chocobos in it... CHOCOBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOzze

Yeah, if you liked those games, you'll dig this one. There are some similarities in story structure between VII,X, and XIII. And contrary to popular belief, you can grind to an extent, all you have to do is head to the border between map sections and the enemies respawn, so it's not as linear as you would think.

" Don't listen to the people hatin this game. They're all MW2 jarheads. Anyways, like other people said, if you like Final Fantasy X, then you'll like this one. The only downside is that in the beginning the story kind of throws you off. But as you go through you start picking up on it. And if you want some answers to your story questions, they have a datalog that adds on additional stuff to the story and about every single character, town, and plot that goes on.  Oh, and one more thing, Trophy's and Achievements. When you unlock one of the 7 difficult Trophy's or Achievements you also unlock a gamer picture or XMB theme. "

*waves hand* 
 
You will buy this game 
 
...well it was worth a shot.

No.

Don't buy it.  Rent it.  Reason I bought it is because I am a HUGE fan of the series and will play it multiple times.  I think you will like it though. 

Yeah man, from what I've heard it's amazingly linear, but then again it does look amazing and I'm sure the story will be better than most games.

I'd rather convince you to bend over so I can shove my foot up your ass.  =  / 
 
I'm going to be playing it once my brother gets done with it.  I'll probably think it's ho-hum.

Ignore the people hating it, there's legitimate criticisms to be had of the game, but people like hating on things just because they are popular, it makes them feel cool.  It's the indy music principal.  The lesser known the thing you like is, the better it must OBVIOUSLY be. 
 
It comes down to what you like in your game, if you prefer the JRPG style or the WRPG style.  Given your history of playing FF games, I feel like you'll probably enjoy this unless you want to go into it with some kinda elitist attitude.  There are certainly faults to be found, and it isn't the best RPG ever made, but it's a lot of fun.  If you have specific questions about parts of the game, I'd be more than happy to help answer them.  It's a bit slower than average to get started, but ramps up to a pretty solid pace I feel.  

here is what I can say after playing it for 3 hours. 

• You start as rebel soldiers on a train. Then you get to walk around on a floating highway that seems to go nowhere.
  
• Next is magic hover bikes & inside of a giant "robot?". Just after that , yup... Ice World 
  
•  
  
• Up to now, everything is really linear and everything the map splits you can go to the dead end first to get a treasure chest.
  
• Auto-Battle helps you avoid "playing the game" so you can enjoy the story and graphics.
  
• The 3 character party system makes sure you dont have too much managing to do, that and you only control your character (the others can be told what job to do).
  
• When your only controlable character dies, GAME OVER, forget about a Phoenix Down...
  
• The graphics are awesome in cut-scenes and really great in game engine, except for some hair (PS3)
  The story almost makes no sence, and it does not even try to make you understand. (reading all the datalogs might help you "imagine" what the missing story elements could be)
  

 
And the best thing yet, after watching for 15 minutes, my girlfriend's first reaction to this game was to tell me that it looks like it is made for pedophiles (true story.. about what she sais, not the game...). That is in comparison to Dante's Inferno which she tought was gross but cool looking (including the monster babies coming out of giant boobs and the lady warriors that seem to attack you with a "lasso" that comes out of their vagina). 
 
So far I loved all FF games, especially 4, 6, 7 & 8 
 
I heard that it gets better at chapter 11 (!), so I'm gonna try to keep on trucking until then I guess.  
 
Hope this helps you with your decision...

There's an annoying amount of haters for every big game.  I got the game Friday and have nearly 40 hours of playtime already in it.  There are a lot of similarities to FFX and pretty much everything about it is amazing.  It's the best looking console game I've ever seen (at least on the PS3), the combat is very entertaining and Vanille is one of the most lovable characters in video game history.  The reviewers giving it 50% are just trying to get attention.