Yes I purposefully put as many "finals" in the title =P 
 
So I just concluded my meeting with Bhakti who told me that I "seem to be quite the Treasure Hunter, too!". What a blissful experience. Getting told by a half-dead cleaning droid that all I've worked for in 40 hours of playtime is something he can pass off with a ", too!" at the end of a sentence. It's a great feeling though - only 17 others on GB, as of this typing, have this.
 
Really though, I've had so much fun with this game. Even after 141 hours, I can say that the battle system is still engaging and intense. Like the time I somehow 5-starred the Gigantaur (I honestly don't know how I did it), or when I took down my first Shaolong Gui. Man those things are tough but of so satisfying. And to be honest I find the game is much better after you beat the storyline. That's where you really learn the meat of the combat system, it's where you need to learn to quickly switch between paradigms (the Tortoise Paradigm comes to mind :P) and it's where you'll explore the larger side of the upgrading system. I do realize that a lot of these post game things aren't for a lot of people though, and I can totally understand that. Not to mention it's where your characters will get insane stats!
 
My favorite part of the game has probably got to be Palumpolum though. The scenery was beautiful and the characters really opened up there, especially when you get to meet Fang. She is so badass. And I'm so glad I get to sport that Gamerpic around now :D  
 
BTW, has anyone seen the gamerpics? I don't think I've ever seen a higher quality GP before. It's really defined, has rounded edges, and just looks really good. I'll be glad when people see it on my profile! 
 
Anyway, now to wait until Versus comes out for the PS3. I really hope it can compete with FFXIII. I really don't like the team that is behind it (Kingdom Hearts team, I hate everything Kingdom Hearts), but I love the universe of FFXIII and if Versus is set in the same world, I am hoping for the best!

Yes I purposefully put as many "finals" in the title =P 
 
So I just concluded my meeting with Bhakti who told me that I "seem to be quite the Treasure Hunter, too!". What a blissful experience. Getting told by a half-dead cleaning droid that all I've worked for in 40 hours of playtime is something he can pass off with a ", too!" at the end of a sentence. It's a great feeling though - only 17 others on GB, as of this typing, have this.
 
Really though, I've had so much fun with this game. Even after 141 hours, I can say that the battle system is still engaging and intense. Like the time I somehow 5-starred the Gigantaur (I honestly don't know how I did it), or when I took down my first Shaolong Gui. Man those things are tough but of so satisfying. And to be honest I find the game is much better after you beat the storyline. That's where you really learn the meat of the combat system, it's where you need to learn to quickly switch between paradigms (the Tortoise Paradigm comes to mind :P) and it's where you'll explore the larger side of the upgrading system. I do realize that a lot of these post game things aren't for a lot of people though, and I can totally understand that. Not to mention it's where your characters will get insane stats!
 
My favorite part of the game has probably got to be Palumpolum though. The scenery was beautiful and the characters really opened up there, especially when you get to meet Fang. She is so badass. And I'm so glad I get to sport that Gamerpic around now :D  
 
BTW, has anyone seen the gamerpics? I don't think I've ever seen a higher quality GP before. It's really defined, has rounded edges, and just looks really good. I'll be glad when people see it on my profile! 
 
Anyway, now to wait until Versus comes out for the PS3. I really hope it can compete with FFXIII. I really don't like the team that is behind it (Kingdom Hearts team, I hate everything Kingdom Hearts), but I love the universe of FFXIII and if Versus is set in the same world, I am hoping for the best!

Thats great you enjoyed it, I bought FFXIII before spring break and I still have to start it.

I just had to go through a major obstacle. I had JUST gotten to Pulse. Had to fight 8 battles, then fight Hope's Eidolon, then the tutorial screen pops up for the missions of the stone ce'ith...but no words were on it. I could not advance, I had to restart from the 8 battles. I had to do this 5 times. I finally got to a save point and got that over with. I don't know what went wrong. 
How much extra stuff is there, anyway?

How did you already put 141 hours into it? Jeez im still truckin away trying to "beat" Forza 3 and I've had that since like November.

I think the gamer pic thing that FF XIII is doing should be done by all games. Take the top 7 hardest achievements and show them off like that. I'm a little disappointed  with the PS3's themes, but they're still free.

I managed to get the platinum with around 95 hours played. How did you manage 140 hours?

Grats on S-Ranking it you crazy person, you. :P

That's awesome. I'm post game and I'm about 60 hours in (I beat it in 53), I'm still having fun. I just got the Growth egg! My only fear is the 5 star for every mission achievement. I know you can go back and redo them, but it seems like I'm really going to have to have maxed stats for those.

" @gla55jAw: Don't be afraid of the five stars. Just beat all the missions first. When you beat your final mission, you will get an item called a Gold Watch. This item increases the time limit for getting better ratings in a battle. So basically, they're increasing the amount of time you have to five star a mission. Mix that with good weapons and stats and it's not that bad. The only missions that should give you any problem are Attacus (Mission 51 I believe), Vercingetorix (Mission 64) and the Gigantaur (Mission 54). "

Another trick, that the official strategy guide mentions, is if you're having trouble getting a 5 star, try actually equipping weaker weapons.  I know it sounds crazy to not use some of your best gear on some of the tougher marks, but weapon stats directly factor into the target time assigned to each battle.  The stronger your gear the lower the target time you'll get for a battle.  The number of ATB gauges each character has also factors into the target time.  So removing ultimate tier weapons can help boost that target time as well.  Gives you a little room to work with to find a good strategy and balance of weapon stats vs. target time. 
 
Check the battle rank guide here  http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/ps3/file/928790/59246.  It's got some good pointers on increasing your battle ratings and shows you exactly how everything's calculated.