Ok, I'm going to outline what FFXIII is, in brief, just the basics, so you know what you're walking into.
A story that makes little to no sense, with no pretext to the events taking place.
At least 30 (more or less) hours of the game controlling your party, in what is basically a really long tutorial.
The combat really boils down to whether you enjoy sitting around hitting the A or X, depending on your console, button, while periodically changing paradigms to counter enemies.
You only control your lead character in combat and the ally AI is deplorable, often casting spells at the wrong times, breaking a situation that you need, and the buggy combat engine then trying at least three times to rectify the error.
The great abilities are buried under spells that you won't be able to access in later fights, and if you want the full experience from the combat system, turning down the speed isn't an option.
The game is insultingly linear, going so far as to grant you one open area that has virtually nothing to do until you clear the game.
It forces you to backtrack through said linear corridors until you grind enough points to use in the Crystarium, which gives an illusion of choice, but you'll find that everything has to be filled before you move on to the next level of abilites.
The characters are vapid and empty husks, merely there to go along for the ride. Only two characters have sufficient histories for the player to relate to them, and because of the poor story, and lack of narrative, you'll never really find out what motivates them, which is depressing, seeing as they had seemingly human motivations, but the lack of depth makes the characterization pointless.
You're looking at a minimum of 60+ hours of mandatory play, maybe more to even finish the main game, seeing as more often than not, you'll have no choice but to grind.
Characters are given a variety of abilities, but you'll only ever fill up two useful ones, having a third just in case. The summoning system is ok, but it again involves just pushing a single button.
The dialogue is just wrong, some of the sentences were badly translated and make little to no sense.
Graphically this game is beautiful, and the character rendering is amazing.
A severe lack of exploration hinders what should have been an epic world, with a rich history, which instead turns into more linearity, with ever changing backgrounds, and slightly stronger enemies, who are just repainted versions of weaker enemies earlier in the game.
I know I'll catch heat for this, but in truth, I bought this game within a week of its release, it took me 65+ hours to finish, and when I was done, I said to myself "Hey...this game wasn't very good at all...in fact, I disliked it more than all of the other FF games I've ever played". Now that's just my opinion, and I thought I should let you know what you're getting into, because I sure as hell would have liked the same treatment. Now you might like it, but it lacks the same shine as previous titles, being crowned 'The Worst Final Fantasy', which is a bit harsh, since 14 was broken and useless, and Square released a public apology for it.
If people like this game, fine, that's their cuppa tea, but for me, and a lot of people like me, this game turned out to be one of the worst experiences of a JRPG in my entire life, and that isn't an understatement.
And again, I know I'll catch a lot of heat for this, but I simply don't care: http://www.giantbomb.com/final-fantasy-xiii/61-20664/user-reviews/?review_id=18742 my review of the game, understand that this game took a lot out of me, and as an avid fan of the series in general, I was unhappy with the result. If it helps you in your choice, then that's grand, one way or another, I'm just looking out for you, so you don't part money for something you'll regret.
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