Let me start out by saying this: I did not come to this decision easily. It wasn't keeping me up at night or anything but it was weighing on me quite a bit. I'll be honest, though this might already be obvious: I don't like Final Fantasy XIII and no matter how much of it I play I am pretty sure that won't change. I will admit the game grew on me a little as I neared Chapter 10, but I still have 20+ hours to go if I am going to reach the end and honestly I don't really care what happens. I'm just not invested in the game, the story or the characters... I don't have enough of an attachment to follow through. And a pretty fun battle system is just not enough to motivate me to play another 20+ hours of a game I don't really like.

I had this happen with Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope back in Alpha's Picks 2010. It was the reverse for that game as I kind of enjoyed the first 20 hours, then the story went sour and I couldn't stand it after that. This is a common problem for me and J-RPGs: it is very rare that I get through them without having to really persevere. In fact I have never done it with the Final Fantasy series and only a handful of J-RPGs have ever been beaten from the first play to the ending. Most of them required certain methods of focusing: Alpha's Picks, RPG Completion Challenges and more. Final Fantasy XIII is unfortunately one of those games I might never finish... it's on hiatus and if I ever get in the mood to play it again it can always come back. My lack of energy and enthusiasm to play it was holding back In-Depth which I still have big plans for. I apologize to anyone who was enjoying my FF 13 coverage but it was just not meant to be.

As for what's coming up next on Now Loading In-Depth, I have a few ideas but I want to think about my options before I commit to anything at this moment. You should know in a few days what I have in store for NLID. I also have started Final Fantasy XIII-2 and I don't want to jump to conclusions or imply anything but I spent over 4 hours playing it in just one sitting. I will probably have an impression article on that too in the near future. The NLID hiatus count is up to three now: Banjo-Tooie, Skies of Arcadia: Legends and now Final Fantasy XIII... I don't want to make a habit of doing this but I also don't want to get stuck on a game that I don't enjoy and kill In-Depth. I really do enjoy playing games and then updating you on them, which also helps me keep track of my own thoughts as I play them. I will talk to you soon... go easy on me please FF13 fans, I gave your game a good run... it's just not for me. Loading Complete!