So I'm about 40 hours into FFXIII, towards the end of chapter 11, and I have to wonder, has Square ruined the series?  
 
The game is 100% linear, even though it supposedly "opens up" in chapter 11, I accidentally immediately followed the yellow arrow, and found myself trapped in yeat another corridor, leading me along a path exactly to where I was supposed to go next.  I find myself playing at this point just to finish, but I'm no longer enjoying myself, I just have a problem where I have to finish what I started.
 
I feel as if JRPG's have been declining for years, while WRPG's have continued to rise in quality.  This game just angers me on so many levels.
 
Thoughts?

So I'm about 40 hours into FFXIII, towards the end of chapter 11, and I have to wonder, has Square ruined the series?  
 
The game is 100% linear, even though it supposedly "opens up" in chapter 11, I accidentally immediately followed the yellow arrow, and found myself trapped in yeat another corridor, leading me along a path exactly to where I was supposed to go next.  I find myself playing at this point just to finish, but I'm no longer enjoying myself, I just have a problem where I have to finish what I started.
 
I feel as if JRPG's have been declining for years, while WRPG's have continued to rise in quality.  This game just angers me on so many levels.
 
Thoughts?

I like it. It's not GREAT though, and playing Persona 4 I realised just how awful the Final Fantasy storylines are

Having not played 13, I'm gonna say it was FF7 that marred what I thought of the FF name (actually it was 8 that made me quit, but 7 was the first of that style).
 
Also while I think certain elements of WRPGs have gotten better in the last decade, others have gotten much worse. Most feel so hollow nowadays and are only remotely similar to the classics (I see you're a fan of Planescape Torment, speaking of classics).
 
Then again maybe I'm just too old and my nostalgia is winning.

Well not every Final Fantasy is a winner. they tried something and it didn't really work (for me). Chapter 11 is the best part, that's pretty much it :P. but I am looking forward to agito XIII.

The only FFs I LOVE are 6, 9 and 12

This game has just shown what one of the biggest problems with JRPGs are: the audience. Theres a great divide between people who are willing to see the genre try different things, and the people who want it to remain the same.

FF13 is alright, it has it fair share of problems, but the narrow-minded JRPG fans can't deal with something that isn't like the PS1 JRPGs (and on the opposite spectrum their are people willing to defend this game to the death). The problem with a series that changes every iteration is that fans will always have a favorite, and since no game after that will be the same it will effect the players quality of the other games in the series, future and past.

I look forward to what Square will do with the series after FF14 Online.