Ben-DutkaBy now, you've probably been perusing the 'Net, checking out the various reviews for Final Fantasy XIII . And if you've looked at enough of them, you'll probably notice the relatively large discrepancy in review scores.
Historically speaking, this franchise typically scores in the 9s from just about every major source but FFXIII currently has a range of scores that quite literally go from 6 to 10, counting both North American and European sources. In reading many of them, we've come to realize that some complain about the linearity, some complain about the distinct lack of a "role-playing feel," and others simply say the gameplay feels too automated and not quite up-to-snuff. As one of the biggest titles of the generation thus far, this is making it difficult for some gamers to settle on a purchase decision. If you're on the fence, you could read one review that says the game falls well short of expectations, then a second later, switch to a review that says the experience is everything it could be, and more. So what to believe? Well, if you're an avid fan, you're on board regardless, right? And we'll try and help a bit as well, by providing you with two separate reviews for the game…oh wait, maybe that'll make things all the more difficult if one of us gives it a 7 and the other gives it a 9.
Well, we just want to give you a couple looks at this one, because we want you to have as much info as possible. If you've already decided one way or the other, that's fine. This approach is mostly because the game is super huge, and also for the readers who are still hemming and hawing about the $60 admission fee.
Related Game(s): Final Fantasy XIII
I'm still willing to give Final Fantasy XIII a try, its the reason i got a PS3 over 2 years ago after all (before it was announced for the 360, heck at least my version is better). I have moderate expectations for it so i wont get burnt like i did through XII.
From what i've heard about it being linear hmmm well i dont know, i think about FFX and to be honest its not that much different, its pretty linear until you get access to the airship, It might not be all that bad. if the story is well structured it may even be a positive thing, i think back to XII where my main complaint was that the story was very slowly developed. This should be solved for FFXIII.
I reckon i will still purchase FFXIII tomorrow (or if i can find a midnight release, i'll be on that). When i look at all the other RPG's released recetnly it still seems vastly superior.
wtf they cut off 50% of the game so it could be on the 360 so fuk that im not going to buy it.
Last edited by lupus on 3/8/2010 9:16:16 AM
Lets do some math here guys,roll with me here:
Final fantasy 7 metacritic:"92"
Final fantasy 8 metacritic:"90"
Final fantasy 9 metacritic:"94"
Final fantasy X metacritic:"92"
Final fantasy 12 metacritic:"92"
and finally
Final fantasy 13 metacritic:"83"……
Talk about dramatic =(
Exactly what am trying to say XxNoir, this 83 is very disappointing, FFXIII shoulda belonged in the 90s rating but I guess SE messed it up with the new choices they made.
When I last looked FFXIII had a metascore of 82…
Speaking of reviews, I checked the reviews of PS1 Final Fantasies on PSXE (they all got a full 10, btw) and they were done by some person named SolidSnake. Now I doubt it was actually Solid Snake (from MGS) himself, but really, who is he? Ben or Arnold from 10 years ago, maybe? Is he still one of PSXE's staff?
You forgot FFX-2 at 85 on Metacritic.
Seems like the ladies get harsh reviews.
The truth hurts, but somebody gotta say it.
MS is to blame.
Well I can see why there are mixed reviews. I've bought the game 3 days ago and I can share what I think of it:
Graphics: 10
Gameplay: 3~4 you can control only ONE character and the others are CPU…hmph play and judge urselves
Story: 9 it looks promising
Heroes: 10 as always
==========
Total= 8/10
By the way I've been reading this, it almost seems that the best way to really pass a fair judgment on this game is to play it with a clean slate. Play it as most Xboxers will be playing the Final Fantasy series…for the first time. I think the old fans of the series need to forget that this game is a Final Fantasy in order to enjoy it.
That's just the impression I get from looking around the web. I look forward to the review here. I know that Ben and Arnold may have personal feelings on what the game should be, but they usually manage to keep those feelings out of a game review.
I'm sure I'll be buying this one as well, because like most of you, it is a Final Fantasy after all. I just may wait a bit as I think there are other games I would rather get first.
Let me preface by saying that I am new to this community. I have been frequenting this site for the past couple of months and have came away impressed by the thoughtfulness of it's writers and it's community. Now that I've gotten that out of the way…
RPG's (albeit turned based or tactical) have always been a cerebral experience. When I was a child games like Final Fantasy, Ogre Battle, Shining Force and Phantasy Star were games that I loved because I could use my imagination to construct more of a story if I wanted too (even after completing the games). Plus, there was strategy involved in defeating a boss or a stage. Sometimes it was a matter of leveling up and finding that bosses elemental weakness. Other times it was by casting a reflection spell on one of your characters and using magic on them in order to defeat the boss because it had a reflect spell cast on itself. And yet other times (in the case of Ogre Battle), it was all about squad balancing. These were not your typical games and it took time and patience to be rewarded.
I read one of Ben’s earlier articles about twitch gaming is harming Final Fantasy. I think Square Enix has had a lot to do with the tarnishing of their brand. I do believe twitch gaming is harming RPG’s in general though. What matter of folly is it when the preferential console for RPG’s is a Nintendo DS? I looked at my game data list on my PS3 and 28 out of 41 games were shooters of some sort. Videogame developers (lead by Activision and EA) have basically segregated (and in some cases alienated) a large group of gamers to a handheld console. (In defense of EA, Dragons Age was quite good)
It’s all to cash in on the hive mind that is fad gaming. That’s the problem the Wii and Xbox 360 have had on the industry. I’ve been playing games since 1988 and the industry has literally given me (and many others in my position) the shaft for a majority group of people who won’t even be playing them in five years. In the process, they are killing off not only ingenuity but genres such as JRPG’s, turned based strategy games and real time strategy games. I cannot imagine going into a book store only to see science fiction novels and self help books and I do not want to imagine going to my local game store and seeing only online shooters and action adventure games.
Square Enix is not the Square I knew while growing up. Squaresoft was an amazing company that gave me Secret of Mana, Final Fantasy I-VI, Final Fantasy Tactics, Front Mission, Xenogears and Parasite Eve. What happened to that company is beyond me.
I believe Atlus has taken the mantle of new RPG king. Shin Megami Tensei is a fantastic series. Persona (especially Persona 2) is also a wonderful spinoff. Etrian Odyssey is a fantastic dungeon crawl which harkens back to 1980’s WRPG’s. I guess I can take some solace that there is still a company that cares about role playing gamers and their fan base.
Wow, you write as good as Highlander. His twin brother, perhaps?
Ah, but where's my manners? Welcome dude, we hope you find your home within the PSXe community.
Nice post.
Regarding Atlus, it's be nice if they did something besides mega ten games.
welcome !!!
god im right there with you man, i grew up with such epic titles as Secret of mana, god i still love that game and have it on emulators 😉 , and final fantasy tactics is to date, my favorite final fantasy to date…tahhh i miss those days, those rpgs that got you completely and utterly enggrossed on them , i cant even remember how many times i went thru secret of mana and tactics, i think i even bought each a couple of times on the snes cuz they got dmgd or lost …
yes,i agree that company is long gone, sakaguchi, we wish you infinite success on your projects, hopefully you will knock SE out of its imaginary throne and show em how to really give epic rpgs to the world again!
Last night I finished my first Final fantasy ever(Final fantasy 8) and i just couldn't believe that i had gone a decade without playing such a great game.Kind of embarrassed as a gamer that I let it slip under my radar.
Even though I'm a bit late i think i understand some of the components that make final fantasy so great and why so many are eager for FF13 but it also means as a new fan of the series i am also extremely susceptible to disappointment by the lack of the elements that made me fall in love with the series.
And with ladies and gentlemen I'm going to go make myself more vulnerable and go buy FF7 off of PSN.
It's never too late son.
get ready to cry, ff7 always makes me cry.
yeah yeah, I'm sensitive. get over it.
just watched the gametrailers review, thought its decent enough, the combat music sounds awsome, but i can already tell that vanille will get on everylast one of my nerves , its like nails on a chalkboard geez!
I have to say I completely disagree with the low ball scores and complaints this game has been getting. I got my copy early (last Friday) and find it to be one of the better JRPG's I have played in a while. For those interested its very much a turn based game but you get 2 or more moves per character that take up so much of your ATB bar. once you get 3 or 4 ATB slots you can hit enemies with a long range elemental spell and then follow up with a meele attack or two. Finding the best way to stagger (causes enemy to take more damage) an enemy is quite unique and despite how fluid and action heavy the combat looks its still the classic turn based game you know.
The story is very well put together allowing you to pick exactly how deep (or not) you want to explore the games world. You can progress along and just watch things unfold or there are also texts to read that clue you into the story on a deeper level.
The leveling up system is similar to the sphere grid from FFX but a bit easier to manage, the same can be said for the pary AI system which plays like a simplified version of the gambits system from FF12. With different sets that you can switch between on the fly during battle (Paradigm Shift)
The games locations seem linear but progression is still at your own pace, enemies do respawn so you can level grind as you see fit and while the maps are (so far) straight paths the enviroments do not look it, you don't feel like your walking in a tunnel.
The voice work is nicely done for most, and the slight changes to the soundtrack are mostly for the better. (you wont be listening to My Hands when you first power up the game).The characters are nicely presented too, Lightning is like a mix of Cloud and Squall's best qualities (IMO).
Graphically the game is astounding, you have never seen better graphics from the facial animations, to the clothing textures its all top notch. This game easily puts the other RPG's this gen to shame (Japanese or Western).
About the only thing I don't like so far is the game take a while to relinquish full control to you, the first hour hand holds you through the battle system and it slowly unlocks things as you go (by the 4 hour mark most of the battle and system options are at your disposal.)
Please don't believe all the negative things you read, if you liked the previous PlayStation Final Fantasy entries (especially FFX) you will really enjoy this.
Last edited by Bandit King on 3/8/2010 3:09:33 PM
Great post thanks for the info
What if you really didn't like X but love most of the final fantasies 🙁
Ben we are on the same boat, Edge is a complete joke.
I remember you once wrote an article saying some reviewers are sufferring from the Look-at-me Syndrome and I guess Edge is one of those.
I hardly care about all the score they gave but the one that pissed me off the most is the 6/10 they gave FFX.