FFXIII has been looked forward to now for almost five years as one of the most anticipated JRPGs of the hit series Final Fantasy. Since the game's release in Japan (and since March 9, other parts of the world) a lot of negativity has surrounded the game. Should you be worried? This review specifically addresses the complaints of linearity and "no towns."

What is linearity? I suppose linearity can be thought of as having no choice in where you want to go in terms of progression. There is no mistaking that FFXIII is linear-- the question is whether or not this linearity hinders the experiences. I am happy to say, 15 hours into the game, that this game is not made worse because of linearity. In fact, it could be argued that linearity benefits the game because it allows the player to focus on more important elements such as combat and story. What FFXIII manages to do is to cut out all the mundane moments present in other FF games and cuts them out all together, instead providing a streamlined experience that is more welcoming.

In the end, FFXIII is the polar opposite of FFXII in that the combat is significantly more difficult and well developed. FFXIII goes back to a more FF-esque story with romance and it's well appreciated this time around. Superb graphics and gameplay make this game a well rounded contender for your money. And it is these qualities that make this Final Fantasy one for the ages.

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I purchased the 360 package with this game and also the ps3 version, as I wanted to play both for the trophies/achievements. Do not listen to what people are saying...the game actually runs faster on 360 and unless you are standing right next to the screen you CANNOT tell the difference in graphics. Loading times are actually faster on 360. Yes it is completely different from any FF before it, but that is a good thing. Do you really want to play the same game every 3 years, or experience something completely different? Play the game for yourself before you listen to people who do not like the 360.

The story is amazing and the graphics are unparalleled on both systems. Buy the game based on your preference for the system (which controller you like, if you want faster load times or crisper in-game graphics on the 360). I plan to play both and have no problem with any of them check my purchases you can see I own the ps3 version (i preordered the xbox bundle at EB) so i am not being biased to either one.:P

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I can't wait for Versus, Love the combat system, the graphics, and the story. Nothing I would change! I beat it once without the stratagy guide. Then ran through it again with the book. Either way was really fun. I would definatly recommend the book with this game though. so many tips and hints.

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To start off, it needs to be said I have played EVERY Final Fantasy game since their release. I was around 10 when I started FF1 I and have been a stalwart fan of the series. I haven't liked all FF's (i.e. 8 and 12) so I feel I do weigh my perspective with some thought.

The best thing I can say about Final Fantasy XIII is that I feel it is a bold step to try to evolve the series with some new elements. Like with any change or evolution of something, you are going to get those that resist change (which you will see in earlier reviews) and others that are for it. As a result, I think FF13 ends up being a love it/hate it game. Where you will end up ultimately depends on how you approach this game.

If you come into FF13 with an open mind and a willingness to try something different with no preconceived notions, you could end up being in the love it category. 13 brings with it a great story with a lot of heart and characters you care for. The battle system is refreshing and unique. At first I was slightly hesitant not being able to micromanage my characters, but it ended up being exhilarating. You do have a lot of control over the battle, but control different elements of the battle that many people are not accustomed to. The "Paradigm shift" feature of the game is like a job class for your team of characters rather than individual roles characters play. I enjoy shifting paradigms and trying different strategies in taking down enemies.

Outside of the gameplay you are given an amazing setting with graphics that are amazing on the PS3. The lush visuals and details that were put into this game are outstanding. The facial expressions on your characters are impressive and the overall environment is immersive. The voice acting of a couple of the characters can be annoying at times, but overall, I found the game to create a world that I wanted to explore. I mentioned it earlier, but the storyline is also intriguing with a lot of themes that run beneath the surface. Overall, this is an engaging experience that will keep you captivated.

Now if you come into FF13 with preconceived notions about JRPGs and a desire to play a more traditional RPG where you dictate the detail of what each and every character does, then this game is not for you and you will fall into the 'hate it' category (most likely). I loved that this game approached the battles differently and had you focus your energies on team dynamics and not specific actions, but that is NOT for everybody. If you are a person who needs to dictate the action of everyone, you may struggle enjoying this game.

The other issue that you read about is how linear it is. It is true that FF for the most part is a linear experience giving you freedom only within the battles and the customization of your characters abilities/weapons. You explore a world, but it plays out more like chapters than an open world. In today's games with endlessly open worlds, this may create a problem for some people.

At the end of the day, Final Fantasy is an engaging and enthralling experience depending how you come into the game and if you can accept evolution/change. The elements of Final Fantasy are still there for longtime gamers, but are explored in different ways. Newcomers to the series will also enjoy a fresh take to a classic JRPG style. It's not for everyone, but if you open yourself to a fresh experience and approach it as such, you may leave highly satisfied.

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I am a bit surprised by the negative reviews, so I decided to leave my own.

Yes, the game is linear. I personally have no problem with that. Just about every game is linear in the sense that you progress a storyline that is sequential in time. Weather or not you have breaks in between where you can wander of / explore / do other quests unrelated to the main plot is not such an important feature in my eyes. It's nice to have, of course, and I enjoy it, but it's not all that important if the main plot is solid.

I loved the story. However I did go trough the trouble of reading up the text entries on your journal that supplement what you see in the cutscenes. Nowadays people seem somewhat affronted by content that is not conveyed though video/audio. I have no problems reading up a few paragraphs every now and then, and by doing that I got to enjoy the storyline quite a bit.

Graphics are phenomenal, I guess we all agree to that so I won't waste much time discussing it.

But the main selling point of the game for me is the battle system. I found it an amazing leap on the right direction that I hope is picked up and refined for future games of the genre.

The traditional RPG games are about resource management. You enter a dungeon with a given amount of resources (mana points and hit points for instance) and your task is to manage those such that you get to the next "rest area" alive. So the battles are really attrition events where your resources are slowly eroded away over time by damaging enemies and taking damage. You can almost always supplement resources with items you spend (which can turn currency as the final resource to manage). The dungeons almost always culminate with a boss battle that will have you spend all your resources to defeat.

No games are more representative of this playstyle than the orininal FF games. FF13 departs from that model very drastically, and I guess it's understandable why so many are puzled by it.

For starters, you only have one resource (Health) and it is renewed automatically at the end of each battle. as a consequence of that, the fights (even the mundane enemies) are not meant to erode your resorces: they are meant to chalenge you. Of course the earlier battles are easier but the game picks up in dificulty quite a bit and you get the distinct feeling for most of the game that if you dont play well, even the random everyday monsters can kill you (their attacks take off significant chunks of your life, etc).

Also they have done an incredible job at the different roles available and the way they interact with the Paradigm system. You have two types of damage dealers (Commandos and Ravagers) that interact in bringing the enemy to a "Staggered" stage that cause it to take substantially more damage. Most of the battles are really about managing the stagger bar because the regular attacks will deal insignificant damage and defeating the enemy is really about maxing out the stagger state.

There are also more situational roles, like the Medic (Healer), Buffer, Debuffer and Tank. The game does a great job at making each of them relevant for several of the fights, particularly boss battles (but even some more mundane enemies can only be defeated by clever use of buffs/debuffs).

So the game has a lot of depth by having you design your combinations of role compositions (Paradigms) for you to shift from one moment in the battle to the other. Most people complain about the auto-battle system making the choices for you, but that is because the real decision on the battles is the paradigmn shifts (going all offensive with all 3 characters, having one heal and the other two buff/debuff, or having one tank and two others heal when in trouble etc). I found that emphasis to be a lot more fun than deciding to use ability A, versus ability B versus ability C for instance.

I hope they pick up the trend of this battle system in future games, I find myself sorely missing it when I play other RPGs (my favorite genre).

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I must start by saying that I am a huge Final Fantasy fan i've played FF1,FF2,FF7,FF8,FF9,FF10,FF10-2,FF12,FF13(obviously im writting a review on it),Crisis Core,Dissidia and that being said I feel I have every right to say what im going to say and that is that I do understand where Hardcore Final Fantasy fans are coming from when they say this is a bad FF game alot of elements that are pretty much what you would assume to be in a FF game. Those for the most part would be I guess the open world gameplay I think from what i've heard from other players and yes that is definatly valid for the most part the first 10 chapters of the game are very go where you can go because thats all there is if you understand what im saying i've hear it refered to as hallway game play if that helps paint a better picture there is one way to go and not many places to venture else where to except a few spots where you can go off to the side abit to get some items and then you hit a dead end and just gotta turn around and get back on track yup that how it is for the most part the last Three chapters arent but I guess to final fantasy fans thats not enough and I see where they are coming from its very understandable why fans would be upset but for people who havent played it yet and are wondering if they should try it I say say if you are a final fantasy fan just go into in excpecting to get about sixty hours of game play on the story and then some fun side quest once the story is over and just keep an open mind and just enjoy it for being a good game. That being said I have just one complaint but its a small one and I think a large number of FF fans will agree the leveling up system is just not enough even if it wasnt a final fantasy game the leveling up system would bug me and with that in mind I feel that the game other than that minor downfall is a very good game it has good characters a great story not the best we have seen from FF by far but still a good story a cool battle system that I think any gamer would like I know some people who say they cant play FF games because they dont like the turn base system which is understandable it isnt for everyone but with this game it is alot different it feels most fast pased then other turn based games and if you dont like the idea of having to pic your attacks from a list(you would rather just press Square and have it shoot)there is an auto battle button to keep things moving fast although I wouldnt recomend that near the last few chapters of the game. Now I wanna talk about the story a bit cause like most FF games its a big part of the game alot of people didnt like it which is fine(to each his own) but my opinion is that it is a great story and WARNING some people may consider what im about to say are SPOILERS but I dont think I will give to much away with what im about to say and if I do im sorry but the story is about seven people fighting for different things but ultimatly for the same cause Snow is fighting for his girlfriend(sounds lame but its not really), Hope is fight for his mom,Sazh is fighting for his son,Vanille and Fang I suppose you would say they are fight for each other for the most part then they kinda just wanna take down the bad guys I guess and Lighting well kinda the same thing take down the bad guys and just to let you know im being very simplistic in my definitions for what these people are fighting for when I say they are fighting "the bad guys" im really not doing the story any justice but I dont want to ruin anything. I would definatly say atleast give it a try rent it if you want to you play the hole story your gunna get around 60 hours of gameplay(atleast in my case the first timne through)and then there is more to do after the story is done for hours of gameplay and I feel the game has alot of replay value I got the game the day it came out and im on my third time threw it right now(that alot of gameplay)which I think makes me more than worth a rental price or even the $60 bucks it cost to own the game so yeah give it a try and hopefully enjoy.

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Well worth the 20+ hours of my life playing it. Awesome graphics, nice gameplay, good addition to the FF saga.

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Final Fantasy XIII is extremely story driven and offers little in terms of exploration and optional character interaction. The result is a fast-paced adventure that, while more limited in gameplay, is deeply immersing, incredibly beautiful, and still fun.

I've been into console RPGs since the 90s and have completed most of them, including every FF4 to 13 + Tactics. I play RPGs because of the amazing adventures they offer. Final Fantasy XIII is a unique story and experience driven game that should be enjoyed as such. I dived into it with an open mind and love it.

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Wonderful and truly breathtaking game. Great story, gorgeous graphics and music, fun battles. This game, in many ways, reminds me of Final Fantasy X. I definitely recommend it.

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I'll be the first to admit that this is not the best Final Fantasy game ever (but it is the best looking). Does that make it bad? No way! I was sucked into the story from the start, and did not mind that the developers slowly increased the combat complexity over the course of the first 15-20 hours. I did not look at it as some long tutorial mode, rather, each time I was exposed to some new combat wrinkle, I was given a few hours to get used to it instead of having everything dropped on me at once. A good design strategy to help draw in those uninitiated to RPGs.

Personally, I don't care if a game is easy or hard, has great graphics or so-so ones, a great story or a meh one, as long as I enjoy playing the game. My goal is to have a good time. I am currently 40+ hours in and on chapter 12 and I am still very much enjoying playing this game as I have from the start. I want to know how the story ends. I want to keep making my party stronger. I want to finally kill one of those giant manacled dinosaurs that squash me in 2 stomps.

The only real downsides I can come up with in this game is the relative linearity and the lack of deep character progression. However, once you get full control of your party the battle system gains an appreciable amount of depth, as is consistently fast paced and frenetic throughout.

Bottom line: Unless you are one of those overly critical types that dislike most of the games you play, FFXIII should provide you with an enjoyable 50+ hours. It falls short of classic status, but it is a great game that oozes quality from every pore.

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I waited long enough for this game. But it was well worth it. First of all, most games that I download the demos on the PS Network are just really bad. Why are developers pushing out games that look like half done? I'm sick and tired of floating guns, half legs stepping into walls and all the soldiers have the same face? With these kind of technology why most games on the PS3 look like PS2 anyway? You exactly know what I'm talking about...

FF XIII must be the only game that fully uses the PS3 potential. It is so perfect the characters can easily step off the screen and sit with me on the couch. The clothes I could easily wear, the drinks in the bar I could easily drink.

So graphics-10!

Storyline is very,very linear but again the cut scenes are so beautiful it doesn't matter. There is a lot of cut scenes (according to my husband I was waiting years for a movie). More of a movie than a game right but the battles are very much enjoyable. A lot of tactics, not just mindless slashing. (The first couple of hours it is mindless but still beautiful...)

Overall this is the only game I ever bought new, right after release and I'm happy I did it!

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Alright I held off reviewing the game until I actually finished the main story completely.

Final Fantasy XIII ushers in a new age and way for newcomers to the Final Fantasy "brand" and for old fans to get their yearly Final Fantasy in. This game takes an alternative approach and virtually allows the player to experience the story in a streamlined and fast way. Unlike other RPG's, the player wont find themself straying off on the path to fulfill sidequest orders or needing to level grind (sit in an area and earn experience points (ie in this game crystarium points to unlock skills and status boosts) that would otherwise get in the way of the story telling. FFXIII is an streamlined experience in sound and drama and the gorgeous cinematic never gets old or lenghty this time around. The ending cutscene is really only 15 minutes as well. The story is particularly interesting and the characters are simple to enjoy and embrace. There are bound to be some that the player would care more than others, though no one character is lacking at the end of the game. The antagonists are also interesting to see and they do in fact grow over time.

Gameplay wise its a brilliant experience that could be considered cinematic on its own. The camera pans out and in dramatic fashion (it can also be controlled manually) during the midst of attacks. It looks amazing once higher level skills are used as the Thunderbolt will be brilliant (camera zooms out and even pauses briefly to enhance the dramatic powerful attack), the fire skills will scare the ground, and the powerful water skills will leave water vapor and droplets suspended in the air after the fact. The particle effects are just brilliant. The enemies designs are interesting though by endgame most of them are just rehashes of old ones (new names, though with different color skins :( ). The boss fights are ingenious and most can be beat in under 15 minutes (if the player takes too long, the boss will cast Doom, a skill that will kill the player in a few minutes).

The difficulty of the game should be relatively easy to embrace for newcomers, veterans may find it starts off relatively easy though at the end of the day the game is generally of medium difficulty. A guide isnt necessary though strongly advised for both parties if the sidequests (available in Chapter 11 of 13 of the game and during the post-game) are something that one wants to pursue, the item forging, as well as the trophy enthusiasts.

There are no Japanese voices, currently no DLC, and there is not a cutscene/sound theater. The criticism faced with the Leona Lewis song (which only plays for about 1 minute 45 seconds just about and shows up in the credits/ending cutscene) is unwarranted the end of the day. Really if an RPG isnt your thing then you could pursue this one though its 40-60 hour time commitment may not be something a non RPG enthusiast would want to experience, to everyone else, this is a great game that should be played at least.

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Its very boring gameplay but the story for the most part makes up for it. It certains does not live up to Final Fantasy XII - X.

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I am now over 20 hours into the game and I must say I am impressed. The battle system is by far the best I've ever tried to learn and it does't get old,You only control one person while the AI characters act on there own but it is not as bad as it sounds, you wait for the attack battle gauge to fill up then select to attack and the AI follows, different attack scematics can be set up via paradigms which are individual fighting classes that you can mix and match to create different attack formations or two people attack while one heals or casts protect spells and such. The graphics are amazing and very detailed, I haven't even noticed any slow down when the action gets to intense. There are also alot of cutscenes in the game which is what made final fantasy known for since FF7. Leveling up is done in a different manner this time around, after each battle you are awarded points that determine if the enemies drop items and cp points which you use to spend in the Crystarium menu (which you won't be able to do until 3-4 hours into yhe game) which is alot like FF10 sphere grid. The only couple of things that I miss in this installment of FF13 is that there are no longer towns to visit, therefor no more shops, all your shopping is now done at save points which are not hard to find. There is also no more open world exploring, almost every area map consists of goig from point A to point B and those are the reasons are why I didn't give this game a 5 star rating. I've read countless numbers of reviews on this game and most people say that it isn't anything like there old games, well duh why would they make the same game over and over again. So if your thinking of getting this game than get it you won't be dissapointed and don't listen to bad reviews on this game they are just a bunch of crying mustang sallies.

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This game is by far the best Final Fantasy I have played and I have played FFI, FFVII, FFVIII before and loved them!, the graphics are stunning, the gameplay is awesome and the story is amazing.

At first the game is kind of linear and somewhat limited, nonetheless the story evolves as so your characters, and so the gameplay drowns you in large amount of hours without tire.

There is a new way to evolve the characters and can evolve them as you wish, very different as any other FF games, which makes it interesting and makes it strategic.

And as I mentioned, the story is catchy, is like watching a movie form beginning to end, as well as the soundtrack, and cannot imagine any other than the one they chose for the game.

I have about more or less 40 hours so far and cannot play anything else but Final Fantasy!

It is a must have Final Fantasy game if you have played any other before.

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