from NJ

The game begins with some stunning visuals and a bunch of cut scenes. Then the game looks a lot like FFXII with real-time enemies to engage as you follow the linear gameplay. The minimap system is nice and informative. The crystal-leveling system is a throw back to both FFX and FFXII: you accumulate points and spend them to upgrade attributes and abilities instead of the traditional level-ups. All in all, the game has amazing visuals. However, the game is very linear and you are basically without choices. The characters are querky but keep you engaged.

What's great about it: More active combat system. Customizable paradigms. Beautiful graphics.

What's not so great: Too linear in the beginning.

I would recommend this to a friend!

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Customer Rating

Great graphics

on June 9, 2010

Posted by: Rezanate

from Honolulu

its a typical rpg, but being that its a final fantasy game, its a good one. Very good graphics though.

What's great about it: amazing 1080p graphics, best for a animated game yet

What's not so great: same old final fantasy storyline,... but not a bad one.

I would recommend this to a friend!

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Customer Rating

Great game for a great price

on July 18, 2014

Posted by: KidA2Z

from Lansing, MI

Verified Purchase:Yes

At $19.99 I definitely got my money's worth with this game. Graphics are great and the story is a classic final fantasy tale that really sucks you in. Great start to the series for next gen consoles, can't wait to play the other two. Highly recommend.

My Best Buy number: 2226417143

Mobile Submission: True

I would recommend this to a friend!

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Customer Rating

A Solid Final Fantasy

on December 11, 2009

Posted by: C360G

from San Luis Obispo, CA

Coming from someone who has played the Japanese version now, I don't believe everyone will enjoy this game. Those who are great fans of the turn-based battle system found in VII, VIII, IX, and X, and those who feel like the battle system was half the fun of the game may be disappointed. If you can look past this and a handful of slight adjustments to the normal interface (such as in the transition from X to XII) you will probably find a great enjoyment from beginning to just about the end. About 3/4 of the way through you gain the every area independence you normally do towards the end of every Final Fantasy. This is where the game really took off for me. I don't want to spoil anything, but I highly recommend buying it for the full experience.

Although not as epic as VII VIII and IX in story line, the story rarely has a dull moment and the only boredom I found in the game was the battle system when gaining levels. Think Star Ocean 4 + FFXII for the battle system in XIII.

What's great about it: Incredible visuals, great story that will bring the 80+ hours normally expected with all the side quests etc.

What's not so great: Fans of the VII - X entries may find this a dissapointing repeat like XII. Expect something new coming into this game.

I would recommend this to a friend!

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Customer Rating

In top 3 FF's in my opinion...

on March 11, 2010

Posted by: Essential

from Little Rock, AR

I am an avid fan of Final Fantasy. I have played VII, VIII, XI, X, X-II, XII, and now XIII. I am about 18 hours in, and am in love with this game. As I mentioned earlier, I am very familiar with the series. I say that because I have heard a lot about veteran FF players complaining about this entry, and I am here to give my insight. Square has taken a lot of liberties to cater to new fans of the series. The thing is, that has not changed the fact that this game is fun. The battle system is exhilirating, and gives you a feeling of accomplishment once you have mastered it. You will need to as some enemies will truly test you. I understand the change to control one character. The pace is so fast, there is no way that you could control three characters. The graphics are in the best of this console generation. I sometimes could not tell the difference between the in game, and CG graphics. They sometimes look like real people. I am tired of hearing of this linearity thing. This was for the sake of story. This is possibly the darkest entry yet in the franchise. The main characters all have stong, individual personalities. This makes them seem more human, and relatable. I do not see why people would need to spend time exploring areas, and meeting NPC'S that have no effect on the story or gameplay. I do agree with the grunting, and gasping thing. That is fine. It is a Japanese game after all. :-) The one minor complaint would be the story is hard to comprehend at times. That is also classic FF, believe it or not. It will all make sense over the course of the game. This is a must buy game if you are a fan, or new to the series. You will not regret this purchase. I hope that helped with your decision. :-)

What's great about it: Graphics, Battle system, Characters

What's not so great: Storyline at points

I would recommend this to a friend!

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Customer Rating

Good game, not fantastic, but a fun play.

on March 29, 2010

Posted by: pete2571

from Minneapolis MN

As usual, this FF series game is a hit in my opinion. The story is much better than the previous release (FF XII), and the cut scenes and graphics are amazing. The beef I have with it is, I have 20+hrs into the game and so far it is completely linear. No huge map to play around in, no hunts or card games or chocobo racing to speak of... (and no moogles yet....)

It is also a surprise that for the first FF game, you only control one character during a fight. Period.

Where I'm at in the game, the main character you control is never your choice (or the party members for that matter), and although the AI for the rest of the party is smart enough to do what you want it to do for the vast majority of the time, you don't get the option to throw some spells of your choice or cast some specific buffs quickly, you have to rely on the computer to do the motions itself.
That being said, this game is just as fast paced as FF12, and you would be hard pressed to control more than one member at a time, plus there is no option to do turn by turn action. It's either slow or fast, and both are pretty quick!

Overall I have enjoyed it, but as a FF game I am a little disappointed with the lack of freedom in this game.

Hopefully things will change once I put in enough hours!!

What's great about it: The cinematics, Gameplay

What's not so great: Linear game (so far after 20hrs....)

I would recommend this to a friend!

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Customer Rating

gorgeous graphics but mediocre everything else

on March 18, 2010

Posted by: Conservativegamer

from MN

I've played FF1,2,7,8,9,10,10-2, and 12. I hate to say it but FF13 is most similar to FF12. Yes, that mean it's boring.

The graphics are amazing and the new battle-system is good but the learning curve is about 3 hours. Sometimes i win a battle without knowing what happened.

Why did Square take out the traditional FF musics and themes? Why can't it be like FF9 and FF10 where the victory song is most emphasized?

FF13 does not have any specific music or theme that'll bring back memories after playing the game unlike FF10 or even, FF7 and FF9. It's all jazz and what seemingly sound like "generic" background musics in FF13.

Storyline is hard to follow and is slow to start off. It's like reading a boring book with a boring plot and finally understanding what's going on after 5 chapters of reading.

All in all, FF13 was an amazing game with excellent visuals just that it feels too similar to FF12 and FFX-2 in terms of the music, gameplay, and BORINGNESS.

What's great about it: Beautiful graphics; Battle system;

What's not so great: Storyline; music,

I would recommend this to a friend!

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Customer Rating

Worthy of the Hype

on March 29, 2010

Posted by: EternityofBlood

from Saint Louis, MO

This game was initially announced about two to three years ago? Initial test shots showed the capabilities of the PS3 to proccess and render the game at such a level that very few games at the time could do, (and if I'mm correct there are still few games which draw on the PS3's full capabilities.) from there Square-Enix developed the game ensuring that the graphic quality would be on par through cut scenes as well.
There is a slight difference between cut scene quality and game play, but it really is not that noticabe.
Every part of the game is rendered beautifully cities which you pass through during the chapters don't look pre-rendered and fake, or as an afterthought.
Game play wise: For the Final Fantasy fan it is definitely a mindless button masher, but immediately it weens you off as it offers you more options while you play through. I believe the first 3 or so chapters are tutorials weeved into the story to ensure you understand what to do during your battles, and what upgrades for your characters. This is for the first approximate 15 to 30 hours (depending on fast you run through the chapters avoiding trivial enemy encounters and only focusing on the forced fights that progress the story.)
After that you are given your full ability to mess with your characters, and whom you desire to use (as the first 30 hours is mainly important to establish the characters and their motivations so you're forced to use certain ones at certain times [which also allows the player to get used to each characer])
This leads up to the challenge of the game: you can definitely avoid minor encounters with ease, but you may pay for it later with lack of experience to progress pass some of harder batles ahead.
If you avoid too many of the minor battles you will lose out on some treasure, but more importantly you will not have experience to reach critial abilities which are required to beat the important enemies...
Outisde of that little quirk, Final Fantasy XIII is a game worthy of the Final Fantasy name and the price.

What's great about it: Graphics, Music, cut scenes

What's not so great: light lag between cut scene and battles, a little linear experience upgrades for characters

I would recommend this to a friend!

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