Delusions of grandeur: The failings of Final Fantasy XIII

Steven Hansen delves into the ways Final Fantasy XIII fails, separating jaded reactionary response from criticism. More importantly, he exposes the reasons behind the missteps; namely, expressly making a game for the AAA market in which sacrificing originality and substance for flash is commonplace.

[stuntman_mike]

I still haven't completed XIII.

[brish]

I completed XIII, and XIII-2.

I'm looking forward to XIII-3.

[stuntman_mike]

i just got XIII-2 today for £9. looking forward to playing it (after i finish XIII)

[zgoldenlionz]

Who cares at this point? Talk about beating a dead horse.

[abzdine]

i bought it last year for NO MONEY and i still haven't tried it :D

[VsAssassin]

The article was intelligently made. He gave the game and its developers the benefit of the doubt by saying that FFXIII may have suffered the 'AAA' syndrome on the current HD consoles. Perhaps SE was forced to overperform in the graphics area that other elements of the game got poorly developed.

Anyway, the new Lightning Saga is right around the corner, so there might be a chance at redemption for this series. I would have to see how this third installment in the franchise pans out before I buy into it. Note that I still haven't bought FFXIII-2.

[awesomeoutof]

FFXIII-2 is generally better, in the 30 hours I've played so far. My opinion of it lessened about midway through when the pacing took a nose dive and the game introduces what is the prettiest, as well as the longest, most tedious location thus far. Really bungled it. Hopefully the end can even things out.

Story is still whacked out (perhaps more so, because time travel), but the two leads offer more focused and neither are obnoxious.

[Disco Downey]

Author says the reason fans are so mad is that XII was the best so XIII should have not been so bad.

1.) Loads and loads of fans, myself included, hated XII. terrible story, brutal characters, ridiculous progression and AI control system and horrible MMO inspired combat. Any writer worth his salt should not be presenting their opinion as fact.

2.)If the XII was that good fans would be more inclined to let XIII not being as good pass. A lot of people didnt like VIII but didnt turn on the series

[awesomeoutof]

"Jaded Square Enix fans, apparently still upset that the last entry in the series, Final Fantasy XII, is quite possibly the best, dramatically point to XIII as the last straw in their relationship with the company."

That is actually a tongue in cheek jab at the fans who think XII isn't good, because I think it is good (hence, "quite possibly the best").

I don't think I have to preface every little aside with "I think" or "In my opinion" in what is clearly an opinion piece. Plus, it wouldn't read well.

Anyway, loads and loads of fans hate every Final Fantasy game. I personally don't hate any, but I think there are weaker entries in the series (II is still the weakest). I know a lot of people who dislike VII and hold VIII as their favorite; some who dislike VII and VIII wholeheartedly, but stuck with the series and loved XI. Lots of different permutations of liking and not liking games among Final Fantasy fans.

The fact that a lot of people chose to draw their line in the sand at this juncture, which I go into in the piece, is as much due to the build up leading up to the game (longest development cycle, a CGI trailer released way too early, multiplatform flip flopping, etc.) as it is the flawed end product.