300°
8.5

Final Fantasy XIII Import Review [RPGSite]

In their longest-ever review, RPGSite dissects Final Fantasy XIII, figuring out what works and what doesn't and just how good it is overall.

They tackle linearity, issues with the villain line-up and gameplay niggles, but they also heap praise on the game's wonderful style of presentation - and sum it all up with a quote that's thousands of years old.

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ps3.rpgsite.net
THE MAX SPEED 215228d ago

I noticed how the game went from a 7 META to 8.0. So i guess the game is good.

AP5228d ago (Edited 5228d ago )

Well, there's not many reviews yet, so the meta will move around a lot early on. I think come March when all the English reviews are out it'll sit in the 85-90 range. While I didn't write this review, there was a lot of debate between the RPGSite staff who had played FF13 as to if this was an 85 or a little bit more than that.

This isn't my review, but the truth is what they touch on there: it's a flawed diamond. There's wonderful ideas and production values with a few poor decisions damaging it overall - but it's still fantastic.

gaffyh5228d ago

This is a website I trust for RPG reviews, so I still have hope for FF13 now.

Winter47th5228d ago

That's what happens when you sellout your fanbase and cut 50% of the game off. People will be surprised when they compare this to Versus XIII.

Redempteur5228d ago

after this review and the rpg fan review ( same score ) i'm convinced that ff13 is not the flop people want to make it be .i'm really looking forward to see how the people will react once the game shipped ..

What annoy me is this ( mini game content they seems to have [cut]) ...and that is why i prefer exclusives .. using all a console has to offer is sometimes better .

Parapraxis5228d ago

True Redempteur , it doesn't appear to be a bad game, it sounds like it is a good game. Not stellar, not genre-defining, and not even close to being the best RPG ever made.
Many fans have waited years for this game, and Square-Enix made it out to be, one of, if not the best FF to date.
It seems to fall quite short of the game most expected it to be.

The most worrying thing to me is the lack of exploration available, and the lack of ability to back-track and visit earlier areas. It certainly sounds like entire areas were removed to accommodate the fact that it was going to be spread across multiple discs on the 360.
If I miss an early item or quest, it's nice to be able to go back. =/

sikbeta5228d ago

@Redempteur

Nobody want this game to flop, Just Everyone was Expecting a HUGE FF Game as Usual

AP5228d ago

It still is huge, it's just huge in a different way, I think. The story is still massive.

Redempteur5228d ago

sorry but i don't see how FF13 is any different from ff10

first main FF on a generation ..
loved by some hated by others
tried to do thing differently
high production values ..

i dislike ff10 but i have my own reasons to ( just like i have my reason for liking ff13 so far )

and yeah there is a clut of people trying to downgrade it ( i call them the mass effect 2 f*g**ts )
NOt that ME2 is a bad game by any means but FF13 suddenly can't have some bad points while few rpgs are flawless ... ( even ME isn't flawless ).

When people does the same thing in disguise it's the best thing evar ( i'm looking at you bioware ) but when some people try to change things suddenly it's "not good enough" .

Finally a ff challenging .. ( even with auto heal after battle ) ..finally a ff with fast paced battle with high production values and the only thing some people have to say is ...there is no towns ?? SO WHAT ? Ever wondered how stupid it is to live the same adventure again ? i 'm glad they tried to destroy this cliché .. this is not dragon quest ...if you have to move the rpg in a direction , then so be it ..

Immortal Kaim5228d ago

No disrespect to AP and his site (I love your site btw), but it seems like an either 'love it or hate it' game, thus it's best to try it out for yourself rather than listening to review scores (no self respecting gaming should pay too much credence to review scores in the first place).

I for one can't wait for FFXIII, zlatko has described it many times as being reminiscent of FFX, it its 'linearity' etc, which to me is far from a negative. 9th March can't come soon enough.

+ Show (6) more repliesLast reply 5228d ago
densai5228d ago

game has been damaged by CERTAIN decisions made by square enix. this couldve been a 9 or even a 10 if it wasnt for the fact it is on weaker hardware. sad but true fact.

i love my import though and its awesome overall but i am sad for what couldve been with the true power of cell and blu and not dvd and nvidia.

ukilnme5228d ago

I will be trying out the PS3 version myself but your comment is complete bunk. Some clowns blame the 360 for everything and in this case there is nothing to blame the 360 for. The game looks great and seems like it will play great.

militant075228d ago

as far as i remember ps3 graphic card is from Nvidia and 360 graphic card from ATI

densai5228d ago

cant wait for the english reviews where the ps3 version will score better

chrisulloa5228d ago

I don't think it'd be anything to brag about if it did do better, this game is getting "okay" reviews.

MajestieBeast5228d ago

Wow i predict lowest rated final fantasy game yet.

AP5228d ago

85 is a bad score now? smh.

boodybandit5228d ago (Edited 5228d ago )

2 million sold on release day and a 90% or higher average score on Meta.
If not......

MB I am not being negative at you but just poking fun at how some view gaming on N4G.

A buddy of mine imported FF13 and he loves it. He said it didn't start getting good though until he was 10 to 12 hours in. I'm not much of a RPG fan but I am interested in this title. It will be the first RPG I have played in 6 years if I pick it up.

I am dropping by his house today to take a look at it.

GrandDragon5228d ago

@ AP

"While you have the ability to choose your commands on the fly, the blistering pace of the game will often mean input times are unrealistic and you'll let the AI decide specifics for you."

You can toggle the speed of the ATB gauge on the Options menu, allowing either a slow more relaxed game battle or a fast paced game battle.

Many people who purchase the import version often don't bother fiddling with the options menu so they get a wrong impression of the combat momentum. Some have been arguing that the battles are too slow but that can be fixed very easily. If the game was too unrealistic then the developers would not have included "haste"

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70°

The 7 Best Final Fantasy Characters: Unveiling the Legends

While FFVII ranks highly, there's more to the series than one game. Here's Chit Hot's picks for the seven best Final Fantasy characters.

220°

The older it gets, the more I respect Final Fantasy XIII

Alex Donaldson: "Hindsight is a hell of a thing, however, and in the years since Final Fantasy XIII, my respect for the decisions its developers made has skyrocketed. In the two Final Fantasy titles since we see both the brilliance and the folly in alternative approaches - and in Final Fantasy VII Remake, we get a more nuanced understanding of what FF13 was trying to accomplish from many of the same development leads."

Einhander1972139d ago

FFXIII is actually one of the best Final Fantasy games.

I also sort of was disappointed at the time, never as much as the bandwagon. But really all the fantastic 3D rendered cutscenes and I actually liked the characters and the story though convoluted was actually fantastic and the ending was extremely emotional. So much budget and time were put into that game Square had such big plans, I actually have always felt kind of bad for how things played out.

I have been thinking for years how great it would be to get all three games on one disk for PS4 or 5.

Nyxus139d ago

I always liked this game, and I agree, a rerelease for current gen would be nice.

Shane Kim138d ago (Edited 138d ago )

Gotta take off the nostalgia glasses. It's the worst FF. Shiva as a bike, I mean come on.

Elda138d ago

Shiva as a bike is strange but saying FFXIII is the worst FF is not at all a fact, that's simply your opinion.

Terry_B138d ago

*One of the 3 equally bad FF's

DivineHand125138d ago (Edited 138d ago )

When I got my series X a year ago, I bought FF13 for nostalgia reasons but ended up being disappointed. When I first played it around the time it launched, I didn't have a lot of experience with final fantasy games, so I enjoyed it. Fast forward to when I played it again, I found that the game had many unnecessary filler moments instead of just giving us meaningful content.

The game is also very linear and a quote on the article said it best. "It is like a sewage pipe that leads to the ocean until it opens up on Grand Pulse."

The story didn't make much sense either and I believe it is my mistake as I played the FF7 remake on PS5 prior which is a night and day difference in terms of pacing, storytelling and likeable characters even though cloud is aloof.

FinalFantasyFanatic138d ago (Edited 138d ago )

Probably was a mistake to play any of the golden era FFs first (e.g. FF6 through FF10), it makes it harder to enjoy some of the FFs that aren't as good. I think FF12 was where major issues with the series started becoming apparent, and it just got worse from there.

FinalFantasyFanatic138d ago (Edited 138d ago )

I didn't really care for it that much, the only saving grace was that it had a better story than 15 (overall it was better than 15) and possibly 12, and even then, you had to read some of it through primers, like reading a book. Plus the battle system was reasonably fun for what it was, even if it was more the spectacle that was exciting for me (e.g. summoning). And to be fair, the 13 trilogy got better with every games, I still don't like Snow though.

Gamingsince1981138d ago

Ff13 is only good if you haven't played a ff before, or any other games that are decent for that matter.

-Foxtrot138d ago

It is in fact no way the best Final Fantasy game, it's one of the worst

Linear corridors, Cutscene, Fight, Cutscene...rinse and repeat

Dialogue and characters are pretty bad, especially Lightning as the main FF hero, they literally said they tried to make a "Female Cloud" and they failed.

Story was pretty awful

I could go on

I think the only alright thing that came from the game was the music.

Elda137d ago

That's not a fact that's your personal opinion. The game sold 11 million copies between its 2009 release up until 2014 including critically reviewed as an 8 out of 10 or an 80 out of 100. The game does have some issues but it's not at all a fact as one of the worst FF games.

-Foxtrot137d ago

Elda

Not just mine mate

A large majority

So….

Traecy137d ago

N4G commenters such as yourself aren't the majority. The game was well received.

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gold_drake139d ago (Edited 139d ago )

i liked the game alot but i didnt like how they handled the terminology.

i dont mind reading data logs but it had soo many.

but i always loved the music and how it looked. the battle system wasnt too bad either.

but i like 13-2 more :)

i still dont understand why we never got a remaster of the trilogy

Eonjay138d ago

Xbox kinda did. Besides the video files of course which are still best on PS3 due to bluray.

Snookies12139d ago

XIII is a pretty solid game, but XIII-2 is WAY better. XIII-2 was one of the few games I decided to go for a Platinum trophy in, early on. Had so much fun the entire way through getting it too!

Eonjay138d ago

Totally agree. FF 13 was okay but 13-2 is my favorite FF game ever.

shinoff2183139d ago (Edited 139d ago )

I hated this to when it released. I haven't much liked a ff game since ff10 as much , aside from ff7remake. I decided to give it another shot on my series x since it's not on a current ps and was liking it quite a bit(just takes me some time to get over things ) until star ocean 2 remake came out I was all over that.

Square should definitely remaster it or something for ps4 ps5

KillerB138d ago

my favorite jrpg trilogy ever

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70°

Interview: Making music with Masashi Hamauzu

Square Enix Blog: "How do you compose iconic songs that help define a legacy? We speak to legendary composer Masashi Hamauzu about his work on Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy XIII, and Final Fantasy VII Remake, and how to make unforgettable music."

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square-enix-games.com