150°
7.9

NowGamer: Final Fantasy XIII Review

NowGamer: A game that never comes together properly. However, the certain individual aspects of the game and its battle system are of such high quality that it's still engaging and fun to play... most of the time...

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Feckles5218d ago

The series has been pants since FFX. Even that was dull as hell.

bacon135218d ago

Wow, I was not expecting this at all. Yet another C+ type score for FF13. This is discouraging news for a game tailored and hyped for AAA status.

kewlkat0075218d ago

I agree since that one it's gone through some changes but whatever.

Saaking5218d ago (Edited 5218d ago )

I'm still buying it. PS3 version of course.

Eamon5218d ago

How was FFX dull?!

In my opinon, it was one of the best in the series...

Digitaldude5218d ago

FFX wasnt full, its anything Final Fantasy and Square Enix relate turns to crap.
Wont be buying it, had doubts WAY before all these reviews came out.

Bigpappy5218d ago (Edited 5218d ago )

this series is out of steam

WildArmed5218d ago

though I don tthink FFX was dull by any means, everything that followed definitely was. *cough* FFX-2*cough* lol

Pika-pie5217d ago

It looks like FFX will have been the last truley great FF game.

Sad really, im sure 13 will be a good game but just not the AAA I have bee waiting the past 5 years for.

Noctis Aftermath5217d ago

All these reviews that give the game around an 8 are very helpful, i find that they help keep my expectations for the game low so i will still enjoy it when i finally get it in my hands.

WildArmed5217d ago

Am I the only one that prefers that FF-series sticks to it's JRPG roots? instead of going all action/rpg mode on us.
I loved the gameplay of FF3-10. 12 sucked imo and it's getting worse if the battle system works like FF12.

GoD help me :(
I was a huge FF fan, but evverything after FFX has been very disappointing :(

+ Show (7) more repliesLast reply 5217d ago
AKNAA5218d ago (Edited 5218d ago )

it seems like this is the lowest rated Final fantasy game so far. Then again, this is still not the english version that's being reviewed by a "Fluent" japanese speaking guy at best so maybe the score might be better when it actually releases in the states...

@above, FFX was good. FFXII however, was kinda lame. I didn't even finish it! maybe it was the crappy uninspiring character design in that one or something?! vhann was it?? Lamest FF character that I've ever seen...

lordgodalming5218d ago

Seems like the lower-end sites are rushing through their import copies and then complaining to get hits.

Everyone's crying that this isn't the best game ever without realizing that it doesn't need to be. It just needs to be a Final Fantasy game.

KiRBY30005218d ago

hopefuly Versus will fix this downfall.

Redempteur5218d ago

"Everyone's crying that this isn't the best game ever without realizing that it doesn't need to be. It just needs to be a Final Fantasy game.
"

100% agree ...

Ninji5218d ago

Except it's not even that. FF13 is more like an action game (a very linear one).

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Son_Lee5218d ago

I don't care. I just don't. Day one purchase for me. Seems like the reviewers problem is linearity, but that's been everyone's problem. I still say this game will be amazing.

fallingdove5218d ago

Some linearity is good, too much is very bad. My concern is that it is the latter.

The 'movie set' graphics remind me of Xenosaga Episode 2. The world around me looked interesting and I wanted to explore it - Unfortunately, I was always stuck on a track with little to no divergence. I hated that.

Still crossing my fingers, but hope is waining at this point.

Son_Lee5218d ago

@fallingdove

I think you could live with linearity for 30 hours (9 chapters? however long it is till it opens up), and then it opens up and you can do lots of sidequests. I tell ya, as long as the story is good (seems like it is) then my complaints aren't warranted because everything else seems great as well. I recall extreme linearity in FFX till the Calm Lands, which was essentially 2/3 of the game in if memory serves me correct. FFX is the second best in the series in my opinion, behind VII because of what VII means to me personally. If it wasn't for personal memories and nostalgia, FFX would be number one, and FFX probably is the better game overall.

Anyway, I like that FF is keeping to try new things. No towns and whatnot are results of the story. I love that idea, as I've grown to despise just wandering around doing nothing. I love purpose.

Bottom line is people have to play it for themselves. Only two more months!

fallingdove5218d ago (Edited 5218d ago )

I am definitely anxious to see if the risky moves paid off. For me final fantasy entries are compared to Final Fantasy 6 which I consider to be the best of the series. It's pacing, story and linearity to exploration ratio were great. I hope that these classic elements in FF13 were streamlined and not removed completely as early reviews suggest.

I too can deal with the removal of fetch quests in towns, as long as the most important character - the world/atmosphere/ultimate conflict is not sacrificed.

ULTIMATE_REVENGE5218d ago

Something about this reviewer tells me he doesn't give games good scores often enough. Oh snap, his review average is 6.7!

Any ways, one of his arguments regarding the scenery being like a "Movie set" doesn't sound like a criticism, its actually a compliment. But I guess, given enough time, you can twist and turn anything which is good into something bad...

Son_Lee5218d ago

It's the negativity we've grown so accustomed to in our society. It's really quite sad. Especially on sites such as this one, we get devoured by fanboyism and just the fact that everyone seems to be a natural pessimist these days. It really makes me mad. We get so worked up over which console is better, who has the exclusives, who has the better ports, whatever. When really we should be enjoying the games that these developers take 5 years in this case to fully make. A movie set world? I'll take that, and it does sound like a compliment. I don't know about his constant low reviews, but it just proves my point about the negativity spread nowadays. Just amazes me.

coolfool5217d ago

not in the sense that I have played the game but in the sense that over polished lifeless scenery can feel just like a set. No real depth, nothing that actually adds to the atmosphere of the game. Of course, he could be exaggerating but for now, I can see where he is coming from. I thought FF XII was all polish and no substance.

5218d ago
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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."

Einhander1972118d 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.

Nyxus118d ago

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

Shane Kim117d ago (Edited 117d ago )

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

Elda117d 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_B116d ago

*One of the 3 equally bad FF's

DivineHand125116d ago (Edited 116d 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.

FinalFantasyFanatic116d ago (Edited 116d 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.

FinalFantasyFanatic116d ago (Edited 116d 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.

Gamingsince1981116d ago

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

-Foxtrot116d 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.

Elda116d 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.

-Foxtrot116d ago

Elda

Not just mine mate

A large majority

So….

Traecy115d ago

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

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gold_drake118d ago (Edited 118d 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

Eonjay116d ago

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

Snookies12118d 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!

Eonjay116d ago

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

shinoff2183118d ago (Edited 118d 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

KillerB117d 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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