I... really like FF13... am I weird?

[Sarah Kerrigan]

I loved XIII myself. The story was interesting, I got deep into the combat, and Lightning is one of my favorite female characters of all time. I see why people hate it, and yes, it is linear and kinda repetitive, but I broke myself through it and I loved it.

 

[ShinyCharizard]

Personally, FFVI is not my fave either, but it does rank higher than XIII. The truly overrated FF around here is FFIX.

The best FF is still Tactics.

Yes! Finally someone who agrees on IX being overrated.

"Ok, Oskar, you get the car; Jesper, you get the gasoline; Annika, you get the torches; and I'll google ShinyCharizard's home adress."

Haha I laughed pretty damn hard at that.

 

[King Billi]

Wait a minute? Final Fantasy 13 has not one but TWO sequels now...

Are we sure that enjoying this game really is the 'minority' opinion?

 

[Foolery]

Thanks for all the responses. For reference, I have played I, II, III, IV, VI, VII, VIII, X, X-2, and XIII. I liked I, III, IV, VII, VIII, X, and XIII (though still not quite done) to varying degrees.

I see a distinct lack of XII and Tactics. No love for Yasumi Matsuno's work, eh? I see how it is. Haha
Anyway, are you weird? Nah. It's not my cup of tea, but I could see why someone might like it.

VI is overated btw so is VII and on this site IX also Ocarina is overrated and Planescape Torment and pretty much any classic game but I think thats down to inflated expectations also VI and Planescape are much more cult than VII and Ocarina so they have a few ardent fans but nowhere near enough to annoy enough people for a counterclaim like in VIIs or Ocarinas case.

Excellent. Let the fighting amongst fans begin.

...I didn't care for VI either. Or VII. Or IX.

The only FF games I really enjoyed were IV, VIII, XII and Tactics. X was ok. Everything else was fairly dull for me.

 

[TT Kairen]

I see a distinct lack of XII and Tactics. No love for Yasumi Matsuno's work, eh? I see how it is. Haha
Anyway, are you weird? Nah. It's not my cup of tea, but I could see why someone might like it.

I'm currently in the process of playing all the Final Fantasy's I missed over the years. IX is next on my list (had to skip ahead to XIII for reasons). Trust me, I REALLY want to play XII. It looks awesome. Unfortunately, there are no working PS2's or copies of it in my house. I don't know why every FF is available on PSN except XII.

 

[Foolery]

I see a distinct lack of XII and Tactics. No love for Yasumi Matsuno's work, eh? I see how it is. Haha
Anyway, are you weird? Nah. It's not my cup of tea, but I could see why someone might like it.

I'm currently in the process of playing all the Final Fantasy's I missed over the years. IX is next on my list (had to skip ahead to XIII for reasons). Trust me, I REALLY want to play XII. It looks awesome. Unfortunately, there are no working PS2's or copies of it in my house. I don't know why every FF is available on PSN except XII.

It's likely not on the PSN because they haven't created a PS2 classic version of it. Or they're considering an HD remaster.

 

[TerranV]

Don't feel bad about liking something!

However, I found the game boring. The game lacks any real world building. The plot never slows down and lets you interact with the world and its characters. Instead it shuffles you down a hallway from one cutscene to another. It looks exciting, but without the proper context it all falls flat. Despite alot of stuff happening in the first 20 hours, it still feels like nothing significant actually occurs.

 

[debtcollector]

Somehow, I think I've spent more time in XIII than I have with any other Final Fantasy. It's bizarre since it's not even my favorite, but for me, it's so replayable. I think that actually has something to do with its linearity. Since you can't backtrack, playing it again is the only way to revisit areas and see the pretty sights.

I can understand complaints about the linearity, and I wish they didn't bother including auto-battle, and there were a few niggling issues with the battle system (party leader death=game over? Fuck you), and Hope was a piece of shit, but I honestly enjoyed it a hell of a lot. It certainly makes me cringe less than X does. I mean, I liked X, and still do, but damn that voice acting is god awful.

It's only weird if you think he story is well told and well written, considering how awful it is.

I am so weird, then. Honestly, the story made me think and such, and interested me enough to keep me reading the datalog (I agree they should have shown, not told, in that respect). I hate to say this on this thread, but the only FF story I enjoyed more was...XII's. Seriously, what is with the XII hate?

So, TL;DR, if you're weird, then a lot of us are.

EDIT:

go look up Jesse Cox's playthrough of FFXIII-Millionty-the-third and you will see a former lover of FF break and give up on his favourite series. That game is trash and I don't understand why anyone would try to defend it.
On the other hand however, it proved my idea that Lightening has no emotion because she literally states "I have no emotion"

Spoiler

 

[Mangod]

Wait a minute? Final Fantasy 13 has not one but TWO sequels now...

Are we sure that enjoying this game really is the 'minority' opinion?

It's kind of weird, actually. Lightning seems to be quite popular, going by popularity pools (and Toriyama's creepy obsession with the girl), but the sales figures for the games have decreased drastically so far.

The first FFXIII game sold 1.7 million copies on launch in Japan, FFXIII-2 (wow, that looks like a registration number) 524,000 and Lightning Returns sold 277,000 copies on launch in Japan.

For a series whos main characters are so incredibly popular, there doesn't seem to be a fanbase who're willing to pay for more games with them. It just seems strange, doesn't it; you'd figure there'd be more fans coming into the series, or at least old fans returning for it, but every subsequent games number of sold units has instead shrunk by 50% at launch. I can't for the life of me understand how these two go together; it's like a square peg in a round hole.

 

[EternallyBored]

Wait a minute? Final Fantasy 13 has not one but TWO sequels now...

Are we sure that enjoying this game really is the 'minority' opinion?

There's a bit of speculation here that the XIII trilogy exists in part because the project lead has a somewhat unhealthy obsession with Lightning, and uses his position in the company to push the character more than some of the other executives would like, and while that may be rumor, it is fact that the company banked heavily on FF 13 being the cornerstone of building a shared Final Fantasy universe that would introduce concepts across multiple games. Even the current FF 15 in development was originally yet another 13 spin off, and even now there are rumors that the end of 13-3 is meant to be a tie in to 15 and if not that, there are also rumors that Lightning will appear in 15, of course the game is far enough out that that could still change or turn out to be false.

Square wanted the 13 trilogy, 13 versus (now 15), and the mobile game, Type 0, to share concepts and have a linked mythos. Things like l'cie, fal'cie, and ragnarok were going to carry over to an entire universe across multiple unconnected Final Fantasy series, creating a shared multiverse that they were calling Fabula Nova Crystallis. There were interviews back around 2009, where Square stated that they wanted to use FF 13 as the basis for every future FF game.

Suffice to say, the 13 trilogy is a bit of an odd beast, Square-Enix put a lot of bank into making the various 13 games, and gambled a bit on their success, to the point that a number of sequels and spinoffs were already in production simultaneously, before the original 13 even released.

The trilogy itself, while not exactly bombing, has met with lukewarm sales outside of the original FF 13. While a drop in sales is a reasonable expectation for an FF title that isn't one one of the main numbered properties, FF 13-2 sold half as many copies as 13 did at launch, and released to some of the lowest reviews a Final Fantasy game has received since Dirge of Cerberus, coincedentally, 13-2 also received a lot of flak for releasing with a cliffhanger ending that only got a proper conclusion through paid DLC. Even now, 13-2 is still one of the worst selling final fantasy home console games, but at over 3 millions sales world wide, it didn't flop, it only only really failed in comparison to other Final Fantasy games.

So far, Lightning Returns, has released to the lowest first week sales across Japan and North America for any console Final Fantasy game. While reviews seem to be better than 13-2, and seem to be about where the scores for 10-2 are, the actual trilogy seems to be set to end the trilogy with a whimper, rather than a bang, sales wise at least.

So, in the end, 13 sold enough to push the trilogy through, but the sequels sales numbers seem to indicate that liking the original game might indeed be the minority opinion. From here at least, it looks like enough people disliked the original to refrain from buying the sequels, to the point that the last game of the trilogy is turning out to be one of the worst selling console final fantasies in history, at least the worst first week sales in FF history anyway.

 

[EternallyBored]

Wait a minute? Final Fantasy 13 has not one but TWO sequels now...

Are we sure that enjoying this game really is the 'minority' opinion?

It's kind of weird, actually. Lightning seems to be quite popular, going by popularity pools (and Toriyama's creepy obsession with the girl), but the sales figures for the games have decreased drastically so far.

The first FFXIII game sold 1.7 million copies on launch in Japan, FFXIII-2 (wow, that looks like a registration number) 524,000 and Lightning Returns sold 277,000 copies on launch in Japan.

For a series whos main characters are so incredibly popular, there doesn't seem to be a fanbase who're willing to pay for more games with them. It just seems strange, doesn't it; you'd figure there'd be more fans coming into the series, or at least old fans returning for it, but every subsequent games number of sold units has instead shrunk by 50% at launch. I can't for the life of me understand how these two go together; it's like a square peg in a round hole.

I remember reading about this, and what some people in Japan thought about why this separation seems to exist. As near as I can figure from what was proposed, Lightning is a popular character, largely because she's attractive, and unfortunately, while she is a popular character, the actual game she was in wasn't exactly well liked. Basically, people want to see artwork and cosplay of her, they don't really care much about seeing her in another FF game. It might also have to do with Square-Enix very heavily marketing her in Japan compared to the west, she was created and marketed directly to the Japanese audience, while the Western audience got more general advertisements, and lightning shared advertisement space with other characters, like Snow, who was stated to have been specifically designed to try and appeal to Western audiences.

Who knows for sure though, it could also have something to do with 13-2 not actually featuring Lightning as the main character, and the games poor reviews and sales souring too many people to want to try and get back into the series with Lightning Returns.

Also, how true are the rumors of Toriyama's obsession with Lightning? I've heard the ones about how he has a shrine to her in his office, and the leaked reports supposedly from Square staff, about how Lightning Returns was basically his pet project. Judging by the weird obsession that Lightning Returns seems to have with bending the story around her and putting her in as many skimpy outfits and borderline fetish wear as they can get away with, I honestly wouldn't be surprised if at least someone on staff over there was a little too into her. Then again, I wouldn't put it past Square-Enix to just be trying to set her up as the Mary Sue goddess of the Nova Chrystallis project either, they really really wanted FF 13 to be like the cornerstone of an entirely new direction for Final Fantasy games in general, dunno how many of them are still holding on to that plan though with the 13 trilogy kind of fizzling, the hand held game being a non-entity, and 15 seeming to have less to do with the world of 13 with each passing day.

EDIT: To put the failure of the final piece of the 13 trilogy into perspective, the HD re-release of FF X and X-2 on PS3 and Vita sold more copies in Japan in its first week than Lightning Returns did. The 10 year old HD release of an old Final Fantasy game and its sappy pop sequel is currently selling better than the big budget finale to the FF 13 trilogy, so despite Lightning's popularity in character polls, apparently even Japan will take seeing Tidus' whiny ass in his old game over a new game starring Lightning.

 

[MrBaskerville]

It's only weird if you think he story is well told and well written, considering how awful it is.

I am so weird, then. Honestly, the story made me think and such, and interested me enough to keep me reading the datalog (I agree they should have shown, not told, in that respect). I hate to say this on this thread, but the only FF story I enjoyed more was...XII's. Seriously, what is with the XII hate?

So, TL;DR, if you're weird, then a lot of us are.

EDIT:

go look up Jesse Cox's playthrough of FFXIII-Millionty-the-third and you will see a former lover of FF break and give up on his favourite series. That game is trash and I don't understand why anyone would try to defend it.
On the other hand however, it proved my idea that Lightening has no emotion because she literally states "I have no emotion"

Spoiler

Atleast we cqn agree on XII, i didn't like it at first but i've been revisiting it lately and it's great. It's defineately one of the better stories, maybe even up there with IX.

 

[gavinmcinns]

I'm currently nearing the end of the game in Final Fantasy XIII, and I honestly can't see what all the hate is for. Is it flawed? Oh hell yeah. But it is by no means the absolute cesspit of gaming that I keep hearing. Then again, I'm the weirdo who thinks Final Fantasy VI isn't the grand masterpiece THAT'S made out to be either (just finished that before starting XIII).

I'm currently playing through all the Final Fantasy games I missed over the years, if anybody is wondering.

I highly reccomend you start with 7 and 9

The best explanation for why FF13 was bad was because the story is so poor. The characters are shallow and one-note. None of the their motivations are ever explained. For example, why is lightning a soldier? Why is she cold? How does she know snow? What is their back story? Why does she suddenly come around to hope? There are no compelling or convincing reasons for any of these things. Just poor.

Also the gameplay is so uninvolving, and there's no exploration or variety in it. I want a treasure hunting mini game where I find buried maps and get clues to where the ultimate weapons and armors are hidden. Just an unacceptable my and after the masterpiece that was 9

 

[Nieroshai]

I liked XIII much better than XII. Man, did I hate XII...

But no, you're not weird. Just a minority on the internet it seems. I had fun playing it, although it could have been a lot better. I feel they addressed some of the concerns in XIII-2, and while I haven't playing XIII-3 yet, I did pick it up and I'm looking forward to playing that one too.

I too find linear to be miles better than boring any day. It just seemed that nothing in XII needed me as a hero to be there for.

 

[TT Kairen]

I highly reccomend you start with 7 and 9

9 is the next one I'm playing after finishing the XIII trilogy. I beat 7 when I was a teenager, no need to do it over again. But even back then I thought it was kind of overrated. Nowadays it's heralded as some Holy Grail of gaming. Just overblown.

 

[go-10]

go look up Jesse Cox's playthrough of FFXIII-Millionty-the-third and you will see a former lover of FF break and give up on his favourite series. That game is trash and I don't understand why anyone would try to defend it.
On the other hand however, it proved my idea that Lightening has no emotion because she literally states "I have no emotion"

don't need to have someone else validate my opinions, I enjoyed FF XIII and I've been playing FF games since I was 6, next to Zelda it's my favorite video game series and have yet to miss a single entry of the main series or the spin offs (Tactics, Dissidia, etc.) My favorite became VII, but that's not to say IV, Tactics, and VI aren't amazing by themselves. Despite being a long time fan of the series the only game I would say I didn't enjoy was the original FF XIV (before A Realm Reborn) so yeah that means I enjoyed XIII and XIII-2 and right now I'm enjoying the hell out of Lightning Returns.

I know I'm in the minority when I say I like XIII/XIII-2, but then again who really cares? Its my opinion and just because some random youtube guy that was a long time fan gives up on it and hates it, doesn't mean I have to give up on it and hate it as well. I don't defend the game, but I will state my opinion just as you have stated yours, and while you claim that Lightning is dull and without emotion I find her to be one of the most likable FF main characters since Zidane in FF IX

 

[Ishigami]

Yes, yes I think you are weird. Liking something is one thing actually believing it is any good is another. FFXIII is simply not good no matter you liking it.
I read several times here that some believe the story is good? how is any story good in which the protagonists just need to do nothing at all to spoil the plan of the villain and they actually know this as the villain told them so several times during the course of his actions? It simply baffles me that someone could think ?yea that?s engaging?.
Not to mention that it is an astonishingly simple plot to begin with that was made unnecessary convoluted by odd design decisions like the similar sounding fantasy names, unknown and inconsistent rules of how the world works or hiding information in data logs.
The game has even the balls to outright tell the player, as far as I remember, at least twice that the next several hours of gameplay will not advance the plot in any meaningful way and are just there to power up the characters which by the way are all paper cutout morons.
And this got nothing to do with it being an FF. If had a different name it would still be a very underwhelming and confusing mess of a game.
If you like more examples why it is not good you may want to check out Spoony on it: http://spoonyexperiment.com/game-reviews/final-fantasy-series/final-fantasy-xiii/
I have little to add to his videos.

 

[EternallyBored]

Yes, yes I think you are weird. Liking something is one thing actually believing it is any good is another. FFXIII is simply not good no matter you liking it.
I read several times here that some believe the story is good? how is any story good in which the protagonists just need to do nothing at all to spoil the plan of the villain and they actually know this as the villain told them so several times during the course of his actions? It simply baffles me that someone could think ?yea that?s engaging?.
Not to mention that it is an astonishingly simple plot to begin with that was made unnecessary convoluted by odd design decisions like the similar sounding fantasy names, unknown and inconsistent rules of how the world works or hiding information in data logs.
The game has even the balls to outright tell the player, as far as I remember, at least twice that the next several hours of gameplay will not advance the plot in any meaningful way and are just there to power up the characters which by the way are all paper cutout morons.
And this got nothing to do with it being an FF. If had a different name it would still be a very underwhelming and confusing mess of a game.
If you like more examples why it is not good you may want to check out Spoony on it: http://spoonyexperiment.com/game-reviews/final-fantasy-series/final-fantasy-xiii/
I have little to add to his videos.

While I agree that the story is nonsensical in parts, and even when it makes sense, it's still pretty stupid, the heroes doing nothing wouldn't have actually stopped the villain.

Spoony was exaggerating for comedic effect, if they had actually done nothing, then they would all turn into monsters, and the immortal fal'cie would have just tried the whole scheme again with a different group of people. It makes sense for the heroes to fight in order to prevent their own deaths, and to hopefully defeat the villain to prevent them from succeeding in the future with a different set of pawns.

Of course that doesn't excuse the fact that the villains entire plan ends with them destroying Orphan, which they pretty much blindly and knowingly do right up until midway through the final boss fight. Doing nothing may have just been delaying the inevitable, but it doesn't really excuse them coming up with no plan whatsoever, and hoping that just beating up Barthandelus for the 4th time would somehow stop him, and they would succeed in defying fate by marching blindly into it with nothing more than the hope that some screaming about it enough will somehow make it come true. Although technically it does, but that's because the ragnarok reveal is a total last second ass pull that saves everyone.

 

[Alhazred]

FF13 was the moment I realised that there is no hope for the franchise, and that the days of the JRPG as a source of great games is truly over. Since then, Xenoblade is the only JRPG I've played that captures the feel of the glory days of FF6, FF7 and Chrono Trigger.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

I'm currently nearing the end of the game in Final Fantasy XIII, and I honestly can't see what all the hate is for. Is it flawed? Oh hell yeah. But it is by no means the absolute cesspit of gaming that I keep hearing. Then again, I'm the weirdo who thinks Final Fantasy VI isn't the grand masterpiece THAT'S made out to be either (just finished that before starting XIII).

I've been saying that for years. Ever since I played it really.

The game is paced badly and takes forever to get out Tutorial mode and into the actual game - and that is really the only major flaw. All the other flaws stem from that overarching flaw.

And once the game stops being a tutorial, there's hardly any left.

Is it good? Yes. Is it great? No. It had potential to be great - it has good characters who actually change and develop over the course of the story (becoming less annoying as they grow up) and a neat, if strange combat mechanic that is fun once the game gives you enough options to actually use the mechanic properly. I mean, you're practically on Pulse before you can pull off strategies like Com/Com/Com for one attack, then Rav/Rav/Rav to build the gauge, switching to Sen/Sen/Sen whenever the enemy telegraphs its attack.

That's one of the reasons I love 13-2 so much - it is like FF 13 was the tutorial and FF 13-2 is the actual game that lets you use all those cool mechanics to their fullest extent.

Anyway, yeah. Good game that gets too much flak for some fairly minor, if annoying flaws.

Edit: Whenever anyone says that the characters in FF13 are "one note" or "shallow", I instantly get the impression that that person hasn't played the whole game. Or if they did, they stopped paying attention because character development is one of the things that FF 13 did not only right but better than many, many previous FF games.