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

[Flammablezeus]

Nothing wrong with liking it. There are a couple of other Final Fantasys that you might enjoy due to their similar gameplay: The Spirits Within and Advent Children.

 

[Mangod]

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.

Now, calling Lightning "shallow" and "one note" is rather unfair; she's got a big sister complex, she's acerbic, she's aggressive and perfectly willing to resort to violence (even seemingly entertaining the idea of writing off an entire human settlement as collateral damage), and most importantly, her interactions with Hope has me thoroughly convinced that she's got a Shôtarô complex as well.

She'd make a rather effective villain in any other setting, actually

 

[TT Kairen]

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.

Alright, lad, explain yourself. Please elaborate why you think this game isn't as bad.

Well, the main thing is that the character arcs are so well presented (mostly), and the narrative is told in a compelling way (again mostly). I found the Datalog to be rather redundant, merely summing up what was already shown in any given scene. I found the gameplay fast-paced and challenging, almost never using the Auto-Battle unless I predicted that it would do what I was already going to, which was quite rare.

The game does have some flaws which drag it down on my list of FF titles, such as the complete lack of NPC characters on the world map (hallway), Hope's character arc ending only about halfway through the game (which was disappointing, as his was easily the best until it just stopped and he stagnated the rest of the way), the Crystarium System being utter piss, and lack of Party Leader swapping mid-combat.

The linearity didn't bother me, exploration is not a mandatory facet of RPG's. If it fits the narrative (it does), and keeps a proper pace going in your story, I have no problem.

A couple of sequences did kind of strike me as odd, such as the false Primarch giving a speech at a race track (???), and then the party ATTACKING the race track (???). Also Jihl Nabaat was entirely useless as a character and could have easily been a faceless mook. But Rule of Fanservice.

I can elaborate on more if you wish, but I need to sleep for work.