Final Fantasy 13 worth playing?

[Kguillemette | 1,544]

I've been looking for something to sink my teeth into lately, and I've had this in my collection for a long time but have never even thought about it until now. Is it any good? For the record I have not enjoyed any Final Fantasy since 7. The stories have just been too bizarre for me to truly enjoy.

[zeppelin03 | 314]

I have played half of it and enjoyed it.  It was a game I used for an all-nighter to shift my sleep to overnights then just never got back to. 

The story is the usual FF stuff where you are going to be lost for a while as the story unfolds.  I actually prefer how it is a linear journey.  It gives me a path to follow and enjoy the story.  Also, the battle system was different than the others I have played.

If you have an Xbox One the upgrades for backwards compatibility were really well done.  I'm not sure if they were on X only or the S as well. 

[Jicsan | 589]

I loved it.  I played it enough to get the platinum trophy on PS4.  I bought the dlc forever ago and played most of it... been meaning to get back to it.  It got some hate because of the 'dude bro' cast of characters, but that's such an internet thing to complain about.  The story is pretty focused and the combat is fun (Warp Strike is so good, I missed it in FF7 Remake)

EDIT:  I swear that topic said FF 15 when I clicked it, lol.

Edited August 13, 2020 by Jicsan
I'm dumb

[themisfit138 | 523]

The story of FF13 never makes any sense. The names of the factions are too close to each other for me to remember which group is which. Also, the story is too out there, with all the double and triple crosses and whatnot.  But, after only 60 hours in when you finally make it to Grand Pulse. The game opens up and starts to feel like an ok Final Fantasy. On a good note after Vanille learns death, the fights become much shorter. 

This is just what I can remember about it. It has been 10 years since I played it. 

Edited August 13, 2020 by themisfit138

[leonemesis | 44]

I enjoyed it despite all the hate it got during release. Not a great FF game, but still a good game in my humble opinion. Though a lot of the criticism it gets is deserved, like the battle system taking forever to open up and the story never really impresses, it´s your standard "save the world" fare. FF XIII-2 managed to shake things up a bit with a better battle system and time related gameplay, but the story went all over the place with more holes than Swiss cheese.

Anyway, give it a shot, if you already own it, don´t see why not.

[AstralSoul | 502]

It's good but if you didn't like any FF since 7 then this certainly won't change your mind. 

[erac | 78]

I liked all three (13, 13-2, 13-3). But if you don't like FF then it's not for you.

[Tanooki | 4,932]

I never finished it but got fairly close.  I thought the story was fantastic and the pretty linear style which is unique for the franchise was in a way quite refreshing.  ULtimately I felt when it late game ends up in the usual open to walk around world traditional style the game just felt cheap, slapped haphazardly together and a bit confusing which caused my interest to tank within hours and quit playing it entirely.  It was just badly handled dropping into an area with a pretty weak level and the only pointers are these vague markers that don't even quite send you as well as they should to the next story part somewhere in the game.

[Kguillemette | 1,544]

On 8/13/2020 at 2:55 AM, erac said:

I liked all three (13, 13-2, 13-3). But if you don't like FF then it's not for you.

Well, 7 is a top 5 game all time for me and 6 is top 20. Starting with 9, I just haven't been able to enjoy them. Seems 13 might be worth a try if it's nice and linear and easy to follow.

[Tanooki | 4,932]

Strange tastes in top games, but either way, yeah if linearity and a nice good flowing story that would keep you pressed to learn more and keep going would be a motivator then this game is for you.  It only gets into the weeds at the back later end of the game, and I imagine having a guide would take that dumb confusion out which I didn't at the time.

[Kguillemette | 1,544]

18 hours ago, Tanooki said:

Strange tastes in top games, but either way, yeah if linearity and a nice good flowing story that would keep you pressed to learn more and keep going would be a motivator then this game is for you.  It only gets into the weeds at the back later end of the game, and I imagine having a guide would take that dumb confusion out which I didn't at the time.

For me, the concept of an open world in a jrpg is something that should be earned and not given. Pretty much all of my favorite rpgs don't unlock the open world until 3/4 of the way through the main story(usually via airship or some other flying machine)

FF6 and 7 are strange to have in top games? I thought those were pretty consensus all timers!

 

Either way, I'm going to sit down in a few minutes, drink some beers and give FF13 a spin. Hopefully it grabs me out the gate.

[Nintegageo | 582]

It is the only game in the series that I just stopped playing and never had the desire to beat.

[Kguillemette | 1,544]

I put about an hour into it. So far there hasn't been any variety to gameplay, there's been a couple of tutorials that for all intents and purposes just told me to mash the X button. I was expecting a linear story, but not such a linear map. The map and exploration has quite literally been a straight line! The overture showed beautiful mountainous landscapes, flowing rivers and blue skies to travel through, so we'll get to something more interesting to travel through eventually, I suppose. I guess they did away with good old fashion walking up to npcs and talking to them. They just kinda start talking when you walk up to them, makes me miss the good old days.

I like the rapid switching up character arcs that's happening so far. It's really the only thing keeping me engaged. The visuals are incredible, but not really important to me, especially as someone who grew up on an NES. 

I'm not really feeling any sense of accomplishment in fighting battles. Only a handful of enemies drop anything of value, your health is restored after each fight, and I haven't been able to figure out if experience is a thing. Inventory management is usually a fun factor for me, and this doesn't really have anything like that so far.

That being said, this is a giant sci-fi epic where we seem to be rebelling against some evil governmental entity and fighting for survival against extermination. The story is moving pretty quick so far and is quite interesting. I'll definitely be playing it more to see where it goes.

Edited August 16, 2020 by Kguillemette

[Tanooki | 4,932]

Keep going, I don't remember it auto-refilling health all the time maybe it's earlier?  The game is kind of easy early on but once you get into the Eidolon fights(espers if you think FF6) it gets more challenging as it goes along.  It's just very linear and very story driven so if the story and characters /arcs don't grab you you'll get fed up with it.

[Kguillemette | 1,544]

5 hours in and It's starting to come together a little bit. The leveling system got introduced along with magic, jobs, and all that normal FF stuff after this big event a and like 10 minute flashback/cutsceen. I gotta say that I'm enjoying it so far. The world is starting to make sense and the pacing in on point for a modern squeenix game. 

[Abelardo | 154]

I've considered playing this one and got a similar taste in FF games so I'm interested in your impressions. I had someone recommend it to me a long time ago when he started playing it (when it was new basically), then somewhere halfway in his playthrough he retracted his recommendation, I don't know what's up with this game that many players seem to lose interest halfway though.

[RH | 4,903]

29 minutes ago, Abelardo said:

I've considered playing this one and got a similar taste in FF games so I'm interested in your impressions. I had someone recommend it to me a long time ago when he started playing it (when it was new basically), then somewhere halfway in his playthrough he retracted his recommendation, I don't know what's up with this game that many players seem to lose interest halfway though.

Sounds to me like the game wears out it's welcome.  Other than the Wii, the most modern system I own is an xbox 360 I picked up dirt cheap, and I have only one game.  I'm considering getting a PS3, this game and a few other must haves. But, I don't want to sink any time into this if halfway through it, like so many, I give up.

[Kguillemette | 1,544]

17 minutes ago, RH said:

Sounds to me like the game wears out it's welcome.  Other than the Wii, the most modern system I own is an xbox 360 I picked up dirt cheap, and I have only one game.  I'm considering getting a PS3, this game and a few other must haves. But, I don't want to sink any time into this if halfway through it, like so many, I give up.

How much is to blame on just sheer length of the game though? I am admittedly going into this looking for a time sink, though I will drop it like a bad habit if the story gets dumb 20 hours in. I am digging the combat, though. It's like a modified ATB with a number of moves per turn. The defaults are very simple and effective, and the game doesn't overwhelm you with tutorials out the gate leading you to forget the complexities. I also enjoy how every time you fire the game back up, it begins with a nice summary of the story thus far. This has been very helpful since I play maybe 45 minutes at a time a few times a week. 

[Tanooki | 4,932]

FF13 is divisive among FF fans if for any unifying reason other than the linearity, it's bitching about Hope and Vanille just being annoying, more so largely Hope the dope.

Personally as free time hours have shrunk and all that I came to actually prefer and enjoy FF13 compared to most of the post-NIntendo mainline console titles since.  The story is actually quite good and compelling enough to make you want to see what happens, and since it's a set level of time, characters, and fallout leading up to a very bad thing that can/will happen to your people, you kind of want to care more.  The battle engine is pretty interesting, engaging, considering how it's more live while still being turn based.  That said though, it's jarring, late game, it falls off the rails once you leave where you start out and play in for much of the game into this then open world scenario more like a traditional RPG(FF game) instead.  You get left with weak pointers, and dumped wondering kind of where to go, and worse when you get there you're pretty underleveled so it moves from being a fluid progression to a monotonous grind fest.  My interest in it fizzled after a bit of dealing with being kind of semi-lost going in circles as I wish it kind of kept it tight to the end.

I'd say stick with it, as the story unfolds you'll get more pulled into it.  I tried the sequel a bit, it's more open, still pulls you along more than some others do, but I kind of bailed on it pretty fast and ignored the third party entirely pretty much as well as I touched it even less.  I ended up having them all on PC(Steam) but started the original and got farthest on a PS3.

[Sumez | 2,941]

Did you play Lost Odyssey? Because if you didn't, that would be a good approach to trying a modern "Final Fantasy" that you might like.

That said, if you didn't like FF9, it doesn't do a whole lot different.

[Tanooki | 4,932]

Or perhaps if you want a modern final fantasy, since FF went off the rails, check into Bravely Default.  That franchise basically is FF with the job system and all from various titles from the 1990s, except that bravely or default option to charge up better damages during combat.