The first Final Fantasy game of this generation fails to live up to the franchise name.
Let's first talk about what Final Fantasy XIII does right. Unlike many, I really enjoyed the combat system. I can see peoples complaints that all you had to do was press A. That changes in boss battles and in harder battles. Pressing just A will definitely not gain you the skills to make it to the final boss. You need to understand the significance of having different roles in the party. A Synergist is necessary and so is a Medic. But you also need roles like Commandos and Ravagers that will attack the enemy. There needs to be a proper balance in the party at all times or the team falls apart and you will find yourself dying more times in battle than ever before. The gameplay is fast paced and because of this makes them more enjoyable than the slow battle systems of previous Final Fantasy games or Lost Odyssey.
The graphics are also one of the best I've seen in a game. You can tell that Square-Enix put alot of time and effort into the technical aspects of the game. The characters look real and the graphics definitely helped me feel more immersed in the game. The orchestrated music is also done really well. Even though FFX and FFVII's were more prominent and epic, I felt that FFXIII still had some great orchestrated pieces.
While I enjoyed the gameplay and the technical aspects of the game, there were two major aspects that insulted me as a fan of Japanese Role Playing Games. The first deals with the linearity of the game. When I think of Final Fantasy, the first things that come to mind are the massive amounts of side-quests and hidden bosses that make me play the game for 100 hours instead of 40. Side quests do not exist in Final Fantasy XIII. There are no extra places to explore, no quests to complete after you beat the game, and nothing significant to do besides missions to fight more enemies. There are not even any cities to explore. The game fails on this behalf. When I play a Final Fantasy I should be immersed in the world but in this game that is impossible.
Now I could understand the lack of being immersed if they wanted to make the game more focused on its characters and their story. However, the story is terrible. Never before have I been more confused in a video games story than this one. I've played games with deep stories but this one is just confusing. The ending can not even be explained in words by me. This is the first time I've ever been able to say that.
Overall, Final Fantasy XIII is okay. The linearity and lack of a understandable story make this one more forgettable than memorable.