A bland and very uninspired game. A stain on the Final Fantasy name, FF13 is not just a bad FF, it's a bad game period.
-Great graphics
Cons:
-Boring and bland storyline and characters
-Rediculously weak and unispired combat system
-Some annoying voice actors
-Repetitive and dull linear gameplay
There is no good way to put this, so let's just be blunt. Final Fantasy 13 is a complete letdown, it is bland and soulless, it lacks everything that made Final Fantasy great. It is as if all of SquareEnix's talent was thrown out the window. There is no excuse, when it comes to Final Fantasy you expect something legendary, especially considering that this is the first Final Fantasy on next gen systems, the very idea of that is exciting. But the bottom line is don't spend your money on FF13.
The main character of this game is Lightning, who has zero personality, probably one of the most boring characters in video game history. She always has the same dull look on her face, she has the same dull voice tone, there is nothing interesting about her. Not at any point in the game do you ever care about her or her cause, she could have just bee written out of the game entirely and it wouldn't have mattered. The rest of the characters have a little more personality, but ultimately it doesn't make up for it. Also a few of the characters have annoying voice actors, some are just monotone, others are super high pitched it makes you feel like your ears are bleeding. You might as well play the game with mute on, it wouldn't make any difference because the characters never have anything interesting to say, and the plot is just too convoluted for you to even care about in the first place.
The combat system for FF13 is a joke, unlike past FF games where the combat had depth and challenge, FF13 does the complete opposite. For starters you only control one character in combat, yes that's right, just one. And the other 2 just sit there and do their own thing, while you can pre set them to certain roles such as offensive or defensive etc....you still never feel in control of the fighting. It makes you feel like you are watching a movie and not playing a game. The combat set up is similar to past FF games and not like the one in FF12, but somewhere along the way Square forgot what made combat fun in those games. There is no strategy or depth in FF13's combat, you never feel in control of anything, it feels like a huge waste of time and resources.
Unfortunately the rest of FF13's gameplay is not much better. The game is on very linear paths, not once do you ever get a large area to explore, it's just wandering down path after path. FF13 follows the same exact formula throughout; Walk a bit down the linear paths, watch a cut scene, fight, walk down the path, watch a cut scene, fight etc....and on and on. No variety in this game, just the same repetitive gameplay over and over again. The only good thing to really be said about FF13 are it's graphics, which in a word are amazing. Great detail on exists on everything, and the character models are quite impressive. This combined with great art style makes FF13 quite a looker. Unfortunately looking good doesn't make up for lack of substance and quality.
FF13 is one of the biggest let downs in gaming history. I am not sure how it got such high reviews by GS and other publications, I feel that it was only due to having the FF name slapped on it, if this was not a FF game and was some other RPG, I seriously doubt the game would have gotten high reviews. Do not waste your money, this is not a game for FF fans or RPG fans, it's not a game for anyone period.
Final Fantasy 13 get's a 3.5/10