Having played every offline game in the main series, and beaten every one except XII (which I plan on getting around to someday), I can say with confidence that while this may not be the worst game in the series, it is the one with the least direction.
Final Fantasy XIII spends the first ten or so hours in the middle of what feels like the climax of the first act of a better-told story. And while this technique can be done well, nowhere in the game does it adequately fill the player in on just what has led up to those events. The player is left to piece things together from sparse, confusing, anachronistic flashbacks and entire essays in the datalogue to get even a basic understanding of the plot.
The characters and battle mechanics are the most polarizing things about the game, so I can only offer my opinion: while I fully expected to hate everyone except Sazh, the game actually surprised me in that the only characters that I really disliked by the end of the game were Lightning and Fang. I think people are too quick to write off the rest of the characters based solely on how they're introduced (and to be fair, I did too for a while.)
The battle mechanics, while not amazing, are no more "press-X-and-win" than games like Final Fantasy VII or even some of the earlier games. The only problem I can say I had was that they do present the illusion of freedom and depth, which only makes the restrictions all the more frustrating. At least the earlier games were upfront about their simplicity. However, I did find the last arc of the game to be suitably challenging, provided you skip all of the "side-quests." Most of which really are nothing more than "Go collect Twenty Bear Asses" with no semblance of world-building or character development.
The game is a confusing, rushed mess, with a cripplingly linear world, poor plot pacing, antagonist motivations that make no sense and actively seem to contradict their actions, and a lot of that annoying faux-symbolism and faux-intillect that Square has become famous for lately. However, if you can get past that, and check your brain at the door, it probably won't be the worst sixty hours you've ever sunk into a game.
Not For Everybody, Obviously
Having played every offline game in the main series, and beaten every one except XII (which I plan on getting around to someday), I can say with confidence that while this may not be the worst game in the series, it is the one with the least direction.
Final Fantasy XIII spends the first ten or so hours in the middle of what feels like the climax of the first act of a better-told story. And while this technique can be done well, nowhere in the game does it adequately fill the player in on just what has led up to those events. The player is left to piece things together from sparse, confusing, anachronistic flashbacks and entire essays in the datalogue to get even a basic understanding of the plot.
The characters and battle mechanics are the most polarizing things about the game, so I can only offer my opinion: while I fully expected to hate everyone except Sazh, the game actually surprised me in that the only characters that I really disliked by the end of the game were Lightning and Fang. I think people are too quick to write off the rest of the characters based solely on how they're introduced (and to be fair, I did too for a while.)
The battle mechanics, while not amazing, are no more "press-X-and-win" than games like Final Fantasy VII or even some of the earlier games. The only problem I can say I had was that they do present the illusion of freedom and depth, which only makes the restrictions all the more frustrating. At least the earlier games were upfront about their simplicity. However, I did find the last arc of the game to be suitably challenging, provided you skip all of the "side-quests." Most of which really are nothing more than "Go collect Twenty Bear Asses" with no semblance of world-building or character development.
The game is a confusing, rushed mess, with a cripplingly linear world, poor plot pacing, antagonist motivations that make no sense and actively seem to contradict their actions, and a lot of that annoying faux-symbolism and faux-intillect that Square has become famous for lately. However, if you can get past that, and check your brain at the door, it probably won't be the worst sixty hours you've ever sunk into a game.