The Battle system is NOT new!!!!!!!! ...... Grandia has been doing FF Xlll since SEGA SATURN!!!!!... Hell no FF Xlll isnt the best it doesn't even change my top 5

The battle system is new for the Final Fantasy saga. Why are you comparing inter-series when the article doesn't and it isn't even the theme in discussion? That's like saying that every game that uses a ATB like system is a copy of the system in FFIV. Seriously...

Care to explain this? I don't see how FFXIII's combat system is the same as Grandia's. I must have missed something.

Not to mention the way that FFXIII uses the battle system completely obliterates Grandia.

OP - I am still holding on to FFVII being the greatest game in the series. It is also my favorite game of all time at the moment. There is always the odd ball chance that once I finish FFXIII my mind will also change, but right now it seems like VII is comfortably first.

I will note that FFXIII has already topped games like FFX, FFIX, FFVIII, FFVI and all the other classics in my books already.

The battle system is OK. It just feels so uninvolved. Relentless Assault - auto - Diversity - auto -RA again. There is a little bit more depth than that, but nothing that really matters.

Sahz is a great character, my favourite since the cast of VII. The others are standard FF.

The price of telling the story in the way they chose is making the first 20+ hours feel like one long dungeon crawl.

I will finish the game and probably 100% it, but I cant see myself playing this ever again and I've played 4, 6, 7, 8, 10 many times over the years.

stop using auto, that's nubby shit. =P

Other then graphics this game have nothing better then the other ones.

No random battles in this game? sure maybe not but you still end up fighting 99% of every mob you meet.

No moggle - huge fail( don't count moggle shop)
No victory theme - huge fail
No real town - huge fail
controling one character - huge fail
I can keep on going why it only beats nr 12 from being the worst one.

I'm sorry to say but S-E has "casualized" final fantasy way to much. way to focused on the western market.

5) Not too keen on the battle system really, too much button mashing for me. I also tend to find some of the battles with the higher HP enemies very tedious as it seems to be a case of once you stagger them they are beaten and it's just a case of wearing down their health as they are permanently stuck floating in the air!

4) Couldn't disagree more. There is nothing this game needs more than something to break up the endless battle/cutscene/battle/cutscene sequence of the first half of the game.

3) Half agree. The story is interesting and certainly better paced than XII but I thought VII and IX were much told much better.

2) Definately agree here. Sazh is by far the most interesting character in the game, unfortunately Lightning, Snow and Hope are awful (imo!)

1) Inconsequential to the quality of the game.

All that said, I haven't finished the game yet so my opinions could change somewhat.

5. The battle system is okay. I wouldn't exactly call it new. The leveling and battle system are basically a mash up of the FFX and X-2 system. Except in both of those games you could control whole party. The battle system is interesting but I wouldn't call it great. Which normally wouldn't be a big deal but in FFXIII you are either in battle or in a cut scene.

4. The lack of an overhead map and towns is what makes FFXIII such a monotonous grind. There is nothing to break up the monotony of fighting to the next cut scene. You look for the fight, run to the yellow icon, see a cutscene and repeat. They didn't streamline FFXIII they stripped out all of the personality. Ripping so much out of the game, puts a bigger burden on the battle system, story, and characters. If you don't find those elements to be excellent you aren't left with much. 

3. The game does put you right into the story but I don't think it starts fast. The first ten chapters of the game are an extended tutorial phase. The game holds your hand over the first 15 to 20 hours. Slowly unlocking the features of the battle system and character progression. The story may start fast but the gameplay elements progress at a snails pace. 

2. I actually agree with this completely. Sazh was the character I thought I'd like the least, but he turned out excellently. Also, kudos to the writer for calling out the lack of depth to Cloud and Sephiroth's characters.

1. This has nothing to do with the quality of the game. It's seems like a tacked on reason just to get to a total of five reasons.

No, not at all. I was pulling my hair out over how long it took them to allow me to make my own group.

Me: Wow, Snow looks like he'll be a beast. I sure wish I could put him in my party.
Square-Enix: He's in your party. You just can't put him in a Battle Team™. But he's there and leveling up and stuff!
Me: This sucks! Why do I have to use Hope?
Square-Enix: Hope is a good character, and you only have to use him for the next 15 hours!
Me: Fuck you, Square-Enix! You are dead to me!

I'd say it's better than FF12 and FFX-2 so far, but I hated those a LOT.