I don't really understand the people saying XII was hard. I mean, it's harder than X, but that's to be expected - X was a cakewalk. But legitimately difficult on its own terms? Not really.

XII, well the 30 hours I managed to play, was pretty easy. Gambits made the game boring as hell. The game usually played it self, minus the boss battles.

I don't think either really deserved to sell particularly well. Both had their problems.

FFXII had some great characters, a mature story and had plenty to do in terms of side quests and exploration. However, although the story was potentially impressive, I don't think it was told particularly well. It really did seem to be a case of unfulfilled potential, likely as a result of the change in director midway through development. The characters of Vaan and Penolope were really a bit out of place and towards the end I didn't really feel the story had been told appropriately.

FFXIII on the other hand was very linear which meant it could focus on telling the story. Unfortunately, the story was essentially a tale of teenage angst more in line with Dawsons Creek than anything else. The focus is heavily on the characters and they're developed well for the most part, but in many cases their emotions and characterisation feel out of place. For instance, I don't expect a boy of Hope's age to make emotionally mature and well thought out speeches when fairly recently he'd just seen his mother die as well as witness destruction and death on such a huge scale. Of course, the linearity was also an issue. It didn't have the core traditions we expect from a Final Fantasy; the towns; the airships; the minigames; the side quests. In fact, the only side quests were all focused around the battle system.

The pacing was off for a large chunk at the start of FFXIII, partly due to the linearity of the game resulting in it feeling like an extended intro. I actually think FFXII suffered a similar (although not quite as severe) problem but for the opposite reason. It gave the player too much to do early on in the story, leading to fragmented storytelling.

I think both games have unfulfilled potential. I would have prefered a game with the writing and story of XII mixed with the cutscenes and storytelling focus of XIII, but with additional exploration and side quests of XII. I don't think that's too much to ask is it?

You may notice I haven't actually commented on the battle systems of either game. That's actually because that's the one area I think both excelled in. I'm not actually sure which one I prefer.

"XII, well the 30 hours I managed to play, was pretty easy. Gambits made the game boring as hell. The game usually played it self, minus the boss battles."

I really don't understand the people who complain that gambits made XII boring. Just turn off the goddamn gambits!

I did. The game still bored me. Vaan was awful and the small size of the license board made my characters become increasing similar. I really wish SE would have let Matsuno finish his version of FFXII. I'm certain that game would have been far better that what was delivered. That said, FFXII was far better than that digital abomination known as XIII. Stripping out the fun part of the JRPG genre, and leaving you with cutscenes and endless battles does not make a good JRPG.

And with 6 years of development time, the cost of HD development, and the cost of a late-development port, it only cost them 3 times as much to make! Yay Square Enix. You can only go up.

PS: I'm actually enjoying the game, now 30 hours in and on Gran Pulse, but it's not incredible. The combat system is great, but still mid-range for an FF game at best, and not near my favorite JRPGs this gen (Namely TWEWY, Lost Odyssey, Yakuza 3).

I remember being hopeful that the game would be fun once I got to Gran Pulse. And I convinced myself that it was, kind of, for a little while. But then I realized it wasn't really fun at all.

Edit: Something's wrong witht he forum. People write stuff, then press the "done" button and there it is: a post with no text...

Oh, Final Fantasy fanbase (and those who were in the past), don't you go changin'!