@chris 212223 I'm not a new generation of gamer (my first FF was FF6 back round 1997 on my dads gaming machines), I'm not a 'hardcore gamer' but probably 70% of the games I play are Jrpgs (and quite a few not so common ones too), I have played all the FF's multiple times, and FF13 is my 2nd favourite game, of all games, ever...

Also having been in Japan at the release of FF13 and for a few months afterward, I met (and know) many 'old school Jrpg' players that feel similarly (that 13 is in the top tier of all FF's, many believe it is the next best to FF10 (which seems to be an almost unanimous favourite with the Japanese I know)).

but it does seem to be one of those games people love to stir up hate over in the english speaking world (where I also know a decent number of fans of the game, many from this site), It is one of those games that is better to let everyone hold their own opinions on or you will be arguing forever

...which in the interest of not doing so, I will end the comment here (almost)

Cant wait for XIII-2, most anticipated game of the year for me!

I agree with you 100%.

FFXIII is also my 2nd favourite FF behind FFVII.

So you admit that the game is repetitive and that you only liked it because of the story? Well that's actually an exceptional explanation as I've played and like many games purely because of the story. However, don't try to convince me that it's one of the best FFs out there. I respect your opinion that you think it's one of the best, I don't like trying to be convinced a shallow game with one of the weakest control systems is good. And yes, I'm one of those people who absolutely hated the battle system. I've said this countless times before, and I'm not going to go into the detail of why the battle system is rubbish. And like I said in the previous opening statement, lack of open world is not the only reason this game gets so much criticism. No character development, broken story forced and mended into tasteless battles, poor level-up system, are but few other complaints I have with the game.

As you said, it's a personal preferences. I'm honestly disappointed  in the stance you take after saying that you do not like distractions and you find games amusing without them, yet you call people who enjoy them trolls for criticizing the lack of. What you seem to fail to understand is that FF XIII does not deliver in value like previous FFs or other JRPGS for that matter. It's not hardcore FF fans who are only not satisfied with the game, it's people who understand what the value of a decent JRPG is- gamers who know that it takes more than pretty pictures to make a RPG enjoyable. You even admit that it is lacking in the exploration department, and that's your preference. Counter that, there are a good number of gamers who prefer the complete opposite of that.

Brave? I think not. SE was trying to appeal to the masses, and although it was successful sales-wise, the quality of the franchise took a huge hit. The least they can do is admit the game is not a JRPG.

I cannot comment after the 3rd paragraph because it just seems like paranoia of not being able to take criticism of a game you like. So to not evoke emotions, I'll stop there.

... oh and the last bit: The game is still the lowest metacritic score of the main franchise (not online FFs). 83 is not a surprise. It's average. Like we've said, people either hate it or love it, so 83 is just about right.

I think if it does happen, itll still end up on the 360 as well :(

OMG A port of the iOS port of the DS remake of FFIV coming to playstation certified android devices confirmed!

I'm so tired of this Hinorobu Sakaguchi bandwagon, he almost bankrupt SE. Now the FF9 creator almost did the same with FF14. Its obviously time for new faces over at SE to push the company forward, these old turds are old and expired.

If this turns out to be true no one can say they saw it coming becasue frankly you predicted it in the last 5 E3s and were dead wrong. This is the news everyone knows its possible but if it acctally comes to fruitation, its just the most shocking news ever in video game history.

Well the game dosnt suck. But it's not amazing either. Lost Odyssey eatsit for dinner this gen for example. Both in gameplayand in story emotion. F13 was just to 'yeah ok, so wheres the real FF'.

I'm glad to hear this, I think the same but just didnt want to say it, its all about progress. Yes the old games were great, but the new ones are great too. Coolness doesnt have to be mutually exclusive between the old and new FF's. ...and as for Sakaguchi, Remember he only directed up to FF5, and when the last story comes out in english I think you will see why its good he is not with Square anymore. Its not a bad game, but its not pushing any boundaries either. Change is the key to keeping things fresh. (Its not Square or Sakaguchi but) Hyperdimension Neptunia made some great advancements in random battle driven turn based gameplay too but even that felt dated given the current era and the competition from rpgs more on the 'cutting edge' so to speak. The old FF's should always be on peoples gaming shelves if they want to go back and play them.  As for the new FF's lets hope they keep changing it up to new and better things.

But the main story is the heart of a JRPG. FF 13 was not too different from the other FF in this aspect. They all "opened up" pretty late in the game. Even in FF 7 you got the "full freedom"
 just at the beginning of the last disc. Exploration was never the main point of FF... It was always going from A to B in a linear order with the only real exception being FF 12. And still, revisiting old areas was pretty pointless given the level range of the enemies (well, you could hunt for missing blue magic).

I still think that FF13 is the best game on the PS3 without much competition. It was one of the only games to really take the story serious and the characters were really well portrayed. They almost really felt like Humans with all their, strengths, weaknesses, doubts and fears.

But lets stop this. I got the impressions that its no use arguing with some peoples. I aready played some "Western" RPGs like Oblivion, Dragon Age and Mass Effect 2...I just couldn't stand them at all. I mean Oblivion.... wandering through random generated dungeons getting random loot... how is this form of exploration any fun? That is the real definition of repetitiveness for me. And the sacrifice of a strong main story in exchange for countless meaningless side quests with no overarching relevance to the main story...

The problem is that for many people the only definition of Roleplay game is some sort of D&D, where you play yourself in a fantasy world and your decisions have an impact on the world...but D&D failed to make a real impact in most parts of Europe. Roleplay has a stronger connectionwith theatre. We were often reading literature (Goethe, Schiller, Raimund, Nestroy, etc...) where everyone had to pick a role. In these roleplays you were never expected to play/read the role like you want... you were expected to think about what is going on in every character and why they act like they do.

And that is exactly what I do when I play a RPG. The core of the game is plot analysis and character interaction. And in these parts FF 13 is absolutely brilliant. Thats why it was extremely well received in countries like Japan, Germany or France.