I really enjoyed FFXIII but it was a slight dissapointment for me and that was really only due to the lack of towns and NPC's. I though the characters were great, the combat system was fantastic and the best in the series, the graphics were top notch, and the overall plot and lore was awesome if you actually took the time to read the logbook and understand the history.

It would have reached my favorite Final Fantasy's level (FFX, FFVII) had it just added towns, NPC's, and more sidequests. Luckily FFXIII-2 looks like its adressing all that which makes me excited as hell!!!!

You must have serious eye problems if you dont think ff13 looks incredible, two worlds and resonance of fate look like concrete compared to 13.

Also the battle system was great and if you compare it to like ff 7,8,9  or 10 tell me how it was so different all you did was select an option and press x. The same way people criticize 13 i can do to the older final fantasies for similar reasons honestly.  the battle systems in ff12 and 13 outdo any other ff in terms of being strategic in my opinion. Also I highly doubt Hironobu is sad with the current ff games i doubt he cares as well. 

Just a little bit , mainly due to the storytelling and characters. Stories meant to get the players involved in the world and the characters of the game , XIII's story didn't do that , things used to be much deeper in FF.
The game could have used bigger maps , but it not a big deal as people make it seems to be .

The battle system is great and the graphics are gorgeous.

There should be a "disappointed (

I finshed it and got the platinum trophy but i Hated it, so i would have picked that option if it was available. but since it wasnt i had to say i liked it but not as much as the other ones.

It is an exceptionally beautiful game, and I can't help but tell you that you obviously played the inferior version.

Some chaptes scream visual perfection.

It was a good game, but a very disappointing Final Fantasy.

The setting was interesting and the story had its strong points, it went more emotional than FF XII did, but almost everything else was a step backward compared to FF XII.  

is a PoS, hated it, i bought it because i could not believe all the hate, but when i played it i could feel the cheap design, how everything was made artificially long, stupid stereotypes that showed no imagination, a stupid story, and they tried to add some failed western appeal by removing the best RPG relate aspects, an embarrassment to the whole JRPG genre, only kids that dont know a thing about FF liked FF 13.

He is talking about FF 13 not red dead redemption, you see FF 13 only had detailed textures but nothing else, in fact grass was a bitmap on the floor like in the NES era, no follage at all, even in the forest everything was made metallic to avoid adding any mothing to the bushes, some parts of the game were desert or snow but the win never blowed in the desert and snow was stiff like ice, there was no wild life other than the monster you have to fight. No bump mappping or normal mapping, as i said only very detailed flat (conviniently lifeless) textures. All that just because EE was too cheap to make a good inmersive game.

I have no idea where that came from!?

And overall FFXIII received universal acclaim for its beautiful graphics. All games use tricks to save processing power, the important thing is the overall effect. And you're dead wrong about the characters. They are stunning.

Playstation: The Official Magazine (US)

The graphics only represent the topmost layer of a pervasive meticulousness, and every last detail feels thoroughly polished. [Apr 2010, p.66]

 Computer and Video Games

 It's gorgeous worlds have you stopping to admire them in complete awe,...

ETC ETC

IGN:

Now I haven't seen the 360 version, but I can add that its definitely up there with Uncharted 2.