No one is actually "lowering" their standards by purchasing FFXIII. People keep crying as if FFXIII is the worst JRPG ever released, when in reality it is more polished and better scripted than most JRPGs this gen. Sure, it deviates from the Final Fantasy standard, but it is by no means a bad game; it's definitely better than certain JRPGs like SO4 and WKC. And quite frankly, a true JRPG fan would be glad with whatever they get. Handhelds still have quality JRPGs, but I think the only way to pave a direction for good JRPGs on home consoles is by supporting at least the decent ones that are released, Final Fantasy being one of them.

This is where you're wrong.  One of the major things the white knights for the game are claiming is that people hate Final Fantasy XIII becuase it's different or that it deviates from a formula and I can assure you that is not why people hate it, at least not why most people I know hate it and most certainly not why I hate it.  In fact, most people can agree that change is good, it protects from the stagnant and helps to bring games forward.  I was one of the huge supporters of the changes FFXII brought, and that ended up being one of my favorite games of all time.

The fact of the matter is that Final Fantasy XIII sucks becuase it's broken, not because it's different.  The gameplay was sped up so it would appeal more to western audiences, but in the process lost most of its polish and depth.  To make a combat system work with that kind of speed requires a sacrifice of control, which is why we have a game that practically plays itself.  the game as a whole was the turn based equivalent of a rail shooter as it gives you no choice in where to go or what to do, and there's practically no customization (in fact you could only equip a weapon and accessory).  whatever happened to the days where you got to equip your head, body, legs, each arm, and two accessories?

The reason people hate it isn'[t becuase it's different or linear, they hate it becuase it's broken and restrictive.

This is where you're wrong.  One of the major things the white knights for the game are claiming is that people hate Final Fantasy XIII becuase it's different or that it deviates from a formula and I can assure you that is not why people hate it, at least not why most people I know hate it and most certainly not why I hate it.  In fact, most people can agree that change is good, it protects from the stagnant and helps to bring games forward.  I was one of the huge supporters of the changes FFXII brought, and that ended up being one of my favorite games of all time. 

The fact of the matter is that Final Fantasy XIII sucks becuase it's broken, not because it's different.  The gameplay was sped up so it would appeal more to western audiences, but in the process lost most of its polish and depth.  To make a combat system work with that kind of speed requires a sacrifice of control, which is why we have a game that practically plays itself.  the game as a whole was the turn based equivalent of a rail shooter as it gives you no choice in where to go or what to do, and there's practically no customization (in fact you could only equip a weapon and accessory).  whatever happened to the days where you got to equip your head, body, legs, each arm, and two accessories?  

The reason people hate it isn'[t becuase it's different or linear, they hate it becuase it's broken and restrictive. 

Shall I grab you a box of tissues? :(

so let me get this straight, I explain in a detailed, rational way why FFXIII is a bad game and that makes me a whiner, or a child, or whatever it is you're insinuating I am?  Based on this response I imagine it's not me who has to grow up. 

It's got the lowest Metacritic score of any 3D main series FF. Heck, even FFXI: Online and FFX-2 have higher scores.