I whole heartedly disagree but to each and their own I guess ... 

I don't know why FFXIII gets all the flack when FFIX and FFXII had some huge issues ...

For me Final Fantasy X is not only my favourite FF game, but it is my favourite game of all time.

What issues does IX have? XII has issues, mainly in its story but it's at least a great RPG with a ton of stuff to do.

XIII has a forgettable story (seriously I couldn't tell you the plot of that game nowadays if my life depended on it), no likable characters, a battle system that tried to make you play it as little as possible, a ridiculously linear world, boring side content, the RPG elements are dumbed down as much as possible and the whole money and weapong upgrade system is extremely tedious. Believe me, I tried to like that game, I bought my PS3 for it and even got the Platinum trophy, but at the end of the day there's nothing there that makes it more than a mediocre game in general and a poor Final Fantasy game in specific.

*glares with Ka-pi*

I'm in the same camp, I picked up a used copy of the game for dirt cheap several years after release to play on my PS2.  Thought the graphics were pretty good for PS1 era, but once I actually started playing it immediately I knew I wasn't going to like it.  Tried to stick with it but gave up before I even got to the 2nd disc.

My sister on the other hand played it all the way through and enjoyed it, so to each their own as the old saying goes.

I have to agree that FF is the most divisive series (with VIII and XIII being the most divisive entries) and IX should be the most divisive game (and it really is the weakest). Like every other FF, it is great, but it's subpar gameplay and recycled gameplay makes it a weaker nostalgia fest:

1) It came out after VIII (basically VII-2), after the ultra-popular paradigm shift, and regurgitated the older paradigm.
2) As gamers matured, the series matured and became more realistic (The waning limitations of graphics processors played no small part in this.), yet they unnecessarily reverted back to the proportions of the older entires.
3) The story is the DBZ/Monkey King trope, inclusive of flying, super-Saiyan powers, tails, etc.
4) They spit the bit with the "YOU ARE USING YOUR LIMIT BREAK NOW" system.
5) About those limit breaks...they were awful.
6) For a series that was groundbreaking in its mature tone (really set by FFIV), this game had a very childish atmosphere that played up the visual presentation.

With that being said, FFIX is still a great game, so I guess it's even internally divisive...

You give FFXII too much credit ... 

I wouldn't even say the story is the main issue. It was very far away from been a FF game, more so than XIII! 

You say XIII has a forgettable story yet XII is practically a crappy history class in it's own fictional world. You could make an argument for ANY FF game that has unlikeable characters. XII was arguable more automatic than XIII when it came to combat. Sure XIII over did it with the linear map design but since when did FF games have good side content ? 

If anything the RPG elements are stressed even more than past FF games. RPGs are not about customization or the leveling system ... 

Mediocre game ? Damn, I guess all other FF games aside from VII, VIII, and X suck ...

Bandwagon much ?

ZombiU, Metroid Other M and Beyond Two Souls.

Very good topic. 

Clearly final fantasy 12. For me by far the best part.

XII had a great story, but it overshadowed and marginalized all of the characters. It felt like they were just cogs in the machine, and that really diminished character development. As a fan of FF, it was jarring to see such a minimal focus on the characters.