In a sentence, all this amounts to a pretty simple statement: The things Final Fantasy XIII does well, it does really well. The things it does badly are really, truly disappointing.
Final Fantasy XIII has a lot of potential in its design, be it visual, gameplay or story. The areas where it fulfils that potential – the character development, the visual design, the music and the attempt to bridge the gap between Action and Turn-Based gameplay – are truly remarkable and something for other developers to admire and learn from.
The areas where it has failed to fulfil that potential – villains, sidequests, and the development of Cocoon and Pulse as actual places rather than playgrounds to fight in – are really poor. The missed potential and opportunity to build something truly special in all areas is what keeps Final Fantasy XIII from true greatness.
Missed potential aside, Final Fantasy XIII will give you hours of enjoyment, a considerable challenge, stunning visuals and a satisfying storyline experience. It’s still a brilliant game in the face of all its faults.
Once again, I defer to our import review. As Nathan said there, you could go on forever reviewing this game, but it is best summed up with a piece of wisdom over a thousand years old: "Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble
85%
____________________
85% from RPG site........they aren't on metacritic
But their conclusion bit is promisiing for me!!