Final Fantasy XIII Retrospective - A Game Fighting Fate Against Itself

[@VermilionRen]

FF13 still looks incredible more than a decade later. That's impressive for a 7th generation console game. And don't even pretend and say that this OST isn't one of the best in the series

[@streetsmart3466]

I'm playing the game now on Xbox live and it is gorgeous, especially on an OLED screen.

[@fabesey2016]

It's visually impressive even now for sure, but I disagree about the music. There were a few great tracks (some of the battle themes and that Oerba music, wow),but imo most of the music was forgettable, bland electronica.

[@VermilionRen]

@@fabesey2016 The Gapra Whitewood, Dust to Dust, The Archylte Steppe, March of the Dreadnaughts, and Lake Bresha send their regards.

[@kevinvu5432]

It's definitely an iconic ost. But everything sounds grand all the time even for non grand moments. It all starts to sound the same.

[@fabesey2016]

@@VermilionRen Dust to Dust was my favourite track in the whole game; was genuinely moved by it. Was one of the few times where I felt Hamauzu recaptured his form from FFX. I can't tell you what to like man, but I didn't care for the other tracks you mentioned, they were just....fine. I'd probably like this OST a bit more if the melody of The Promise grabbed me, but it doesn't really so the bunch of motifs of it didn't do much for me personally.

[@Otinashi]

over the years i've learned to appreciate more linear games much more than i used to. Sometimes it's nice to just follow a single path without worrying about exploring every nook and cranny. But maybe that's just an effect of me getting older and having less time to devote to playing games

[@DjVader112]

Specially now that open world games are everywhere, I enjoy a linear game once in a while

[@RaidenKaiser]

To me it's just me being sick of every game trying to be the next Skyrim

[@jacobburr3570]

@@RaidenKaiser I was thinking fallout, but same dif

[@lethauntic]

You can't really say that when FF13 takes, like, 50 hours to complete. Linear games are just as good as open world games, not disagreeing there, but if you don't have time for an open world game you still won't have enough time for this.

[@Otinashi]

@@lethauntic Meant more in general rather than FFXIII specifically, but I more so mean it's easier to just play for an hour or two here and when I come back I can just keep going on the same path. Maybe it's just me but I find it a lot harder to come back to an open world game after a while of not playing. Tend to just feel lost and usually end up restarting rather than picking up where I left off, which can be frustrating and is the reason I haven't finished a lot of open world games that I otherwise enjoy. Whereas with a linear game I can just pick it back up and don't really have to worry about what I was doing before because there's a clear path ahead of me

[@YoungOneJim]

The battle theme of this game still lives rent free in my head, you hit the nail on the head about the soundtrack being pure fire

[@Quiqueleal85]

easily one of the best battle themes ever, if you hear it once it will be stuck with you for quite a lot of time

[@idcpharrel7715]

@@Quiqueleal85 bro j was like 8 in 2013-14 and i had a ps3. I got it for christmas and got final fantasy xii. I forgot the name of the game until recently and just now found the song ive been looking for over 6 years 💀

[@CorranHorn84]

"Final Fantasy XIII Retrospective Review" by Resonant Arc (2018): kzbin.info/www/bejne/qmS1d4apetd3fJo

[@medina2407ify]

FFVI is light years better

[@aninfinitemindofmusicandreams]

I listen to Snow's theme often and I feel like I'm on some real hero mode ish when I do. Great soundtrack, though I have FFX's soundtrack as my personal favorite out of the entire series. XIII's is in the top 5 though.

[@Sctn187]

As a kid the cinematics were what I lived for in rpgs

[@dream6562]

Now as an adult I want amazing cinematics and a great story, I don't make trade offs, I only add

[@jeriemiahborela4433]

this is so real. i remember begging my dad to watch the cinematics of this game to convince him to buy it 4 me

[@Sctn187]

@@dream6562 I enjoyed ff13 when it came out and if they would sell it on the store I'd buy it and platinum it now. As for the sequels probably not.

[@paulwoodford1984]

I’m found the game so boring. i had to force myself to complete it. the characters, the story were forgettable. i was so pleased when it was over and i never play it again.

[@jjcoola998]

Absolutely haha, OP was spot on describing me as a kid when he said the thing about hearing the PSX loading up a cinematic, I'd get so fucking hype

[@sarge55555550000000]

I didn't notice this till my 3rd playthrough or so. But a good foreshadowing that vanille is already a l'cie before everyone else is she has 3 atb gauges when everyone else has 2 before they pick the fight with the fal'cie. It's the small stuff that made me appreciate the game more on repeat runs.

[@sarge55555550000000]

Damnit you brought it up in the video never mind lol

[@stanm4410]

Yeah, in addition to that she has I think 400 HP to start the game, which is the most of any character. When the party turns to L'Cie, they all gain 100-150 HP or so compared to the previous chapter. This is before you spend any crystarium points. But Vanille doesn't gain any extra HP.

[@sarge55555550000000]

@@stanm4410 I didnt notice that either! lol

[@Dark_WolfPL]

I realized it some time after finishing a game. I was doing something thought a bit about a a game and than it hit me.

[@TetsuRiken]

And you can see her mark even if on a first playthrough you wouldn't notice it

[@PaulSmith-nb6md]

One of the best things I liked about 13 was how the heroes came to terms with the fact that they didnt really have a happy ending waiting for them win or lose and still did everything they could. And the music slapped hard.

[@wjd23104]

"and still did everything they could." They spend the entire game trying to work out what their "focus" is. You know, their motivation. The thing the writers were supposed to come up with. Clearly that motivation was to save Cocoon (or the people inside it). They attempted to achieve this....by blowing up Cocoon with everyone inside it, with no plan. The writers then decided that this just works for some reason. Despite repeatedly stating, that they did the thing, that villain wanted them to do, and that would kill everyone. Your favourite thing was that the characters behaved like psychopathic morons and were rewarded for it? I did like the music though.

[@PaulSmith-nb6md]

@@wjd23104 Except they didnt kill everyone in cocoon and the alternative was what exactly? I am confused as you clearly read what I said yet somehow missed the part where I said they had no happy ending win or lose? My favorite thing was exactly what I said. You are attempting to twist it in a way that doesnt actually relate to anything I said. Their focus is not their motivation. Their focus is their reason for existing which was to do exactly what they did. Their motivation was not turning into slaves that didnt decide their own fate. Next time try using proper definitions and pay attention to what was actually said if you want to attempt to make a counter argument.

[@wjd23104]

@@PaulSmith-nb6md "Except they didn't kill everyone in cocoon" Why was that exactly? Was it due to a well thought out plan? No, it was because the writers said so, after explicitly stating such an action would lead to everyone dying. "the alternative was what exactly?" Help ferry people out of Cocoon, down to Pulse. Instead of doing something that they thought, would kill everyone in Cocoon? "yet somehow missed the part where I said they had no happy ending win or lose?" Imagine I strap a collar to your neck and I tell you that it will explode, if you don't do what I say. I then tell you to attend a crowded stadium and that I intend to blow you up at that stadium to kill people. You could A) Do what I said and get yourself and others killed or B) Refuse and just get yourself killed. Now you'll say but You also threatened to start a huge fight in the stadium, that will destroy it even if you don't come. Right but for my plan to work, I clearly needed you, that's why I repeatedly tried to get you to do what I wanted. Why do what I want in that situation? "My favorite thing was exactly what I said. You are attempting to twist it in a way that doesnt actually relate to anything I said." Lets go back to what you said "and still did everything they could" They blew up Cocoon. The place they were trying to save. They did that intentionally. I am pointing out that what you said was stupid. Instead of realizing that what you said was stupid, you argued that I was twisting your words. "Their focus is not their motivation. Their focus is their reason for existing which was to do exactly what they did" Wow. This is the definition of motivation: "a reason or reasons for acting or behaving in a particular way." Their focus explicitly, according to the game, was to destroy Cocoon. That is the focus of both Fang and Vanille initially and later the rest of the group receives the same focus. "Their motivation was not turning into slaves that didnt decide their own fate." They literally would have turned into zombies if they had 'decided' to purse a fate, that was different from the one, their master branded them with. The slavery metaphors were not subtle but the writers were so stupid, they couldn't find a way to write their characters out of their slavery, without them doing their master's will. "Next time try using proper definitions and pay attention to what was actually said if you want to attempt to make a counter argument." I suggest some careful self reflection on your part.

[@PaulSmith-nb6md]

@@wjd23104 No one said they had a plan. Why do you keep bringing that up as if someone said that? Again nothing to do with what i said and braking my reply down the way you did apparently hasnt helped your ability to comprehend what i said. Perhaps you simply cant read? Either way they didnt kill everyone. So bitch all you want.....but it didnt happen. How exactly were they gonna ferry people out of Cocoon dummy? What resources did they have to accomplish this task? How much time did they have to accomplish this task when it was against their focus....which would have turned them into monsters had they not completed? So again what was the alternative dummy? Even your analogy doesnt make sense. What does this collar have to do with what they did? Was their fate to blow up a stadium? Was their fate death should they not compete their task? No. It was to wander for eternity as a monster....which could still be used to destroy cocoon. So i guess the only option is to do what I want and take a chance i dont die....but killing the person who put me in the predicament. Just like they did. What part of did everything they could didnt you understand? You quoted it so that implies you at least recognized i said it but fail to grasp such a simple concept. What i said wasnt stupid what you just said was because you arent even taking what i said into account to make a counter argument. You're just talking and missing the point so how exactly was i supposed to realize what i said was stupid....stupid? They fought....because that was their only option....hence the phrase they did everything they could. Motivation is not the same as someone's reason to exist. They had no motivation to destroy cocoon. That is the reason they were made L'Cie. Their motivation for accomplishing said focus was not becoming monsters. How exactly is this too complex for you to understand? No they wouldnt have turned into zombies if they pursued their fate. They would have turned into crystal....the same thing that happened to Sazh's son or do you not know the difference between accomplishing one's focus and failing it? Again something stupid you just said. They did accomplish their focus so why would they turn into zombies? Their writers arent stupid, you are because you seem to have things backwards and somehow dont realize that. So exactly why do you suggest self reflection again? Through your stupidity you have failed to make a valid point again.

[@robertnomok9750]

@@PaulSmith-nb6md Your sad attempt to protect weak writing of ff13 is so bleak compared to his arguments.

[@NeverKnowsBest]

This is a really good video. I don't know how many views this will get relative to your Nier related videos (I'm writing this far too early to tell), but if it doesn't get as many views as you were hoping for, I hope you don't feel discouraged. It's a youtube algorithm problem, not a quality of the video problem. Videos great, keep it up.

[@ThBrando]

Thanks, it means a lot. While it would be nice to get a ton of views, my main goal was getting a message across, and I've gotten a lot of supportive comments from people, so I'd say I hit my goal. Ultimately these are the kinds of videos I truly feel passionate about making, so I'm gonna keep on making them!

[@TheDeadmanTT]

Look who showed up here.

[@Meyeselph]

Ey. I was also wishing to offer words of encouragement and other person I like shows up. Eeeeyyyy. Also subscribed. Continue with the deep dives you have an eye for it.

[@DCtheSoulChild]

A million views

[@justhaku9240]

@@ThBrando and this is why you're the realest person on KZbin and the community is amazing

[@latteARCH]

For me, Hamauzu's use of piano, violins, and synth is something incomparable in video game music.

[@cpurizumu]

Yeah, Hamauzu is amazing. I think Sigma Harmonics' OST is a perfect showcase of his work and one of my favorite OSTs ever. It's so good, and his identity is really present too.

[@jonnykhatru]

My favourite tracks in 10 are his work, I was very pleased he was chosen to do the entire 13 soundtrack. He did some great work in VII Remake as well!

[@reloadpsi]

The guy knows how to create an ambience.

[@tiagozilliosoares7988]

Truly something else, plus he can effectively make use of lots of different musical genres and instruments and still be amazing at doing it. For example the jazz tracks in 13 and 13-2 are smooth af

[@thepews1511]

Hamauzu is so slept on. The Whispers theme and XIIIs whole OST damn near unmatched.

[@devastatheseeker9967]

I honestly think 13 is one of the most visually beautiful games out there. Especially for the time it came out.

[@davfree9732]

Its got a lot in common with X due to its linear level design and few open areas. But the story was disjointed in comparison. Core narrative. Beat Sin. But along the road there are steps to accomplishing that goal and personal quests the group want to complete. Add to that the core group are friends and those that join are not angry angsts ridden mother avengers… X had smaller steps that contributed to the larger journey. XIII gave the player a quest on an implied ticking timer that ran at the speed of plot… everyone talked about it and how bad it was… but the lack of escalating dread failed to hook me. The main narrative wasn’t well interspersed with smaller steps. It was a story that overstayed its welcome.

[@andy2069]

Its pretty. And terrible. It's not x. X doesn't suck

[@davfree9732]

@@andy2069 That's the point. X did it better. XIII aped some aspects but failed to bring it together as a cohesive narrative game experience. Tidus being the fish out of water, and thus the players POV character opened the world to the player. In XIII they tried to have a Cloud figure... But failed to compensate for the players. The party can't well talk to one another when they split into three groups after all, and the ticking clock of impending doom just falls by the wayside.

[@zaehehe]

​@@davfree9732 I think XIII is good. Even one of my favorites.. However in terms and in the least biast way i can try describe it. It's not like any of the others.. Except for the spells and or enemies you meet in the game. Such as the Behemoths. Story was defenitely interesting for myself personally, but sometimes it drags on. Sometimes even a little cringe. The OSTS they used however is among i'd say the best. Really good soundtrack that doesn't seem to get boring for a long while. The characters are also a nice twist, you can't generally change their class (Like Type 0, each character having a different class / weapons). But the world feels dead. There's not much excitement when it comes to lore exploring. Like you said, talking to your party split into groups. In XIII-2, the ticking clock was weird. Suppose it's for the story, but a lot of newer players would rush it due to that time ticking down, missing out on sides and areas that are hidden. Rating XIII an 8.5 / 10 Rating XIII-2 a 7 / 10.

[@joearnold6881]

Easy to do when it’s basically just a cutscene and you only have to render a hallway

[@JapanFreak2595]

In defense of Nora death scene and the repercussions there after, I always saw it as Snow’s being blamed in part for recklessly involving civilians in his ill conceived plan to save Sarah and the people from the purge. Even if Hope’s mom chose to fight to protect her child, Snow still offered her the gun, and ran from taking responsibility for so long.

[@TirOrah]

What I found interesting upon replaying the game years later, is that Snow actually *did* feel quite bad about that and actively doubted himself. Only for his yes-men/woman to cheer him back up, prompting him to put on his mask again and avoid the subject. For Snow, it was in a way a good thing that he was separated from his buddies. That group was a cycle of bad influence.

[@supergamenchillbros.6643]

It's that part of hope's character that I despise but understand completely. I just wish it didn't drag on for too long you know?

[@thespectaculargamernerd8114]

@@TirOrah When Hope questioned him about it before trying to kill him, Snow just completely dropped any facade. He said it himself, all he can do is keep going while admittimg he doesn't know where to start or say when messing up that badly in other's life.

[@TirOrah]

@@thespectaculargamernerd8114 Yeah! That was a huge moment for him. I was quite shocked I didn't remember that from my first playthrough; it was a great scene.

[@mrlost117]

same, I was confused as to why the vid creator didnt even touch that

[@rinny2131]

"This game isn't perfect but I sure did like it" sums up my views as well. This was a REALLY good video and reminded me why I liked XIII so much and had frustrations with it too. It also tells me that it's time for a xiii replay at soon! ...After Endwalker... Maybe...

[@rabidhellhound9714]

The video was great. The game was god awful. If they had explained the backstory and the plot as simply and gradually as this author, then it could forgive them the unimmaginative landscapes and enjoy it. But instead, the game devs did an absolutely shit job explaining ANYTHING in their game until the very, very, VERY end. Meaning that basically everything you did was a question of "why the hell...?" and simply just taken as "Stuff to do so you don't die." Not "Here's a creative reveal of a millenia long battle between gods, using humanity as puppets." If the writter of this video wants to help SquareEnix get their heads out of their asses and write a game that FINALLY makes any goddamned sense after 20 years, I'd be happy to support him. Because he can break things down in a meaningful way that SE just hasn't been able to do in FF for way too damn long.

[@tylersmith9868]

How did you like this game in any way shape or form

[@Scantronacon]

But that end game is fire to me as a jrpg fan, the ceith stones that lead to those trials you do fighting monsters at different tiers is my favorite part and the "will to fight" is a effin amazing song!! Such an amazing ost and lets go moments, my top 5 easily!!! and not even talk farming for a certain item fighting a certain monster over and over but what a game changer once you understand it, I love the grind this has

[@luizy6701]

@@rabidhellhound9714 This comment is so funny, because I find out that, in Japan, a couple's months before the releasing of the game, Square Enix published a novel detailing the thirteen days before the game starts, and they did the same for the next two games lol. It was until 2017 that the novels got a official translation.

[@luizy6701]

@@tylersmith9868 Because she's not you, fella. People like different things, you know?

[@jelyse14]

38:44 Look up info on the rocky localization of Xenogears in pre-1998. One guy, Richard Honeywood, took up the job bc everyone else was too intimidated by the source material, he was even put in charge of *coding it into the game* and I believe even BURNING DISCS HIMSELF. It just about killed him, he did an amazing job for it being a one-man show, and he even influenced aspects of the game/story/names- English and Japanese version- and he went on to influence for the better how localizations were handled at Squaresoft. No more thrown-together, slapdash localizations like they did for FFVII to get some extra cash on the side from the western market.

[@niclasneziru1854]

What an absolute legend, he and Woolsey were truly the forefathers of JRPGs' genesis into the western world

[@maxis2k]

"and he went on to influence for the better how localizations were handled at Squaresoft." God no. He's the reason almost all of their games are now infested with hammy accents and massive alterations. Because of what he did on Chrono Cross and Dragon Quest. Other Square games he didn't work on had fine translations. Translations would have improved over FF7 given the rising success of the games. But he is an example of going too far into the other direction. Altering characters and the plot just on his own whims. He literally added accents to Chrono Cross and Dragon Quest VIII just because he was "tired of American accents." That's his own words. Not because it would improve the characters or story. Not because the original creator envisioned those dialects (Yuji Horii has gone on record saying he doesn't like it). Just because he personally wanted to do something different. And that's the worst thing you can do as a localizer.

[@homerp.hendelbergenheinzel6649]

Tbf, until VII the money made from JRPGs in western markets were pretty much negligible. I know VII had that big marketing campaign going with being released on PS, but I'm pretty sure it's success in the western hemisphere blew everyone's mind and came unexpected. If they had some kind of quality management in the localisation and expected the success they wouldn't have allowed the chappy localisation that VII came to be. Also I'm pretty sure that at this time game designers were not aware of the dangers that came with localisations. Studio Ghibli had to make the same experience with Nausicäa and its original release in the US, when the whole movie was butchered by the company that translated ( and cutted) the movie TO DEATH. Ghibli were passed as fuck and from that on went not to bring their movies to the west anymore, until they eventually did, but they had their hands on every aspect of the translation ever since then.

[@lobstrosity7163]

You could say he got... Mad skillz!

[@-Gax-]

​@@homerp.hendelbergenheinzel6649 I wouldn't call Pokemon Red and Blue negligible money

[@TheRawrnstuff]

As a localization professional, happy to hear some real, actual challenges of localization highlighted. Puns are terrible to localize, but the real challenge is the lack of access to context. Very few lines are great in a vacuum, and with something like localization, the best work in most cases is something you don't actually notice. Usually, when localization gets noticed, it's because of a typo, or a mis-matched context, or something like that. Less often with "omg, this localization is _so_ good I can't even." These days I do more QA, which means I get to take the work of the translators and expand upon that to course-correct any incorrect guesses they've had to take. In Loc QA, I often have access to the entire game, whereas the translators might not even know whether a line they're working on is a piece of dialogue or a tutorial tip. On one hand, I wish the translators were given more context. On the other, I guess them having less context means better job security for me.

[@YouTubeCensors]

This is why I prefer liberal translations. Just give translators something to work with to make it fit better for western audiences instead of trying to adapt japanese sensibilities. Though I guess that would be bad for you.

[@TheRawrnstuff]

@@KZbinCensors That's actually pretty much what _is_ happening. Localization work is relatively liberal and free-form already - which is also why computer-generated translations often suck so bad. Direct translation is clunky at best) - excluding stuff like certain terms needing a very specific translation. Like system terminology, for example. "Sensibilities" is a minute challenge in localization. That's more a Dev-side thing rather than Loc-side, like deciding to turn blood green or add some "convenient censorship" if necessary.

[@Countcordeaux]

@@KZbinCensors This was what made Working Designs so good, when they were at their best, though they often laid the cheese on pretty thick.

[@KopperNeoman]

@@TheRawrnstuff Sensibilities can be horrible. Entire plotlines can be sliced out, fundamental aspects of characters can be altered (famous classical examples being making transsexual characters cissexual - contrasting modern examples where the OPPOSITE happens: recently, Trap has become a dirty word.) It's even worse when it effects the original script too. Bridget in Guilty Gear is the most notorious example. He was an escaped abuse victim who was groomed into thinking he was a girl by a superstitious village who saw identical twins as a bad omen. He got into bounty hunting to show how manly he was. The latest Guilty Gear threw that out the window in an era where there are more David Reimers every day and had him finally accept what his village imposes on him. Maybe the publisher wanted a higher ESG rating.

[@KopperNeoman]

@@KZbinCensors I prefer to have the contrast in cultures not be gatekept by anybody, myself.

[@sunflowers_sarah]

I really liked how they transitioned from Cocoon to Pulse in terms of gameplay; it reminded me of how Cocoon was very restrictive to its people and societh whereas Pulse was "wild" and had less 'government intervention'--the changes in gameplay helped to heighten those differences in what I would say is a positive way.

[@Jadae]

The world was great. The songs were nice. The characters, except Snow, were pretty good. The lack of magic and the summons were absolutely dreadful. Soulless. The story was okay except it got a little too other world-catholic-y by the end of FF13-2.

[@sympathy_for_strays]

I never thought about this correlation. Very neat thought. Thanks for sharing.

[@natchu96]

@@bm001 I can only assume they meant the worldbuilding and setting lore rather than, well, the actual map that everybody gladly shits on.

[@GrubKiller436]

I never thought seeing Final Fantasy XIII again after such a long time would make me feel so nostalgic. I already liked it before, but seeing it with almost fresh eyes is a nice new feeling. The graphics of the game and its aesthetics are damn good.

[@exp8all]

Around the time when XIII came out, I already had the mindset and appreciation that square enix had an history of not being afraid of trying new things in their FF games. To me, I enjoyed XIII for it trying to change battle system to something completely new. (it helps keeps things fresh from time to time) With new systems, there obviously a need for a tutorial to help the player get adjusted and learn how to use it to optimally. I think linearity was needed for XIII to help guide the player through the new mechanics and to help drive story pace forward without too many interruption.

[@groudonvert7286]

Yeah exactly. Even now, ff13 is the most difficult gameplay to be good at in the series.

[@beechteeth]

"A trilogy made up of thirteen games" Kingdom Hearts.

[@Mstrskeletor89]

god i wish there were 13 KH games atleasat 13 before 3 came out and was a huge disappointment they did the same thing to KH 3 as they did to 15 spent too much money making it look good and not enough making it play good

[@Athenral]

I've always said the combat and sound design were top tier in this game. I still believe that. I will always love FFXIII for those two reasons alone. My only complaints about this game, honestly, have to do with the writing. Man, they really botched a great premise. Oh, and the shallow worldbuilding didn't help.

[@rem9142]

Your complaints on the writing, yes yes yes I agree! I like this game, and on occasion really really *really* like this game. But the writing is what keeps me from loving it tbh. And I didnt think that would bother me, and at first it didnt. But fans that loved the story and felt it was genuinely brilliant oddly enough helped me realize and accept that I just couldn't see whatever they were seeing. Imo, I dont think its that bad (a decade later). Does it deserve a 2nd chance? I'd say so, in the form of a port or remaster. Some fans would love a remake to be that 2nd chance, and I'd be up for that, but I feel like a remake done well would in a way end up validating people's blind hatred of the og game. Cause then in their mind its finally fixing a terrible game, and simultaneously rendering said original game that was terrible worth playing even less. If any of that made sense.

[@jakelawrence6618]

i wouldn't even say that the premises and story is actually good, but the pacing is really bad

[@kevinvu5432]

Personally found gameplay boring

[@TheHappyCatsTail]

the premise and the story itself is actually S tier IMO, its just that..... they absolutely fucked it up when it comes to the pacing and the finer details and the absolute dumpster fire of a localization. ALOT of the problems people have with the story, is actually a problem they have with the localization without them realizing it.

[@OathOblivio]

@@TheHappyCatsTail so you say it's better in Japanese? Have you played it and understood it in Japanese? You're right things can get lost in translation when moving between JP and ENG, or whatever language it was localized to, so it's definitely possibility. But I personally doubt it was the case.

[@heyyo3725]

I loved the paradigm shifting system. Loved Lightning as a character. *Absolutely* loved the music. Damn it, I loved the game.

[@KyngD469]

Yeah I liked it alot too. All 3 of them.

[@komujimaru]

isn't that a perfect game ? i loved all chars bar hope and vanile

[@jakezepeda1267]

I have no idea why I bought final fantasy 13 years ago, never played a Final Fantasy game before, but I loved it and wish I could experience it for the first time again.

[@eveningrice]

It was because of lightning on the cover, wasn't it?

[@onojioboardwalk9748]

.. Because you didnt listen to anyone and your FIRST-choice was awful rotting-garbage like 'ff13.'' Any other choice in the world and you chose that one, Every copy of it need's to erased or burned in fire.

[@Beleth420]

​​@@eveningrice That and seeing the graphics being better than 99% of xbox games at the time.

[@but_iWantedTo_speakGerman]

What's wrong with you?

[@onojioboardwalk9748]

@@but_iWantedTo_speakGerman No one knows who your referring to.

[@far_ron]

Something that's really interesting to me is how the developers actually listened to the feedback XIII got and implemented changes in its sequels to appease people. But for me, I ended up liking the games less for it - and while I did enjoy Lightning Returns, by the time I played it I completely lost interest in the series and thought that the charm and quirks that made the first game so great were gone. I think that people's criticisms of XIII (a lot of which are valid, yes) ultimately led the series into becoming something that lacked the core elements of why XIII fans fell in love with the game in the first place. I completely agree that a lot of hate the game got was heavily influenced by the timing of its release and the expectations established from the traditions of the FF series. XIII was my first FF game and I knew nothing about the series when playing it, so I ended up in the unique position to judge it as a standalone experience without any expectations ruining my perception of it. It's just unfortunate that not many people at the time were in the same position to appreciate XIII for what it was as a standalone experience. I'm just happy that as time passed, more and more people are going back to XIII without the baggage of expectations they bring with them, and are appreciating everything that makes the game so special.

[@far_ron]

And I loved FFXIII-2 A LOT (almost as much as the first) and I welcomed all of the changes made to it with open arms. However, I definitely remember feeling disappointed that some of the charm the game had was lost and that it was trying to move closer to appealing to a different kind of audience that wasn't me - an audience that didn't fully appreciate the first game. I don't know how to explain it, but XIII-2 to me felt like it was fighting with itself to become a game that it wasn't. It was obvious the developers knew how disappointed a lot of fans were with XIII, so they were trying extra hard to not replicate those same "mistakes" with its sequels, but by doing so they moved further away from the vision they had with the first game. XIII-2 is still a game I adore though, and I can't wait to hear your thoughts about it!

[@TGBurgerGaming]

I didn't even bother with Lightning returns after 13-2 13-2 ruined everything and anyone who was there att remembers it being the train wreck it was that ruined its own story.

[@YouTubeCensors]

Funny 13-2 to me is a phenomenal FF and could easily place it top 3 if I bumped FFX out and I might do that honestly. 13 and 13-3 on the other I disliked and hated respectively

[@ThatBeingCed]

Lightning's real first name is Éclair in Japanese but Claire in english. Éclair is also Lightning in French.

[@shawnnbits]

Thats dumb

[@christopherdonoyan3257]

The characters are relatable for being failures openly admitting that they don’t really know what their “focus” is but they keep fighting their fate. It’s an existentialists moral imperative and I feel it’s quite relevant to the uncertain times we live in currently. I often listen to the OST at work. Thanks for showing some love to FFXIII.

[@LargeInCharge77]

They would be relatable of any of them even sort of resembled a human being or talk like a normal person that wasn't an idiot

[@squallofthedai]

@@LargeInCharge77: So many words for crap take, move along.

[@ThexXxXxOLOxXxXx]

Yeah listening to The Promise always calms me down

[@dytgyfgyffuh243]

I love final fantasy 13 the problem was the development of game

[@SyndicateOperative]

They were weak.

[@sketchtheparadigmyork1217]

I think the “linearity” was ACTUALLY because they wanted to make this game beautiful… like a Disney ride. It looks great because you’re on a track disguised as an entire world. And they pull it off in that regard.

[@skybluenerd219]

​@UnjustifiedRecsThe gaming world is a pretty fair place, huh? lol

[@DanielLopez-ob9jz]

@UnjustifiedRecs people definitely shit on FF16 for a few notable reasons, idk what you're smoking... I just think that people criticize FF13 for feeling confined. It wasn't the linearity, MOST final fantasy games are linear in design, but keeping people from that feeling is what often differentiates them. And lots of people shit on the trilogy for writing choices.

[@nightfears3005]

@UnjustifiedRecs 🤡

[@YetiCoolBrother]

As a SE fan since VII I've always thought you could see a pretty clear trajectory of them iterating on a single idea, culminating in the combat system we ultimately got in VII Remake; that idea being blending "real-time" and traditional turn-based combat, all while looking as flashy as Advent Children. So looking back it really starts with XII and the MMO-ish combat in real time and also the removal of random battles which was a big change at the time. Then you get to XIII and all the thing you discussed in the video, then XV which tried to go full on action & succeeded in alot of ways but failed in others (the biggest offender being holding the button to attack & defend IMO). You take all of the lessons they learned from those 3 entries specifically and you get VII Remake, which still isnt perfect yet but is the best system we've got from them in over a decade. My biggest hope for Remake Part 2 is that now that they've laid a really solid foundation they'll start to look externally for inspiration to improve upon it. For example, I recently played Tales of Arise and felt like while the combat was inferior to VIIR overall there's definitely alot they could learn from it. Even elements of stuff like Bioware's earlier titles could bring alot to table going forward with the Remake. I rambled for a bit but great video & I for one would be interested in those thoughts on the Remake you mentioned towards the end.

[@zeroattentiongaming820]

I'd say it started with X-2 having the real time system that allowed chaining attacks and performing combos with proper timing. A lot flashier without just being spectacle and feels like an attempt to create a true real time system while remaining somewhat turn based in design but allowing turns to overlap, combo and even interrupt with good timing and strategy. 12 was the major departure but X-2 was a major evolution on ATB style gameplay in a way that the Stagger mechanics of the 13 trilogy and 7R, as well as the latter's fully real time combat further developed.

[@GayRiku]

I was so hesitant to watch this video because I'm so used to people dunking on this game. FFXIII was my first FF game and the main reason I wanted a new console. I have to admit that I was drawn in by the aesthetics mostly -- I had never seen graphics like that since I had mostly played Nintendo games until that point (and my only console for the first 10 years of my life was a Gameboy Advance SP), and I really liked Lightning and Fang's designs. It really has a special and nostalgic place in my heart, despite how exasperating the flaws are. This was a good, fair, and honest look at the game, which I appreciate a ton! FFXIII got me into JRPGs, which is now my favorite genre of video game. I have to thank it for heightening my appreciation and passion for games as a whole too . I've replayed XIII more than I'd like to admit, and I've sunk so many hours into LR's ng+ so there's definitely some bias on my end, but the premise, world, and characters of FFXIII are just so interesting and appealing to me. There's a lot to like about FFXIII despite everything, but I don't think it's for everyone. I tell my boyfriend all the time - the FFXIII trilogy is... kinda not great, but I love it all the same. Someday I'll get him to play it with me. Sidenote: Sazh's English VA is AMAZING and he provides one of the most natural and genuine vocal performances I've heard across any game or animation. He nailed it. Sidenote part two: The trilogy as a whole has one of the best OSTs, hands down. There's a great mix of emotional music and bangers. The battle themes in XIII-2 are especially crazy! Also it is WILD to me that people think XIII-2 is the best... it's by far the weakest game in the trilogy in my opinion. There are so many things about it that make playing it a chore, and the choices they made with certain characters and plot points really rub me the wrong way. Excited for your XIII-2 video!

[@canontheory]

xiii-2 and xiii are kinda equal in my book, xiii-2 had more replay value with the monster catching, rare monsters, arena, secret endings and mini games but xiii had the better overall feel, more story, cutscenes and all the ceith missions. xiii-3 LR is the weakest for me but still all 3 of them are some of my favorite games ever. They need to do a remaster one day.

[@MrYoshigu]

Hi! I had a different experience. "FFXIII Versus was main reason I wanted a new console" T___T Not saying XIII was bad. My first game, or at least I vividly remember was playing FFX at my friends house. That really got me into JRPGs. After watching this video i'd say I missed a lot during my playthru. I put in a decent 100+ hours, killing the big turtles with Fang was my favorite :) But Prior to FF-XIII, a lot of the lore, terms, such as summoner, were explained explicitly during the gameplay. I didn't even realize how much information was in hidden in the menu deep deep in XIII. Explaining all the vocab. This video def gave me a different perspective. I think there are games that work with that type of story telling (Dark Souls), I never realized XIII also tried this. BUT I was SHOCKED that they announced XIII-2 and even more angry when XIII-3 was announced. Lighting Returns XIII-3....I got soooooooooo angry because where was XIII Versus??? What did Square do to Noct? Put him in a box? I assumed "fabula nova crystalis" were suppose to be 3 games, not 3 FF XIII games. But ur right about the music, the battle music was amazing! I would farm all day just for that. I agree, XIII shouldn't have this taboo around it, but I think the fact Square made it 3 times without fully explaining "fabula nova crystalis" just put fuel on the fire

[@DavidHutchinson0713]

@@MrYoshigu The whole idea of the Fabula Nova Crystallis, IMO, had a good line of thinking (thematically connected titles that each do their own take on a common mythology), but the execution was _very_ much botched, in due part thanks to Square Enix having a _lot_ of internal issues in developing XIII, Type-0 and XV. Which I think is a real pity, because I think the idea really could have been improved and refined further, but things went out of control, and the whole idea ended up becoming a stillborn.

[@LargeInCharge77]

Yall thats all nice. But ff 13 is complete garbage written by an idiot. The premise and the characters are horribly written in every conceivable way. There isnt a single good line of dialogue in the game.

[@CorranHorn84]

"Final Fantasy XIII Retrospective Review" by Resonant Arc (2018): kzbin.info/www/bejne/qmS1d4apetd3fJo

[@DeadwingDork]

FFXIII is a weird time capsule of an era where people thought Squeenix could never make another good FF again. In light of VII Remake, it's interesting to see how much that game just improved ideas started by XIII. I played through it a while ago and it's definitely a bit of a misstep, but it's not entirely terrible. I wound up liking most of the characters. The lore is neat. The art design is pretty good. The combat... kinda gets better after 20 hours?

[@morriganrenfield8240]

You didn’t like the combat from the first minute? Cloud is just absurdly fun to me. Especially when he gets parries etc

[@TheFrostedfirefly]

@@morriganrenfield8240 Cloud wasn't in XIII

[@morriganrenfield8240]

@@TheFrostedfirefly i think i was tired when reading the combat and saw his reference to remake and thought he was talking about it in the latter part of the comment

[@dweblinveltz5035]

Combat gets MUCH better in 13-2.

[@ozy667]

The "combat" is an auto battler, the "lore" is a confusing senseless mess, why not talk about the level design, which is just a never ending line, by far the worst FF.

[@MinerDiner]

While I also disagree with "the game only gets better 20 hours in", when I first got to Pulse and "The Archylte Steppe" track kicked in, man I was frickin _BLOWN_ away. That is one of my favourite tracks in any game to this day, even though I only first played 13 a couple years ago. It fits the openness of the area so well, and I was just like "wow I like this game even more now". I cannot fully put into words the feeling I felt when I heard that track stepping into Pulse for the very first time. It was magical and breathtaking to take in

[@MASJYT]

Why? The Archylte steppe theme is yet another rearranged version of the main theme which by this point you're already tired of hearing. The music is good but they abused that leitmotif way too much.

[@MinerDiner]

@@MASJYT it just hit different to me okay?

[@ThorsShadow]

@@MASJYT People are allowed to like things without having to explain themselves to everyone. Sometimes, there aren't any reasons for liking something, you just do. Get off your high horse. You aren't special.

[@kenzie2191]

I’m thankful that XIII is receiving some recognition at this point, fuck it, when I was 12 this game was my jam. TO THIS DAY the game remains an inspiration to me when I do 3D model work. The game is great and the biggest issue is that it diverted from FF too much, which I’m fine with personally! I’d rather FF experiment than just do the same thing every game like it was at the time. I loved XIII because it wasn’t XII or X. It felt like an entirely new game. Also the character designs are peak over the top JRPG aesthetic. I will fight over this.

[@nicogalax]

The whole trilogy is peak ff to me, especially the ending of LR, that ending screams ff

[@kenzie2191]

@@nicogalax it’s so cheesy and over the top to kill god with a sword made from your friends souls I don’t know why people hated it then I fucking love it

[@nicogalax]

@@kenzie2191 ofc, the whole of humanity was on that fight xd epic

[@AnotherCody]

This was my first Final Fantasy and I was actually massively obsessed. So much so, I read every single excerpt of the datalog, so as you were summarizing the story, I was just nodding my head recalling all that info. Haha I’ve seen a lot of others have this as their first FF and what a frenzy it was to be thrown into the fandom, seeing so many jarring opinions when it came out since I love this game so much. I’m so glad they’re are people like you bringing this game back into a present day discussion with a kinder eye and tons of interesting information! I hope people give it a second chance. Linear isn’t always bad!

[@nicogalax]

13-2 and LR deserve a chance too

[@MilesCW]

My condolences for this being your first FF. Obviously the older games were in several regards better, especially the "prime" games VI-IX. After that the Tales of games started massively to improve. At least we got a FF7R/Sequel.

[@AnotherCody]

@@MilesCW No condolences necessary! If you had read my entire comment, you would have seen that I was absolutely obsessed with the game and praising it. It’s a pretty fun title regardless of predecessors and I’m glad it’s my first entry. It’s not bad.

[@ninomontalvo12345]

I totally agree, minor gripes I had were having to read the datalog to get crucial story info, lack of good dialogue between the characters and making them feel relatable. With that being said, this has one of the best gameplay mechanics in a FF title, up there with FFV and VI for me, I don't think linearity and lack of exploration/deep customization is a huge issue, as long as you have good level design and can engage the player wgich I can see why many people dislike this title, they just don't feel any connection to the characters. Even with the negatives, this is definitely one of the better Final Fantasy games, for those who can appreciate Square Enix attempting to keep each title fresh and distinct. Everyone should formulate their own opinions and not drop this just because of the popular opinion.

[@nicogalax]

@@ninomontalvo12345 at least u don't have to read any datalog on the next 2 games (just a bit but still)

[@mrInhinyero]

"Open or linear, a game should be designed to complement the format it chooses." Just wanna say, this line made me subscribe. Couldn't agree more.

[@FFgamesftw]

I personally think a balance is best. I don't want a game with no choice of direction as at that point I am watching an interactive movie however a game that is too open I feel lacks direction or a compelling story. I generally like the approach of "gated exploration" where you complete a story beat and it opens up several directions and options however you don't unlock the entire world all at once. The main story still needs to be the driving focus but at the same time it's nice to be able to take a break from the story and just wander around doing miscellaneous other things. I think the problem with FFXIII is excluding Pulse there was nothing besides the main story. You could grind or you could continue on with the story.

[@Anduril74871]

Honestly, my biggest issue with 13, outside of some of the characters(and I'm surprised to hear that a lot of that is possibly the fault of the localization being bad), was with not being able to switch your party leader at any time which could lead to an instant game over even if you had a crap-load of Phoenix Downs.

[@ryancoughlan7205]

You can switch your party leader after chapter 10. I feel like this was mostly done so you can a full feel for every character and their unique perks before you choose your best team

[@laughingseal2282]

I actually think this game is horrible, feels like a chore where you barely interact with anything and the story when it isn't confusing and is not making much sense has the worst pacing ever in any rpg.

[@Anduril74871]

​@@ryancoughlan7205I know this comment is a year old, but I was specifically talking about during battle. If I'm playing as Lightning and get ko'ed, it's a game over, despite having a healthy party and Phoenix Downs to spare.

[@FinalFantasyXDen-br4to]

the camera was dogshit. it was right up the character's ass, which is what made it feel so linear and claustrophobic. A zoomed out camera like X is far superior.

[@AnthonyH0395]

Final Fantasy XIII is honestly my favorite game of all time. The lore was pretty solid, which is something that I really look for and love in a game. The music (like the video says) is fantastic. And honestly, the fact that all the characters are flawed, but grow and are still flawed after growing feels comforting. And don't get me started on Oerba.

[@adamH.1]

Tell me something about Oerba

[@AnthonyH0395]

@@adamH.1 like the video said, it does a lot of visual story telling of what Pulse was like centuries ago. Additionally the build up to it was amazingly heartbreaking. You hear how beautiful Oerba is and your first glimpse of it is from afar, covered in snowlike crystal dust. You felt how Vanille and Fang felt in that moment. And the music in Oerba is perfect. It encapsulates the overall air of Oerba being a quiet ghostown overtaken by C'ieth that were once the inhabitants. There's no battle music, just Dust to Dust playing in the background. And the lyrics for it are perfect.

[@Kerry95ify]

Well said. I couldn't agree more about your takes. Its my favorite game ever too.

[@anarche8127]

Omg I've literally never seen anyone who's favourite game is final fantasy 13

[@adamH.1]

@@anarche8127 well, newsflash, FF13 is my all time favorite game too

[@Samlem14]

Having just finished 13, this was the exact video I needed. What a masterfully written and edited video. So excited to binge watch the rest of your videos!!! Keep up the amazing work.

[@ZacharyShow]

5 mins in and I understand the plot more than I did after playing this game for 40 hours.

[@shawnnbits]

Sad.

[@icesword77]

I did not realize it even had forty hours of gameplay.

[@Aichi1138]

@@icesword77 35 hours of cutscenes/Walking Sim, 5 hours of gameplay

[@ZacharyShow]

@@icesword77 So I probably spent hours grinding before the end just to prepare for the boss fight because I didn't do that in FFX and regretted it

[@Aichi1138]

@FoxMcCloud64 you might want to look up what that means. I did not replace the argument of game length. And even if It is somehow a strawman, Is FF13 the kind of game worthy of defending semantics over?

[@one1virtuoso]

The 7R and 13 comparison kinda blew my mind. I didn't even notice how baked in 13 is to 7R.

[@mypetroxie]

Part of the 7.9% "not literally you" and just wanted to say I appreciate your videos! Also, "Due to Vanille having strong pullout game and bailing out at the last second..." had me giggling pretty hard.

[@Dahras1]

I work in game development, and I almost spit out my drink when you said they had 180 artists for a team of just over 200. Like, what the hell? It isn't uncommon for the art staff including animators to be up to 50% of staff but, like 90%? What makes that so absurd is that art needs are a function of planned content, and content is created by designers. If your artist to designer ratio is that skewed, it points to a team that's overpolishing too little game.

[@kamii_999]

That's probably why this game was such a visual masterpiece.

[@arkhamsrazor7075]

@@kamii_999 That's funny.

[@Olempis]

You didn't have to use auto-battle on combat. Every battle you could select your abilities only once and then you could ''repeat'' those same actions. Its badly hidden and wasn't mentioned anywhere in the game, but it was WAY more useful than auto-battle. I remember discovering that by accident. Probably one of the reasons why I liked the game a bit more among others.

[@edwardnowakowski5990]

You could repeat them?!?!?!? I always felt like it wasn’t worth it to do anything other than auto battle because it’d waste too much ATB to curate your attacks every term You my friend gave blown my mind

[@FlakeyCakes]

I got stuck on Barthandelus because of this lmao, but I watched HCBailly (classic JRPG youtuber) and in the first episode he explained this exact mechanic and I was finally able to beat the game.

[@roxasreturns2183]

I played the whole game without knowing this lol

[@malomodo]

That's been a trick ever since the ATB gauge. Set cursor to "memory" and just hold down x. Maybe even before that.

[@coldchillin8382]

Thought this was self explanatory. Didn’t know there were people who didn’t know this.

[@alzaelnext638]

The issue with the datalog isn't that it exists, the issue is that a lot of the events of the story, especially the beginning have no impact, meaning, or outright make no sense without it. Yes, these things often get explained later, but not at the points where you actually should be told them. The death of Hopes mother, for instance (in fact that whole intro scene itself), is supposed to have emotional impact but fails utterly because you have no idea who anybody is, what is going on, or what the conflict she died in is. This also makes it impossible to have any sympathy for Hope or his whining about his mother or grudge against Snow. Speaking of, we also have Snow and his wanting to fight the enemy, but no context for the conflict or why he wants to do this. This sort of thing goes on for about the first 10-15 hours of the game with almost no information being given about anything that is actually happening in the story. If you don't notice the datalog or don't read it you have no context for anything that is going on or any of the characters motivations or reasons. Speaking as a professional writer, this is insanely bad storytelling. I honestly couldn't figure out how anyone with any skill looked at this and thought it was good. If you stick it out long enough the story improves once you have the context and the information but the slog to get there is unforgivable. It's especially idiotic because they gave the game a narrator. So they could have easily given some much needed information on what was happening to the audience in the beginning.

[@henriknobinder7395]

This. While I like complex stories and contextual storytelling, FFXIII is straight-up obtuse with how its story is told. There is no good reason the story as presented in the game should make this little sense.

[@meister4597]

THIS SO MUCH. When XIII haters say you can’t understand the story without the datalogs, they are both right and wrong just like XIII fans who say you don’t need the datalog to understand the story are both right and wrong. It’s not necessarily the datalog that is the issue here, it’s the information within the datalog. You can go through the story without looking at the datalog and understand it, but you are literally insane if you can sit there and tell me your first playthrough before at the very least Vanille and Sazh get captured, you were able to follow the plot 100% without being confused. However it’s also dishonest to say that you need to constantly read the datalog to have any idea what’s going on, because the game does do a decent job at explaining things. The problem is as you said, things are explained waaaaaaaay too late to the point that by the time you get the full picture for said concept, most people have either lost interest or given up fully on the story. FFXIII, despite how much I adore the narrative, is a masterclass on how not to write a story/convey information.

[@PhoenixFireZero]

If you have to do supplemental reading to understand not the worldbuilding but the story, you have fucked-up as a storyteller

[@MASJYT]

On that same note it was a mistake to make Serah the main driving force of the story, an absent character we ultimately don't know or care about. There's a whole universe to explore, and the writers seemed absolutely uninterested in exploring it. 'A utopia floating in the sky governed by god-like beings and populated by humans who don't know cold or hunger because everything has been provided to them since birth, paranoid and fearful of the world below which they perceive as hell'. I mean give that premise to a competent writer and they could do WONDERS with it. Instead we got endless meandering and Snow screaming SERAAAAH!!! for 45 hours.

[@PhoenixFireZero]

@@MASJYT a clear goal should have been presented quite early on. FFVI didn't have this problem: evil empire, probably gotta thwack it at some point. More stuff branches from that. Due to the nature of the brands the main characters in XIII had, side questing wasn't a practical inclusion, and yet they still pissed about.

[@CutoverMe]

I guess im one of the few that actually liked it when it came out and i still love it. 13 is the final fantasy game i’ve played the most :)

[@mikemattingly3956]

I loved the 13 series

[@quarreneverett4767]

cool =]

[@julien8315]

The story was excellent. The graphics were excellent. The gameplay was excellent. My favorite FF (and I’ve done them all). I really thing FF13 was the first case of « someone on Internet didn’t like it so I shouldn’t say otherwise. ». What is ironic though, is that it was criticized because the first half of the game were long corridors, and then came FF7 remake, with nothing except corridors areas, but is considered now a masterpiece.

[@mikemattingly3956]

They need to remake or remaster 13 series

[@quarreneverett4767]

@@mikemattingly3956 nice

[@KatsuImagitian]

I'll always appreciate the FFXIII crew, each character grabbed my interest and I liked the theme of finding hope in what is truly a hopeless situation for them as L'cie. They all had to find a reason to keep fighting and grew a lot throughout the story focused game. Lightning learning to open up and be vulnerable to others besides Serah. Snow the heart of the group whose optimism pushed them forward even at his lowest where he admits he knows it's all bark but still wants to fight with something to believe. Sazh to not be so pessimistic and even an old guy like him can keep up if he keeps on fighting the good fight. Hope getting more self confidence to stand up for himself. Vanille not running from her problems anymore and facing the consequences head on. Last, Fang learning that she's not alone, the sole protector of Vanille with the world against her. They became such a tight knit group of friends.

[@kevynlevi9894]

"Its not a question of can or cant". I like this dialogue in this game.

[@tylersmith9868]

Lol 🤣

[@ispartacus1337]

Great opinions here. They were some of my favorite across the board characters. When most FF have only a few characters that I liked.

[@wjd23104]

" I liked the theme of finding hope in what is truly a hopeless situation for them as L'cie." They suicide bombed Cocoon...They blindly and stupidly decided to do something, that would get everyone killed (after being repeatedly told that this was the case) and then...the writers decided that they saved everyone.

[@KatsuImagitian]

@@wjd23104 I think you forgot the faction that was lead by Cid Raines team that was earlier stopped from killing Orphan and told to work with Psicom and Guardian Corp to evacuate the citizens off Cocoon and onto Pulse. Lightning's group got the go ahead so that Falcie could never interfere with them again. The only contrivance was the Etro deal at the end where they were freed from the crystallization.

[@sifthegreat4570]

The combat system is one of my favorites in final fantasy. Its fun and you feel like you are running a well oiled machine. It hums when you know how to manage paradigms

[@Kaefer1973]

I prefer the true turn based FFX system but the FFXIII system is at least better than the hybrid systems of the majority of the series.

[@nolimitzgw2832]

The combat is the diamond among the mediocrity that plagues this game. Linearity and pacing being the big turds that make this such a borefest and candidate for worst entry in the series.

[@Mstrskeletor89]

@@nolimitzgw2832 still a better game than 15 though aleat it had the heart 15 ONLY looked good the story was trash and the gameplay sucked ass they spent so much money paying designer clothes companies to design outfits for their shitty characters that they shouldve just spent on making the combat feel like you were just hitting the exact same button over and over and over again there was absolutely 0 strategy to play 15 just hack and slash

[@nolimitzgw2832]

@@Mstrskeletor89 meh 15 was stuck in development hell. Still churned out a decent showing combat was simplistic but fun with an annoying cast. 13 cast is just straight up anime/kdrama trash character tropes. The coming of age story is washed up and only works when you create interesting characters and almost every single one in that game missed the mark.

[@Kaefer1973]

@MVPugsley Meh, sure FF XV had a needlessly convoluted plot, boring characters, cringy character designs and a tedious combat system. But at least everything fit well together. No good or interesting aspects that seemed out of place and disturbed the whole picture.

[@Amaneas]

I’m in 2 hours and the cinematic style really gives if ff7 remake vibes, which already made me appreciate ff13

[@NoonDragoon]

This wasn’t my first Final Fantasy, but it was and has always been one of my favorites. Maybe it’s because I played it at a formative time in my life, but the game and it’s characters have stuck with me for quite a while. So I will always lap up more content discussing this game!

[@AngleFamilyFun]

I agree! I'm on a third play through, first time in 5 years I've played it, and I am playing it the most thorough than ever before. I loved this game when it came out, and I love it even more now! Graphically and musically it still holds up to modern consoles.

[@robinsonsonic]

This is a very well-done breakdown and retrospective of XIII. I remember being hyped as hell for it after playing X and XII, which were my first tastes of the franchise from the gaming perspective. I had seen Advent Children and heard the legacy of VII, fell in love with Cloud and Sephiroth like almost everyone else, but hadn't had the chance to try it. The closest experience I had gotten was through Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2. XII was, and still is, my favorite still to this day, but XIII will always have a soft spot in my heart. I didn't love it, but I really enjoyed my time with it, and the music will always be on my playlist, especially Blinded by Light. I will not speak of that nightmare trophy list, and it's BS requirements that prevented me from getting the Platinum, but I had a great time when I played through a few times. This was a very entertaining watch and succinctly and clearly explained your stance on the game. Definitely subbing to your channel! 🤙🏽

[@brammclaughlin5718]

XIII was my first final fantasy, and so I've always held it fondly. It's been so sad to see it be so panned throughout the community, so I'm so glad to see this video and I hope it marks a cultural shift for the fandom. Thank you for an awesome video and I loved the analysis of one of my favorite games!

[@anarche8127]

It was my first ff too and it definitely gets so much more hate than it deserves. It's incredibly fun, and I will admit it's not very good final fantasy, but it's a damn good jrpg

[@BleedForTheWorld]

We call that baby's first FF. Nothing is immune to criticism so you gotta deal with that. If you enjoyed it, trust me, more power to you. These new approaches for broader audiences shows me that capitalism is at framework here and I do loathe it.

[@Gabestoic]

The sad thing is xiii being your first ff experience. No hate for the game but it just was lacking many things the franchise was known for. And the battle system felt so restrictive at times. The fact that you have these beautiful enviroments, and you can't explore but a couple hallways. The amount of cutscenes was too much for a ff game too. No overworld map, the "main character in battle dies and you lose". The game world kinda opens up really late. At least the graphics were great. Just not the direction every ff fan expected after years and years of development.

[@equipbasicsword]

My issue with XIII was that it wasn't just a hallway (and I remember seeing a screenshot of the first three chapters' maps lined up together showing how linear it was (if I remember correctly)), it was that whilst the visuals were great, it was like walking through an art museum. It was soulless. There was no life. You held forward, the game showed you cool visuals, but you never felt it was alive. There were no people. No towns. No interaction. The few times you ended up in what would have been a town, it was devoid of meaning. Shops and save points were the same thing. That was my biggest issue with XIII and why I dislike it so much.

[@DisastrousCake]

I’m sorry but thinking about an art museum as soulless is crazy 😭 that makes zero sense

[@watchmehope6560]

​​Or u can use it brain and realize he didn't mean it like an actual museum in the real world... But the game itself felt like a dead, dull museum in a virtual space.@@DisastrousCake

[@thehevandragon]

@watchmehope6560 Honestly I caught what OP was doing but it could’ve been worded a bit better. Also don’t play the “brain” card when you couldn’t manage a simple sentence.

[@rogerbee1234567]

it’s ok when naughty dog and every other shitty game does it apparently

[@DemethVLK]

My memories of XIII are one of the best of my 360 era. The music, the combat, lightning... Despite its flaws it let a brand on me. Literally, as I've been tattooed with Lightning's brand on my arm. Not because of the game's quality but because of the brand it left on me as a child.

[@HaitaniMasayuki]

44:00 Yes! When I was playing Lightning Returns for the first time waaay back when, I thought, they just invented the next logical step of round-based RPG combat! I was already phantasizing in my head how you could emulate it to a team of several characters, pretty much exactly how they pulled it off in FF7R years later!

[@DjVader112]

I missed out on lightning returns, my console at the time broke, now I can’t find a copy of the game anywhere

[@zivi3862]

@@DjVader112 on xbox you can buy it in the store it even had an fps and graphic patch

[@ievaday]

@@DjVader112 it's on Steam

[@hiflyer000]

I'm kind of glad it never really took off because the combat for both of these games is very tedious, and gets tiresome after a while. LR went from very difficult, overly-long battles (every battle) to just non-challenging button mashing battles after getting a decent weapon and armor. There was really no in between. FF7R drove me nuts that everything shared the same action bar and you were forced to attack a few times before being able to do any other action. Plus the transition between characters was terrible because you basically had to pause the game to do it. They could have easily made it seamless like practically every other modern game does. Not to mention the whole "break" concept being horribly executed (one of my least favorite modern gaming trends). Funny thing is FF13 is the only game I've ever played that has executed it well.

[@Sepharite]

Playing it in 2021 made me appreciate the graphics and pacing. It’s much better than most JRPG I’ve played this year.

[@CandorianWonder]

The linearity was literally the point. The entire story repeatedly tells you that no matter what you do you can't really defy your fate. The "single way foward" approach is an implementation and representation that even if you try and fight your fate by taking other paths, they all twist and turn in the same direction. They only succeed in fighting their fight when they make it to Gran Pulse, and then they choose this fate and you'll note the return to cocoon has a more open feel to its maps. All roads still lead to their destiny, but there's more choice and variation. The linearity of part of the story. It's a poignant reflection of something we are repeatedly told and shown: fighting your destiny may just lead you to the fate you tried to fight. This is ALSO the point of 2 and 3, where you literally lose in 2 and Lightnimg Returns spends the entire game explicitly saying that the whole point of the new world is to no longer be tied to fate.

[@iqjump123]

Ff13 was surprisingly one of the ff games that I ended up finishing. I do remember the environment and the music was what kept me going. I ended up not being able to finish ffx13-2 and didn’t even try lightning returns- I would like to eventually hear your analysis on it. Longer is better- my body is ready.

[@mindaugasjurevicius5776]

You could watch ffx13-2 story on youtube from the point where you stopped playing, the game was meh for me too, but I'd really recommend Lightning Returns. It's the most open world one, battles are very different than on the previous titles (for me it's much better, as it requires some reaction time and more skills) different equipment sets give a LOT difference in battles, and the game really makes you feel important as you're a goddess and it really makes you want to save the world. You might feel some pressure because there's a time limit, but it's really enough to do everything, there's no pressure when you know it.

[@delusifer1017]

I had only heard about how poorly received this game was, so thank you for giving an in-depth look into FF13, what the game is about, and how different circumstances affected it's perception. This video was very well made I can tell how passionate you are about the topic.

[@supergamenchillbros.6643]

I didn't realize it was so poorly received until now. I just enjoyed the game for what it was.

[@dytgyfgyffuh243]

Yes final fantasy 13 is good the problem was the development of thr game

[@alexkunka5434]

Thank you for mentioning the music! I listen to the soundtrack all the time, all the way through. It is some of the best relaxing and action packed of any games OST.

[@hcook1023]

Lightning was actually supposed to be more pretty and expressive and Fang was a guy, however once Fang was changed to female they had to "balance" it by making Lightning more stoic

[@rsreidjr]

That’s cool, I didn’t know that about Light but I did read that Fang was supposed to be Vanille’s love interest/Partner but they wanted to make the team equally Male/Female. They still have a strong love interest between the two however. Where did you hear the info about Light being more Feminine? I would love to read some Info on it. Hope you enjoyed FF13 as I’m on my first play through going through gran pulse on a Chocobo ATM.

[@hcook1023]

@@rsreidjr I adored the game when I played. It was years after and I hadn't heard any of the discourse so I was truly a blind player on my first Final Fantasy, however I did see it more as an action adventure than an RPG It was only like 2015 when I borrowed a friend's copy but even then I was stunned how good the game looked, honestly it could still almost pass for modern because it has a more timeless style

[@skyserpent14]

Honestly, Final Fantasy XIII had such a profound effect on me in my teen years and it will always hold a special place in my heart. Before FFVIIR came out, I actually considered FFXIII to be my favorite FF but seeing all the hate made me afraid to admit it for the longest time

[@rvfiasco]

It's a good game. I think what hurts it the most out of anything is just the fact it was named Final Fantasy.

[@Joshuaraymalan]

I really appreciated the FF7 Remake comparisons. The battle mechanics of that game always felt like a positive evolution of FF13s mechanics to me, and now I know why.

[@darrensucksatgames]

100%. I’ve been telling my gaming buddy the same thing. 13 lended so much to FF7 but felt like that’s what they were always going for but didn’t know quite how yet.

[@ubergamer2010]

110%. They hadn't yet figured out the perfect mix of real time action/the ATB system/turn based combat. Remake is about 90% of the way there, I think Crisis Core Reunion and FF7 Rebirth are gonna have damn near perfect systems.

[@gaspenpayne6755]

If you played FF7 Crisis Core this is nothing new.

[@nickcarballo6039]

@@gaspenpayne6755 crisis core remaster was kind of a disappointment. Basically nothing changed from a ten year old game definitely something to pick up on a sale tho

[@gaspenpayne6755]

@@nickcarballo6039 I was talking about the combat system not the overall game, the combat system of FF7R is nothing new if you played Crisis Core.

[@Jubanni1998]

To me i loved the structure being linear in cocoon where everything is artificial and the cast feels forced into their destiny until they decide to take charge of their own fate and thats when you land in pulse and for the first time have not a tunnel to walk through but the freedom to go over the wild fields

[@Jacket0120]

its too bad it took FOURTY HOURS to get there.

[@joshuabrien2970]

@@Jacket0120 when i think about it almost every final fantasy since 7 has had a linear opening then opens up hours later only difference is that it gets longer with every game cause they want the games to be bigger each time though with 15 they definitely opened up quicker than usual maybe this game is the one where they thought we should have it open up a little quicker now

[@Akihito_Kanbara]

The funny thing is EVERY main FF game before this was made the exact same way. You spend 40 hours walking from point a to point b, THEN the game opens up and becomes explorable. I don't understand why people can't understand this.

[@Akihito_Kanbara]

@@Jacket0120 you mean like all the other FF games?

[@Jacket0120]

@@Akihito_Kanbara no, I don't. Play any ff pre 10.

[@TheGamedawg]

13 was always one of my favorites to a point where I never quite got the hate. Thanks for diving into it a little, it was pretty insightful. I hope more people come around to this one because it's truly something special!

[@blueboi12jj]

I started with FF10 which is still my favorite FF/RPG but I really enjoyed 13 like I played it maybe 4 times over, completing the main story like 3 times. I took a very long time in the Pulse open world to level up and do the side missions. I really enjoyed the reward for finally being able to kill Adamatoise without being one shot by a stomp lol to being able to kill the final side boss. I never understood the hate so much until now after watching this video, even still I believe it deserves better treatment and more attention. I’d be nice if they do a 4K remaster or something for the PS5

[@Saiku]

Please play 7 and 9, especially 9 it's incredible. And when I say play 7, play the original the remake screws up the story. If you love 10 you'll definitely love those two as well.

[@mooman1017]

At the end where he says "if you only finish ten games or so in a year" I'm sitting there like... I play video games all day, but only finish one every other year. It's because I keep replaying old games, that I also haven't finished. I have hundreds upon hundreds of game saves that are halfway through, but I don't finish a lot of games. One thing I do remember and still play is this game ffxiii, I've beaten it three times all the way through, and I've always gone, wait what's the story? The early part is not great, the post game is amazing. Have a wonderful day everyone!

[@clayneid]

Man, that's relatable - and the new games I get, I can never finish anymore :(.

[@Mstrskeletor89]

Bro i think you have A.D.D. lol i do but i can still finish multiple games in year its getting harder cause games are usually trash now but damn like 10 years ago id finish 10 to 20 games a year

[@JohnSmith-ch9sm]

I recently (in the last year) finally played through Final Fantasy XIII. I mostly avoided it because of its reputation. However, I was surprised how it was actually "not bad". I know it isn't heaping praise, but considering how maligned the game was I felt it was much better than that. I think all of your critiques about the game, and analysis of it is spot on. I also don't think that 13 was the worst of the series 8 2 , but it certainly isn't the best. As you said, a bad main-line final fantasy game is still pretty good so it is definitely a "better than average" game.

[@LargeInCharge77]

Its easily the worst ff game

[@LargeInCharge77]

It is exceedingly worse than the average game, because the average game doesnt have these absolutely horrible characters written by a 12 year old

[@JohnSmith-ch9sm]

@@LargeInCharge77 No, that would be FFII 🙂

[@JohnSmith-ch9sm]

@@LargeInCharge77 You clearly don't play a lot of JRPG's or other games then. 🙂

[@LargeInCharge77]

@@JohnSmith-ch9sm no I play a shit ton of games and I will say wholeheartedly that ff13 is one of the worst games I've ever played. Maybe not worse than the average if you include all the asset flip trash on Steam. You just like ff13 that's it. But you know some people like feces, doesn't make the rest of the world crazy.

[@Truekingr6]

The most amazing moment was whenever I was changing paradigms like nothing. Adjusting to every battle. Like oh my God the game is GLORIOUS AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH

[@MichaelJones-rz5sw]

TL:DW: Yes XIII was that good. FFXIII came out during the start of the 2010's a time when BioWea had hits like Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 just about came out that had a huge appeal to westerns audience, the Fallout/Elder Scrolls introduced open world exploration which gave the illusion of freedom of choice over traditional RPG games from Japan. Despite getting rave reviews American audiences treated like it was the Star Wars prequal of the franchise. When the FFXIII creator gave a good interview about the naysayers of FXIII people just shrugged his respond off and said he was out of touch. Overall, FXIII was a victim of bad timing and came out during a time when western RPGs like Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Fallout, and Elder Scrolls was all over the place.

[@mx.lepage]

Just so you can lose your mind even more: Lightning's real name in japanese is "éclair" which means... lightning in french.

[@IlMemetor72]

Which means "Light"

[@ThBrando]

LIGHTNING THUNDER LIGHTNING

[@colinnixon7739]

Speaks to the convoluted overdesign of the game.

[@robinthrush9672]

This game sure did the "meaningful name" trope and overdosed on it.

[@anthonydelfino6171]

It was Claire, not eclair. The former is a name, the latter is a pastry ;)

[@komyuta2556]

Final Fantasy 13 was actually my very first Final Fantasy. And after I played through 13, I instantly went and bought 13-2 and Lighting Returns. One of my most favourite Games/Series of all times and one of the best ones I played. It actually introduced me to the Final Fantasy franchise. And only after I played through all parts of 13 and thoroughly enjoyed them, heck I loved it. Only then did I, out of pure curiosity check the Reviews for this game, and believe me I was shocked to find out that people thought this game was bad or that barely anyone had anything good to say about it online. Especially when I thought, it was one of the greatest Series/Games I've ever played (and I have played a lot of Games). I was pretty sad about that to be honest.

[@Kragith]

Because Final Fantasy stopped being Final Fantasy after 10. That's when they started trying to fix what wasn't broken with the battle system. We weren't judging it as it's own game, we were judging it as a Final Fantasy game and it sucked by comparison.

[@komyuta2556]

@@Kragith Well, I think that's pretty subjective, in regards to the battle system. After all, in the meantime I already got around to play FF 10 and I still think the Battle System in 13 was more fun,engaging and faster. I liked that, but I can see why many people wouldn't, especially if they were accustomed to a different battle system already. I just think it's a matter of perspective and circumstances at the time, that didn't really make sense to most Fans, as to why they would do that. And yeah, I haven't played 1-9, so I can't compare them, nor would I try too, that is not how I play Games usually. I try to not do that, but to each their own. And to be honest, if not for FF 13, I might've never gotten into Final Fantasy or even JRPG's as a whole, so I do appreciate it. But hey, that's just my own opinion, so yeah.

[@Bigbacon]

@@Kragith Sorry, 12 was fantastic.

[@Kragith]

@@Bigbacon I accept the apology. And now I must ask, what are some of the things you found fantastic about it?

[@Kragith]

@Doppelganger D Well i'd also argue that the stories haven't been as good since 10 either, but I restrained myself since that's way more subjective.

[@NeverAskedtobeMade1390]

This game will always have a special place in my heart. It was the first final fantasy I played all the way through, it got me through some dark times during college, and I got to see a character have my dead name with the exact spelling for the first time ever (I hadn’t come out at the time so this was very exciting for me). It breaks my heart that we will most likely never see a remaster of this for later consoles. I had to se) my ps3 in order to afford a ps4 to keep up with the new games and I really miss playing ff13 so much.

[@theultimatepololo]

WOW, this is one of the best, more in depth analysis I ve ever watch about FF XIII. You truly played this gem with your own thoughts and mind set, it is just one amazing video about a game that was trashed just because circumstances and public opinion. I bought it when it was released 10 years ago, but I didnt play it until last year, free from the absurd criticism it suffered 10 years ago.... and yeah, this game did some things wrong (even the most beloved in the franchise had that) but it is a great JRPG by any standars, it is a love letter to those who discover the franchise with VII and VIII and has one of the best world designs in the saga, great characters, awesome soundtrack and maybe the most dynamic, demanding and fun battle systems ever made in a JRPG. I really hope someday it gets a released for the Nintendo Switch, maybe now that JRPGs are getting back for love in western culture and maybe in a portable system that is more suitable for this kind of games....maybe FF XIII could get a well deserved second chance.

[@williamgregg6339]

I tried really hard to like this game but couldn't.

[@rabbyd542]

The game is still one of my favorites and I play through it from time to time. I think the music helps a lot.

[@TheHopelessNinja]

This was my third game of the FF series. It took a lot of false starts (it took me around 4 years to get around to finishing the game instead of giving up halfway through) before I was able to complete this game. By the end of ff13 I loved it and it had a special place in my heart, but I was super frustrated. By listening to your video, it is heart breaking to know that this game was basically old yellered behind the barn, by the development hell it was put through. I hope that they come back to this game with the care that it needs to give it a chance. I also hope the pc version gets some tlc with mods.

[@sneakyskunk1]

My biggest problem with FF 13 is that I didn't get to live in the world I was being asked to save. FF 13 seemed like an attempt to emulate some of the story telling techniques of BIoware. FF 13 has the data log(something both DA/ME had), and it does a fine job of fleshing out the narrative. The difference between DA/ME and FF 13 is that the previously mentioned games(to varying degrees over multiple sequels) typically provided ample opportunities to experience the worlds you were adventuring in. FF 13 does not really do that(something that sets it apart from nearly all prior entries in the series). I understand the idea that a group of fugitives wouldn't have time to do some leisurely shopping at the local bazaar or go riding on a Ferris Wheel at the visiting fun fair. That said there was nothing stopping Lightning and friends from sneaking around and using disguises. There had to have been some way to allow the characters(and so by extension me) to be citizens of their world. FF 13 also felt relentlessly grindy to me, as if the game designers borrowed that element of gameplay from MMORPGs in an attempt to pad out playtime. That mechanic certainly does have its supporters(and it could be argued is an essential aspect of MMORPGs), though it usually leaves me flat. This argument could be made against all FF games, though 13 felt as if it had this grind to a far greater degree than any previous entry to me. Finally, a few boss fights felt to me less like cleverly employing strategies to overcome powerful bosses and more like a war of attrition. In several cases, I felt as if I only achieved victory thorough a combination of brute force and dumb luck. I didn't hate FF 13, but every single fan of the franchise has their least favorite entry. Thirteen was mine. Having said all that I also acknowledge that everyone has their first FF and it sometimes ends up being their favorite For some this game will be that. I would never presume to tell anyone they are wrong for having that opinion. There is nothing wrong with that opinion and only a real jerk would insist you were wrong for having it. I refuse to be that jerk. If you somehow are still reading this, I wish I could give you a cookie.

[@FamSisher]

I never understood the hate, I loved ff13. It may have not been a masterpiece, but the gameplay and art style really stood out. It might also be because I grew up with Xbox and this was the first FF I remember being available on 360.

[@zivi3862]

same!

[@WonderlandRefugee]

When this game first came out, I was talking to a guy who'd already played through it. His description was that "It's a great game, but I wouldn't call it a 'Final Fantasy'." I've found this to be pretty accurate, and is more or less what I would tell someone who asked. It IS a good game, but it falls a little flat when placed next to games like VII or X. Still, worth at least one play through, imo.

[@1yaz]

VII and X are good games, but they fall a little flat when placed next to games like VI 😉 Edit: Statement was essentially XIII ain't no VII which I found funny, since fans make similar comparisons with other titles in the franchise.

[@svenbtb]

I mean, no game is in the series is like the others. That's kinda it's whole thing. A group of unrelated games that share a name and the names of some creatures/magic and have a dude named Cid somewhere.

[@Edanurus]

@@svenbtb I don't think that's true especially for 1-9, outside of how the magic/ability systems work they are all pretty formulaic. Towns, overworld, dungeons, main quest, side quests, grind. 10 was a step towards what 13 would become but I think the issue is its a very different game to the rest and to me it wasn't what I liked in the series. People remember the backlash but there were a lot of apologists out there at the time. "It opens up 30 hours in, if you want that" was something I heard a lot a which gave people unrealistic expectations of what the game was and to slog through that to have those expectations ruined at least with me left a bad taste in my mouth, one that I think ruined my excitement for any of the games after that. A shame because if it was a spin off series without the baggage of the main line I would have probably thought it was an good but flawed game. But hey I found the dragon quest series after that which scratched the itch final fantasy didn't anymore so there's that.

[@cantbehelped]

Good work on this, I beat 13 a few years ago purely because I'm on a mission to beat every numbered mainline single player FF game. It certainly wasn't as bad as I remember on day 1, and I think you nailed the reason why. Back then I was coming off of playing 1, 2, 4, 6, 7 and 10 in the decade previous to 13 and it just felt so different and the fandom was scared that 13's hallway/autobattle and other weird systems and design choices were there to stay. I remember thinking 13 was all flashy style and no substance. Funny looking back that in the decade following 13, only 1 other completely original non-MMO mainline FF has even come out (excepting 7R, which I guess you can also include.) I'm glad you said 7R used a lot of the same elements, as soon as I saw the Stagger system in 7R I was happy they took one of the best mechanics from 13 and repurposed it, in some ways making it better. When I beat 13, around 2019 or so, I had already played tons more weird and obscure JRPGs with cryptic designs and far worse battle systems, and I came to realize that on its own merits 13 is just a decent RPG that just happened to bear the name Final Fantasy and couldn't live up to the name.

[@nicogalax]

13-2 is a must play tho, if u are playing every numbered ff

[@anthonydelfino6171]

Sad thing is, after the auto battle variant that they put into 15, I'm still feeling burned from 13 and not convinced that we won't see more of the same battle system that turned me off in 13 when 16 finally comes out. Also being old school, with 4 and 6 being the first titles I played, I've always been a bit turned off when they go too sci-fi or contemporary with the settings of the games (so I didn't care for 7 or 8 back in the day either) and with 13 and 15 being modern/futuristic that was something that was going to turn off a sizable number of players too, even if others really wanted that setting.

[@SonySteals]

It must be bad, right? They wouldn’t have made 3 parts of it it was any good, right? You know, like never before in FF history?

[@poppindog2906]

Great vid man. FF13 was my first final fantasy. I remember being in high school and finding the xbox360 version of the game for like $7 at a game stop. I had always wanted to try a final fantasy game because of the seemingly endless praise they got. I honestly wasn't disappointed. The story, setting, and lore were immensely intriguing. I enjoyed the whole thing (even if it took me way longer than it should've to figure out the paradigm mechanic). Despite all its flaws and shortcomings, this 13 will always have a piece of my heart.

[@breloopharos1919]

i would agree ff10 has similar map layouts but what ff10 does is that theres meat and bones to those hallways, you can do way more stuff in ff10's hallways let alone actually go back to those sections. It doesnt feel like a hallway cause you spend more time one spot, letting you soak in the world. Which is probably why alot of people, including me, dont know alot about the ff13 world.

[@Kevo1492]

Yeah you can go back and do nothing 95% of the time, also that game had the illusion of shops and inns. There is a merchant that always follows you and save points that healed you too full which made the inns useless.

[@shortbolts6414]

@@Kevo1492 The inns may have felt useless game-wise, but, it made the world feel more lived in. Same with the shops. There were towns, checkpoints and other stuff along the way as you progress the story. As for "you can go back and do nothing 85% of the time", which game were you playing? There were plenty of reasons to go back, whether it was for the monster arena, to farm specific items, to work through the celestial weapons, to fighting the dark aeon's to finding players for Blitzball. FFX was defo linear, but, only for the first 8-10 hours of the game. So, no only was it short, it didn't feel linear to a lot of players. Yes, you needed to go from point A to point B, but, there were point's C-E in a lot of the zones as well, and reasons to stick around for a bit, whether that be levelling up or doing a side-quest. FF VII remake is linear as well, but, it's highly praised, even though the game is about 85-90% sidequest's. But, that's why it's so loved, because in each zone, there's a LOT to do. You can just run through it (Which is pretty much about 20 hours of normal gameplay of ff XIII) or you can take your time and get a lot of things done.

[@Kevo1492]

@@shortbolts6414 most of the things you pointed out to go back and do were for end game stuff and dark aeons were not in the original game. There was nothing to do in towns in ff10 the game just pushed you in a line. Ff 10 just had small off beaten paths to find chest in a similar fashion as 10.

[@shortbolts6414]

@@Kevo1492 They were stuff you could do once you obtained the airship, which took around 10 hours, if that. Yes, I know that the dark aeon's weren't added in the original game, I played both the original and the remastered versions. But, even without the dark aeon's, there was still nemesis, there was still the secret hidden locations that you could get to with the airship, there were still the celestial weapons. You get to Luca pretty early on, and unlock almost all characters by then, with Rikku coming not long afterwards. Yes, it pushed you along, just like every other game out there, but, there were still things you could be doing. FF13 was nothing but a small pathway the majority of the time. When a game is referred to as 20 hours of tutorial, it doesn't look good, at all. I've never gotten to the end-game of 13, though, I feel I would enjoy it if I ever did. The problem is I don't enjoy the first 20 hours of it. I'm not saying FF 13 itself is a bad game, but, compared to all the other FF games, it isn't that good for me.

[@breloopharos1919]

@@Kevo1492 At least you spent more time in said areas since Tidus and his friends arent fugitives which personally hindered ff13's world building, thats just what im saying in general. Ill take ff10's map over 13's any day. They shouldve had the characters in disguise or maybe law enforcement just dont know their faces with no proof but to look for l'cie brands so youd have more time understanding the characters/world more.

[@digital6694]

The "most of you are literally me" really got me. Thanks for the the kick ass content! Also, Yes, Battle Chasers is hot fire.

[@Avaelendil]

I liked most stuff about XIII besides the linearity. It really killed my enjoyment of the story to need to run up and down a skinny path farming exp and mats for 2 hours because the next area was a boss and I had no way to go back and farm other areas. And after playing 7 remake, I'm really hoping that this dev team doesn't completely screw it up in part 2.

[@heritage106]

There is no need to farm at all prior to chapter 11. With a minor exception of shrouds, if you want them.

[@yisyvonne]

@@heritage106 same I beat bosses fine just going thru no backtracking

[@Riku-Leela]

What is funny for me is that I was like that for years but after playing so many amazing open world games I am actually fine with a fully linear game nowadays to mix it up a bit

[@GeorgeZimmermen]

They will

[@wuffymcwuff]

@@Riku-Leela it's not like there's nothing in between FF13's level of linearity and open world. you can have a game that's not open world but still allows you to explore a bit off the beaten path, backtrack, etc.

[@peanutmuttplays104]

I find an appreciation for every FF game most of the time and this one is no exception.

[@frozennoodles1728]

Same here, all of them that i played mean something and each has its unique thing to it.

[@lexmori9356]

This video is well-done and ngl, vindicating. I felt very alone when I originally played this game and was the only person to defend it. I really loved it and the characters and story really spoke to me. You couldn't say that (or really anything good about the game) and have people take you seriously, at the time, people just assumed you didn't know what a good video game looked like. I would say it was no more linear than X and people would want to argue with me. It made me feel like I couldn't share things I liked with other gamers and a lot of people who I talked to who spoke ill of it had never actually even played it, they just heard it was bad. Different isn't inherently bad and I think people should at least try it before complaining about it. Also, I agree, Oerba is great and is my personal favorite moment in the game.

[@HiDefHDMusic]

Honestly, this was the first final fantasy game I was ever able to actually beat, so I don’t mind the linearity, but I did choose to go back and finish 7, 8, and 9 instead of xiii-2. It was a fun experience, though looking back I didn’t understand a lot of the story (which is a running them with me and final fantasy lol)

[@LargeInCharge77]

You have very bad taste, or just dont mind the worst characters and dialogue ever

[@daisyfloweroriginal]

@@LargeInCharge77 Don't say they have bad taste. Everyone likes different kinds of games and if you don't like it, that's fine. I personally love the characters (yes, Vanille makes weird noises, but I love her as a character) and I don't really have a problem with the dialogues.

[@mr.bryteseid3189]

@@daisyfloweroriginal if people like bad things they havd bad tastes good and bad are objective levels "i like it" or "its good to me" are subjective and hold no weight you can like whatever you like, liking it doesnt make it good

[@kevinmendez9126]

Oh man. I just started replaying the trilogy on my original ps3 this year as well. Honestly I'm always wary of clicking on ff13 videos because there's always so much negativity around it, but thank you for giving this game a fair shake. There is so much I enjoy about it despite some ideas that weren't as fleshed out or given as much time as they should have been. I was one of the people where this was my first final fantasy game snfd was enamored by it. I will always maintain the music slaps hard and the paradigm system is great. I also never knew the development side of this game so that was super interesting to hear about. I remember seeing the ff7R trailer and thinking that it looked kind of like 13, but thought it was just a coincidence, but your theory makes a lot of sense. I'm glad you ended up liking it, and I will definitely be checking out your 13 2 and lightning returns videos once I finish replaying those too!

[@LargeInCharge77]

The people that are negative about the game are giving it the fairest possible shake. Im sorry but ff13 is horrible, some of the worst writing of all time.

[@CorranHorn84]

"Final Fantasy XIII Retrospective Review" by Resonant Arc (2018): kzbin.info/www/bejne/qmS1d4apetd3fJo

[@ThexXxXxOLOxXxXx]

I have a love hate relationship with this game, the intro i didn't like, but boss fights and the last 1/3 of the game i enjoyed with fond memories trying to beat the dinasours on the open plains and getting gold nuggets good times

[@kamii_999]

@@LargeInCharge77 FFXV was worse I can't believe I wasted my money on that game. I would of rather had a FFXIII remake

[@narius_jaden215]

@@LargeInCharge77 This is terrible thinking. You're just shitting on other people's opinions by acting like you are superior and that what you say goes by acting like this. It's awful, and shameful.

[@thomasbrereton5858]

I loved this installment of final fantasy. The story and characters really hit home with me. I'll almost always get to a point where I start skipping dialogue or trying to make it advance faster. I never did that in FF13. The soundtrack is absolutely beautiful, and like you said, I really liked the paradigm system. If you are not fluid and dynamic with it, you'll get stomped. As I get older, I begin to dislilke battle systems where you have to micromanage literally everything. I thought this was fun that you could almost program your tactics before going into battle, use those different tactics to put you in advantageous situations, and then change it up to unload on stagger. They'll probably never do a remaster let alone remake, but I'd really like to play this again on ps5.

[@nightmarishcompositions4536]

I always thought it was a great game, and that’s coming from someone who’s played every game in the series except 11 and 14 multiple times. I think a remaster that fixes some of its flawed mechanics and adding some additional cutscenes to expand upon the story, more side missions and mini-games would make it truly great.

[@richardsinclair7661]

Final Fantasy 13 is my favorite Final Fantasy of all time (no, 13 wasn't my first FF, and I had played almost every other one before I played it) and I would LOVE for it to get a remaster/update. I don't think it's gonna happen though. Well, it might. Reception to 13 has warmed a lot in the past 5-6 years, so maybe Squeenix does something with it.

[@fableddream3483]

Thank you for this video. It examines FFXIII and its development and circumstances objectively and doesn't just trash the game like most other videos of this type. Thank you for making parallels to FFX's structure and pointing out how no one had a problem with FFX's map design and even drawing attention to how FFXIII provided the building blocks for FFVIIRemake. I will confess, I love XIII and it's trilogy. Have been a FF fan since the OG on NES. It is just nice to see someone like you make a thoughtful examination of FFXIII that might actually ger people to truly look at what this game was trying to do (even if it didn't do it perfectly). So, thanks again!

[@zeekfarrongaming5302]

Great video! While 13 isn’t exactly my favorite, Lightning is in my top 3 for FF main protagonists. And for those that have asked me if they should play the trilogy, I told them heck yeah give it a try, what do you have to lose? And guess what? They didn’t hate it. For most people it’s an enjoyable enough experience for a single play through but it’s not something they would play over and over or spend hours grinding in. 13 doesn’t deserve all the hate it gets and a lot of the people that hate it more than anything on the planet, Probably never even tried it and are a product of the hate rumors that spread like wildfire

[@JoseTrovoes92]

This gameplay system shines in the later boss fights. Yes it can be boring in the beginning but the same can be said about many other RPG games. It takes time to get things going (maybe a bit too much time) but once you can unleash the full potential of this system it is incredibly fun and satisfying.

[@xiiir838]

Kinda why so many people say XIII-2 is way better

[@hondshoven8477]

Very well done video but one question : Am I the only one old enough to remember that people were complaining about FF X's linearity when it released ? Like, most people could agree it was its main flaw. Big difference is, the rest of the game was great so most people didn't call it irredeemable trash. FF XIII not only is linear but you can also sleepwalk by pressing X through most mundane encounters which is just a combo of problems creating a massive boom. So now, you have fairly linear levels (so, no real engagement of the player through exploration), full of boring fights (pretty animations lose their shine after 10 hours) and the only thing spicing most of the gameplay loop is dialogue... If you like the characters great ! But if you don't ...

[@ryansmith21035]

The nostalgia hits hard

[@danhalo1405]

31:20 @BrandonSP Final Fantasy 13 did not solely got all the critisism about its linearity because of its very linear level design that is only one halve of the equation the other halve is its super tedious linear gameplay structure. Most JRPGs prevent tedium with having different aspects of gameplay you don't solely fight in dungeons all the time because you also have exploration and talking with people in towns and you not always just rush through the main quest because you usually also have a ton of side activities and minigames. And this is what is really meant with the critisism about FF13 linearity FF13 does not really offer a variety of different gameplay segments that prevent tedium the game basically puts you from one super linear dungeon into the next to rush through the main story with no real variety. And Final Fantasy 10 while yes it also has a linear structure of its dungeon/level design but the gameplay structure still offers variety and different aspects you still explore towns, shop and talk with people in FF10 and you still have a ton of side quest and minigames you can do in that game that is the main reason why FF10 is not criticised because of linearity

[@eacaraxe]

The missing link between FF13, its design and reputation, and FF7R in my opinion wasn't mentioned in the video. The PS3 tech demo came out, cementing the idea of a seventh-gen remake in people's minds...then six months later, Advent Children came out. That gave everyone the expectation of flashy, high-octane, action/RPG combat inspired by character action games moving forward, and Squeenix clearly felt the pressure to meet that expectation. Motomu Toriyama himself said Advent Children was the standard for FF13's combat system. It was something Squeenix leaned into hard to generate publicity and hype for FF13 -- the demo for 13 came with the Advent Children Complete DVD.

[@mattwo7]

49:53 That's not much of a standard considering how little competition there was. Xbox has only just recently started to open up to being a platform with JRPGs as they start taking advantage of SIE's western focus and heavier censorship policies gained in its transition from SECJ. (Nintendo America also seems to be taking advantage of said censorship policies as a lot of the games censored on PS4 and PS5 since 2018 lack that censorship on Nintendo Switch. To think, Senran Kagura could have survived if it had just jumped ship but Takaki just kind of gave up on it)

[@HopeEsthiem15]

FFXIII without any hesitation is my fav entry in the franchise, I've played them all except 1 and 2 and Hope Esthiem once again my fav of the franchise, I do not disregard any flaws in the entry but its just still a really good game imo

[@Monius13]

Slight spoilers to follow, of course :D I think the reason Snow still takes the blame is because although he tried his hardest, he failed. But Snow puts on a strong front, trying to be the hero for everyone. I think he acknowledges that if he didn't have such a huge ego, she wouldn't have been there. Or, perhaps, if he was just a little stronger, he could have saved her. Either way, he feels guilty therefor he is guilty. That's how I took that scene. Also, I will always go on record to state that FFXIII has one of the best Battle themes in the entire series. And Sunleth Waterscape is one of my favorite songs in the whole series, too! Such a bop.

[@ralpbeez8414]

Your interpretation isn't too far off, and it's ultimately that sort of "holding all the burden and guilt" for so long that leads to Snow's in-game status in Lightning Returns.

[@simplysolus8916]

I always assumed it was because his group fought and Nora was part of the collateral damage.

[@EastToWestTCG]

I loved all the previous entries in the series and 13 is one of my favorites. I think it was just different enough to give a new exciting outlook on JRPGs. I loved the paradigm system and never used "auto" mode. I think the combat is a lot more nuanced than people realized.

[@A_Simple_Neurose]

Having played this in Japanese, I agree with pretty much everything you said. This localization really didn't do the characters justice. This localization had a lot of misses in terms of tone, some characters are just very different people between the languages. I don't really know what much else I could add without going into direct examples. At the risk of sounding gatekeepy or whatever, this game's story is really much more enjoyable if you know (some) Japanese. It's probably not even hard to get to that level, it's probably like an N3-2 level task, most of the stuff they say gets repeated in some way eventually. The most trouble you could have is probably listening to Barthandelus who uses slightly more educated vocabulary.

[@yeet5596]

I couldn't imagine Sahz with a Japanese voice 🤣 he's my favorite character. I always thought Vanille was such an awkward character with her dialog.

[@A_Simple_Neurose]

@@yeet5596 Sahz is really nice in Japanese to be honest, I enjoyed him quite a bit. I think Vanille is also fine in Japanese, but then again, these are very different characters across the localizations. I couldn't really say what she sounds like in English since I haven't played that dub, but that sort of cutesy girly character never sounded good in English imo.

[@connyslayer4661]

I see, i can understand what you mean by that. I am sure you had an amazing time with that. I also think the localizations maybe decent at best but it really doesn't do the original Japanese version justice like it's supposed to. As a person that enjoys playing games in different localizations, this is unfortunate but i would love to play the game in Japanese and English so i can experience both of them and make my Assessment. Thanks for informing about your experience and I do think sometimes learning the original language, in this case Japanese can very much help in learning and understanding the original story. I really hope they Re Localize and do the original Japanese story justice if they remaster it sometime in the future.

[@connyslayer4661]

@@yeet5596 I agree with you, Sahz is done actually pretty well in English with some other characters. He sounds pretty cool and natural however, Vanille sounds pretty awkward and bizarre. I guess her dialogue can be used for community memes. I do think she could have been done so much better. 😂😌.

[@connyslayer4661]

@@A_Simple_Neurose Nice, that's pretty great to know. I think i will enjoy them as well. I also will definitely keep in mind that the localizations really made them into very different characters , that would help me immerse myself alot better. You make a good point about The cutesy girly characters as well. They don't sound natural or good most of the time but i think they can be done well in English but it's very rare and specific.

[@pepperonipony1751]

I had to stop playing like 15 hours in when the game was *still* giving me more tutorials while feeling so on-rails. I literally found X-2 to be more playable.

[@SyndicateOperative]

Hahaha, wow, that's quite the critique. Gods, I hated X-2.

[@splinternet5520]

Oh, I didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did. I loved XIII, an unreasonable amount, and was in a community of people that really enjoyed it as well, and it wasn't rare for people to go into the thread (back in the days where people still occasionally enjoyed forums) and act so bizarrely angry for knowing people liked it, like it was personal. I didn't hold it against them, I understood the game had a lot of low points, but it got to the point I stopped looking at XIII related media because people would be confrontational about anyone who expressed a positive opinion of it. Anyway, it's nice to see a balanced take, not the doomer reactions but also taking it to task with fair criticism. It was absolutely a product of an unbalanced development cycle, but also the awkward growing years of squeenix that a lot of people found off putting, but I found weirdly endearing. It's not my favorite game of the franchise, but it holds a special place in my heart and definitely a comfort game for me. I loved the world, I enjoyed the battle system, I adore the characters. But man, I really wish they let you do more in the world, that part really burned me. Just like you said, having more varied quests, or something to do in Nautilus or Palomporom would have really would have made it so much better. I actually strongly prefer more linear, or at least, tighter experiences than some of the more open worlds that were popular at the time (that I think square is especially weak at), but the lack of variety definitely was something I often complained about. I watched your other retrospectives and loved them as much as this one, thank you for the quality content

[@ryuuseiSoul]

FFXIII's Paradigm battle system is one of the best JRPG battle systems in history, no cap. And I think it DID innovate the genre. After it was released, there were far more battle systems that had some kind of Auto-Battle option and focusing the gameplay on understanding your characters' roles and strategy instead of the basic turn based battles.