Final Fantasy XIII is far from being a favorite Final Fantasy of mine (it’s in my bottom five for sure), but I don’t carry the same hatred for it that many series fans do. Actually, I poured over 60 hours into it, and don’t regret a second. So a direct sequel isn’t such a terrible idea to me — in fact, I very much look forward to giving it a whirl.
Sure, I’d much rather see Square Enix focus more on getting Final Fantasy Versus XIII finished up sometime this century or doing a direct sequel to a more revered game like Final Fantasy VII instead, but I’m never one to refuse any new Final Fantasy, and the proposed enhancements (battle QTEs, multiple paths, branching story arcs, dungeon puzzles, etc.) are aimed squarely at addressing the scathing criticisms of the first game’s hyper-linearity.
Final Fantasy XIII-2 is sure to stir up even more controversy when it ships for PS3 and Xbox 360 in early 2012. So, which side of the Final Fantasy XIII fence are you on?
Matt Litten is a 28 year old from-the-womb gamer turned video game reviewer/blogger and current editor/owner/operator of VGBlogger.com. Matt got his first taste of gaming as a youngster on the NES and Atari, and the rest is history from there.
In 2004, three years removed from high school and still looking for a career direction in life, Matt landed his first gig in the video game review business writing for the now-defunct website BonusStage.com. After the sad and untimely close of BonusStage, the former staff went on to found VGBlogger.com, and after a short stint as US Site Manager for AceGamez Matt turned his attention to VGBlogger, and to this day is dedicated to making it one of the top video game blogs in all the blogosphere.
Matt is a fair-minded reviewer and lover of games of all platforms and types, big or small, hyped or niche, big-budget or indie. But that doesn't mean he will let poor games slide without a good thrashing when necessary. 
Oh no! I REALLY did not enjoy Final Fantasy XIII. It was one of the Top 20 worst gaming experiences that I have ever had. Dragon Quest 1 had a more engaging story and more exciting combat. Heck, Ultima Exodus for the NES drew me in with more of its storyline and half the game was NPCs spouting badly-translated nonsense!
I did not realize how unhappy I was with Final Fantasy XIII and its battle system until I bought Final Fantasy IV Collection for the PSP last week. That game has STATIC SPRITES for enemies and it is still much more fun in combat.
1) More dialogue does not automatically mean better dialogue.
2) And better graphics does not automatically mean better gameplay.
I am going to print out these 2 statements, roll them up like a newspaper and hit RPG game developers (both Western and Japanese) over the head with it until they realize that truth!
** I will not be buying this new Final Fantasy. ** And I have bought EVERY Final Fantasy (including FFT) since Final Fantasy 1 for the NES. I even bought Final Fantasy X-2. I support the video game industry and community. So now that GOG website gets my money, where I can legally buy classic Western RPG games. And I am loving the PSP and PSN where I can purchase classic Japanese RPG games like Final Fantasy IV Collection.
Absolutely. By traditional RPG standards, FFXIII is a major disappointment, and by far one of the weakest games in the franchise. But I don’t know, I guess I have some innate ability to compartmentalize every game that I play without boxing them into a defined set of features they need to have compared to other games.
It’s not what I expected from a Final Fantasy game, and as an RPG I thought FFXIII fell flat on its ass in terms of story and character development. But just viewed all by itself without comparing it to previous games, I had a good time with it, especially once the free-roam area became available.