Opinions on each game in the FF13 trilogy?

[csvii]

Which do you like/dislike and why? Each game seems really divisive, reading different reviews.

[Kargor]

XIII: mediocre gameplay, if you can call it that, combined with disappointing writing
XIII-2: same gameplay, worse levelling, writing is doing better... until you reach the end
XIII LR: haven't played it yet...

[Atiqa]

All 3 games are good and worth your time. 13-2 is the best of the trilogy. Lightning Returns has you controlling only Lightning, but you have the job system, and manipulate time and try to get everything done in 13 days, similar to the 3 you get in Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

OG FF13 is having a redemption arc as kids and teenagers who just hated on it blindly go back and actually experience the game, and find they really like it

[Silverhawk90]

FF13: I like the music and visuals. I enjoy the characters and their stories. The structure of the game and plot is a bit maddening though.
FF13-2: I honestly like this one a lot. They did a total 180 on this one. Perhaps as the middle child of a trilogy it doesn't quite feel complete and was made in shorter time and less money. Two primary characters somewhat misses out on the dynamic of a large party of characters but still good.
LRFF13: The structure did upset a lot of people, though I just used tips and help and found it pretty rewarding and cool honestly. Again the characters had some issues but in the grand scheme I was happy with it.

[d.j.coleman.eow]

XIII got a lot of hate and sometimes still does. However I quite enjoyed it, even when it first came out. Yes I always want more open world, who doesn't. Other than that the writing which gets criticized a lot isn't that bad.

It can be a lot but I like playing all three like it's one continuous game / 3 discs for the same game. my favorite is xiii and lightning returns.

[13LACK ORDER]

XIII : Had the best graphic and music. the story is good but the gameplay is mediocre.

XIII-2 : Had best gameplay. it's upgrade everything from XIII, but the story took a dive. the story doesn't make any sense. the only saving grace from the story is Caius (my personal top 3 best Final fantasy villain of all time) and he had cool badass theme too. he literally carried the entire XIII-2 story

LR : It's mediocre in terms of gameplay and story. You only play as Lightning here. no party member whatsoever (which i'm not fan of). the only reason you wanna play this because you had to see the conclusion of XIII saga since XIII-2 ended up in cliffhanger. fortunately it had satisfying conclusion. not single loose end remain so i guess the ending alone make this game worth it

[Morton Koopa Jr.]

Originally posted by Atiqa:

All 3 games are good and worth your time. 13-2 is the best of the trilogy. Lightning Returns has you controlling only Lightning, but you have the job system, and manipulate time and try to get everything done in 13 days, similar to the 3 you get in Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

OG FF13 is having a redemption arc as kids and teenagers who just hated on it blindly go back and actually experience the game, and find they really like it

I played FF13 for the first time in 2016, enjoyed it (didn't finish tho), but playing through the game now, and paying more attention. This story is a wonderful meditation on the nature of organized religion. And I am so shocked that I don't see ppl talk more about that. I know it got a lot of hate for its nonlinearity and its battle system (which is fantastic if people actually stuck with it).

Glad I'm playing it now though bc it's running so well now for me XD. Looking forward to the rest of the trilogy after i beat this one.

[TDK Gilgamesh]

FF XIII is a stain on an otherwise excellent franchise. In an attempt to break away from the franchise roots they made the game almost unrecognizable as a Final Fantasy game. Let's face it you could have rebranded this game and people would have probably liked it more. Game is basically a hallway simulator/boss gauntlet sadly there was a better Final Fantasy game released around the same time called Lost Odyssey. I didn't like the first one and saw no point in playing the sequels. I'd say my opinion might not be the popular one but it's the one accepted by the majority of the fan base.

[Zogtar]

Originally posted by TDK Gilgamesh:

FF XIII is a stain on an otherwise excellent franchise. In an attempt to break away from the franchise roots they made the game almost unrecognizable as a Final Fantasy game. Let's face it you could have rebranded this game and people would have probably liked it more. Game is basically a hallway simulator/boss gauntlet sadly there was a better Final Fantasy game released around the same time called Lost Odyssey. I didn't like the first one and saw no point in playing the sequels. I'd say my opinion might not be the popular one but it's the one accepted by the majority of the fan base.

Definitely agree that Lost Odyssey had more heart and replayability.

FFXIII isn't something I can return to, even if Sazh has the sauce.

[AwpTism]

i wished FF13-2 enemy respawn would have been in FF13.
the lack of enemy respawn and lack of farming ability makes the game less FF. all other FF has infinite enemy respawns.

i just respect every FF game in by itself.
I prefer FFX CTB system, random enemy encounter, sphere grid. equipment stat upgrade. FF13 weapon upgrade doesn't make sense to me still, even after 10 years.

[Number Eight]

Originally posted by AwpTism:

the lack of enemy respawn and lack of farming ability makes the game less FF. all other FF has infinite enemy respawns.

I have no idea what are you talking about.
With the exception of story-line bosses, many of them also in unrevisitable locations, every enemy can respawn, and some of them are even required to fight repeatedly.

XIII however could use some sort of trial mode where you can face more powerful variations of earlier chapters bosses.

As for the XIII-2 enemy spawn, I'm not big fan of this step back to random encounters with opportunity to flee from the enemy before the battle transition.

[Morton Koopa Jr.]

Originally posted by AwpTism:

i wished FF13-2 enemy respawn would have been in FF13.
the lack of enemy respawn and lack of farming ability makes the game less FF. all other FF has infinite enemy respawns.

The enemy respawn present in FF13 actually annoys me. Because it has the illusion that there's no respawn, but there is.

[Number Eight]

it's proximity based. They re-spawn after you move certain distance away from the location where you fought them.
Oretoises however, (with exception of Adamanchelids) re-spawn only once you travel between map locations or use waystone to teleport from Northern Highplain to Central Expanse.

[Skitz]

Originally posted by Atiqa:

All 3 games are good and worth your time. 13-2 is the best of the trilogy. Lightning Returns has you controlling only Lightning, but you have the job system, and manipulate time and try to get everything done in 13 days, similar to the 3 you get in Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

OG FF13 is having a redemption arc as kids and teenagers who just hated on it blindly go back and actually experience the game, and find they really like it

I will go and admit that i was 20 when i first tried this game and did not enjoy it - was still too young and blinded.

I am playing it again in my 30s and more matured and understanding and enjoying it so much more. I am doing this with many of the games when it comes to story due to the fact when i was young i played many heavy story driven games and did not understand them apart from the gameplay mechanics.

[Forest Brother]

Final Fantasy 13, love this game, not perfect but I love it! The ending was perfect IMO, Happy ending that showed something people gonna have chance for good life. The retkoning ending for FF13-2 was biggest FU moment in my opinion.
Final Fantasy 13-2 QTE killed it for me! WHYYYYYY???? The story I didn't liked either, they did so much bad to my man Sazh
Lightning returns time limits? Really? I want to stop and listen to music in game not have time limits! F ui!

EDIT had to say more!