The first two were really good imo, didn’t like the last installment.
ISuperNovaI
Hated it, too different for me, but I grew up on the old shit.
selkiesidhe
I started the first one and ended up disliking most of the characters. Pretty sure that was the last FF game for me.
So I guess it killed the brand for me lol
Simply_Just
Started FF 13, but never finished it let alone the other two.
I don’t recall gameplay being a problem. I kinda liked it. I think my attention span at the time was more tuned to FPS games.
I remember kids at my school bashing on it because of how different the game was compared to earlier installments and how Lightning was basically a Cloud wannabe.
I need to buy this series again and finish what I started eventually.
Amorian_Gray
I really enjoyed 1 and 2. I didn’t even know there was third gong to have to play it now!
AngelosOne
Boring. I’ve tried to play the first one a couple of times, but it never hooked me like FF games typically do.
Antoen_0
Despised it.
goatjugsoup
Loved part 2. Wanted to love lightning returns but the timed aspect of it made me too anxious to enjoy.
Part 1 held your hand way too long and I really disliked the whole hope being a little bitch arc. It did a strong job on lore and world building though which fed in to why I loved part 2 so much
lions2lambs
It was whatever. I disliked the first to the point where it took me 7 or 8 attempts to actually get through it. By the time I finished I was incredibly confused so I watched the YouTube movie. I was still confused. 13 had one of the most convoluted and most poorly told stories out of any of the games.
13-2, and 13-3 were fine. If I had to pick a favorite out of the three, it would be 13-2.
I’m happy I played it because it’s Final Fantasy but I’d never go back for a second play through of any of them.
On the other hand I’ve played X at least 7 times. VII at least 4 times, and every other game at least twice with the exception of XV and XVI.
I won’t replay XV, just uninterested but I’ll probably try XVI again after a break because while the combat lacked depth I would have like, it was dang fun.
Siendra
A little of both.
**XIII**’s narrative is borderline indecipherable, it’s too linear, and the battle system only really works/clicks in some of the harder optional content. But the production values are insane. The PS3 version still looks pretty good, the OST is phenomenal, a lot of the boss designs/eidolon’s/architecture/etc are really amazing. It’s not great ultimately, but it has some stand out elements and I can at least appreciate the potential of some of the stuff that didn’t work.
**XIII-2** fixes a ton of XIII’s problems. The story is more digestible, the main characters are more likeable, and the time hopping lets it be less linear without necessarily needing a huge shift in environmental design. I think most impactful changes is that the average combat difficulty was increased and that they added the monster capture mechanic for the third party member.
Fundamentally the XIII battle system is less about controlling moment to moment actions and about controlling the overall ebb and flow of combat. The first game basically doesn’t work because of a combination of most fights being way too easy for the battle mechanics to actually feel impactful, and because you get too many options for paradigm shifts (Every party comp can do everything). By increasing the average difficulty the battle mechanics get to stretch their legs a little bit more, and the monsters limit your paradigm options (And add an enjoyable element of customization).
I want to like **Lightning Returns**. The battle system is super interesting, some of the world building seems really good, there’s a lot of variety in the world, etc. But the game just never really comes together. The time mechanic lead to me often waiting around for stuff to happen because the world was way, way too static. The story is back to being weird and difficult to figure out, albeit less so than the first game. Also Motomu Toriyama’s creepy obsession with Lightening kinda’ came to a head here in ways that were off putting.
RB___OG
Never could get myself to finish the 1st one.
Every map being essentially a giant corridor combined with the stagger guage mechanics just killed any fun for me.
Didnt help that i was rooting for most of the cast to die as well.
mythicreign
Did everything in 13. It’s pretty bad.
13-2 was definitely better.
Never tried Lightning Returns.
Lunar_Lunacy_Stuff
Iv never been able to actually beat the first game. I always get to the same point and end up dropping it. It’s not that I don’t enjoy the game it seems like something else always comes up.
SaiyajinPrime
They got progressively worse as they went.
kain459
HATE HATE HATE
fallopiumtubes
Hated XIII skipped 2 and finished lightning returns. But all I remember is liking the HD gameplay
Syssareth
Liked them in the moment, but I only remember fragments of any of them because they didn’t suck me in the way most FFs do.
I remember liking XIII-2 best, and Hope and Snow were my favorite characters in the trilogy, which I know is an *extremely* unpopular opinion, lol.
All of them are both hit and miss for me. I like Lightning character design. I even kinda like Lightning Returns despite people hating on it. Still, this trilogy are mostly forgettable for me.
Kanden_27
I picked up 13 at GameStop for cheap one day because I thought it looked good. I think I got stuck at a point where you’re in a ship and couldn’t get past it. Even then, the story felt too weird. Looked ahead at the trilogy to see if it was worth it to continue and grind. But it didn’t look like it.
McHero323
I remember getting 13 on release. I didn’t mind it. I actually liked it. Now 13-2 I literally have no idea what I’m doing and I’ve restarted several times just to get to a certain point and be lost. Lightning returns I really don’t like any game with a timer attached but I did enjoy the combat.
Valfiria
Having finished every FF multiple times, XIII trilogy remains my favorite FF and one of my favorite JRPG in general, but im also the guy that finished every Tales multiple times and favorite being Legendia, which according to online is the black sheep as FFXIII was.
But online stuff like reddit is usually just minority, there is reason why XIII got 2 sequels back to back, same as X and same as IV gettings sequels since they were received very positively.
DmonHiro
Hated the first, didn’t bother with the rest. I cannot stand Lightning as a character. Or Snow. Or Hope. Or Saz. I cannot stand the corridors. I hate how everything is planned. I like to level grind. It makes me happy. I hate how max weapons levels are different between weapons. I HATE the story. X was the last good FF game.
DarXIV
I enjoyed the combat and some of the characters. The story was very forgettable to the point that I forgot what was going on most of the time.
I can never say there has been a “bad” FF title, but this one is not going to be in my top 10.
999blob
They were fun but forgettable
WarpedPerspectiv
I got soft locked at one of the summon fights after getting to a point where the very next fight was a summon as a boss, but I couldn’t backtrack to grind levels.
Barbz182
👎🏼
A-Dubs398
I could’ve even finish the first FF13. Really boring combat, plus boring characters and story. Really wanted to like it as a huge FF fan and it’s a beautiful game with great music, but everything else sucks. When I first seen the FF13 trailer when it was new, I thought the combat would be amazing, but it sucks. Luckily, many years later, FF7R combat lives up to the combat I seen in that original FF13 combat trailer, and FF7R combat actually looks like the combat in that FF13 trailer, and most importantly, it’s actually VERY FUN to play.
I heard FF13-2 improves the gameplay, but I stopped caring about 13 and moved on already. I can see why they never went back to 13 combat style cuz it sucks and just too weird. FF13 and FF15 are tied for the worst FF games IMO.
​
* Best classic turn-based combat: FF5
* Best modern action combat: FF7R
* Best story: FFX
Pluck_oli
Well… at least they’re better than XV
abnShady
Absolutely loved 13. Went out of my way for the 100% playthrough achievement. The optional bosses are some of my favorite FF boss fights.
These-Conference-179
these are the only FFs I couldn’t get into.
NobodyJustBrad
It’s my favorite on the franchise. Mainly XIII and XIII-2. The timer on Lightning made me feel discouraged to explore and experiment, which I feel is a key part of FF games.
32 Comments
The first two were really good imo, didn’t like the last installment.
Hated it, too different for me, but I grew up on the old shit.
I started the first one and ended up disliking most of the characters. Pretty sure that was the last FF game for me.
So I guess it killed the brand for me lol
Started FF 13, but never finished it let alone the other two.
I don’t recall gameplay being a problem. I kinda liked it. I think my attention span at the time was more tuned to FPS games.
I remember kids at my school bashing on it because of how different the game was compared to earlier installments and how Lightning was basically a Cloud wannabe.
I need to buy this series again and finish what I started eventually.
I really enjoyed 1 and 2. I didn’t even know there was third gong to have to play it now!
Boring. I’ve tried to play the first one a couple of times, but it never hooked me like FF games typically do.
Despised it.
Loved part 2. Wanted to love lightning returns but the timed aspect of it made me too anxious to enjoy.
Part 1 held your hand way too long and I really disliked the whole hope being a little bitch arc. It did a strong job on lore and world building though which fed in to why I loved part 2 so much
It was whatever. I disliked the first to the point where it took me 7 or 8 attempts to actually get through it. By the time I finished I was incredibly confused so I watched the YouTube movie. I was still confused. 13 had one of the most convoluted and most poorly told stories out of any of the games.
13-2, and 13-3 were fine. If I had to pick a favorite out of the three, it would be 13-2.
I’m happy I played it because it’s Final Fantasy but I’d never go back for a second play through of any of them.
On the other hand I’ve played X at least 7 times. VII at least 4 times, and every other game at least twice with the exception of XV and XVI.
I won’t replay XV, just uninterested but I’ll probably try XVI again after a break because while the combat lacked depth I would have like, it was dang fun.
A little of both.
**XIII**’s narrative is borderline indecipherable, it’s too linear, and the battle system only really works/clicks in some of the harder optional content. But the production values are insane. The PS3 version still looks pretty good, the OST is phenomenal, a lot of the boss designs/eidolon’s/architecture/etc are really amazing. It’s not great ultimately, but it has some stand out elements and I can at least appreciate the potential of some of the stuff that didn’t work.
**XIII-2** fixes a ton of XIII’s problems. The story is more digestible, the main characters are more likeable, and the time hopping lets it be less linear without necessarily needing a huge shift in environmental design. I think most impactful changes is that the average combat difficulty was increased and that they added the monster capture mechanic for the third party member.
Fundamentally the XIII battle system is less about controlling moment to moment actions and about controlling the overall ebb and flow of combat. The first game basically doesn’t work because of a combination of most fights being way too easy for the battle mechanics to actually feel impactful, and because you get too many options for paradigm shifts (Every party comp can do everything). By increasing the average difficulty the battle mechanics get to stretch their legs a little bit more, and the monsters limit your paradigm options (And add an enjoyable element of customization).
I want to like **Lightning Returns**. The battle system is super interesting, some of the world building seems really good, there’s a lot of variety in the world, etc. But the game just never really comes together. The time mechanic lead to me often waiting around for stuff to happen because the world was way, way too static. The story is back to being weird and difficult to figure out, albeit less so than the first game. Also Motomu Toriyama’s creepy obsession with Lightening kinda’ came to a head here in ways that were off putting.
Never could get myself to finish the 1st one.
Every map being essentially a giant corridor combined with the stagger guage mechanics just killed any fun for me.
Didnt help that i was rooting for most of the cast to die as well.
Did everything in 13. It’s pretty bad.
13-2 was definitely better.
Never tried Lightning Returns.
Iv never been able to actually beat the first game. I always get to the same point and end up dropping it. It’s not that I don’t enjoy the game it seems like something else always comes up.
They got progressively worse as they went.
HATE HATE HATE
Hated XIII skipped 2 and finished lightning returns. But all I remember is liking the HD gameplay
Liked them in the moment, but I only remember fragments of any of them because they didn’t suck me in the way most FFs do.
I remember liking XIII-2 best, and Hope and Snow were my favorite characters in the trilogy, which I know is an *extremely* unpopular opinion, lol.
Poo. Absolute garbage. Shitty grinding mechs. Shitty un-relatable characters. Disjointed confusing plots.
All of them are both hit and miss for me. I like Lightning character design. I even kinda like Lightning Returns despite people hating on it. Still, this trilogy are mostly forgettable for me.
I picked up 13 at GameStop for cheap one day because I thought it looked good. I think I got stuck at a point where you’re in a ship and couldn’t get past it. Even then, the story felt too weird. Looked ahead at the trilogy to see if it was worth it to continue and grind. But it didn’t look like it.
I remember getting 13 on release. I didn’t mind it. I actually liked it. Now 13-2 I literally have no idea what I’m doing and I’ve restarted several times just to get to a certain point and be lost. Lightning returns I really don’t like any game with a timer attached but I did enjoy the combat.
Having finished every FF multiple times, XIII trilogy remains my favorite FF and one of my favorite JRPG in general, but im also the guy that finished every Tales multiple times and favorite being Legendia, which according to online is the black sheep as FFXIII was.
But online stuff like reddit is usually just minority, there is reason why XIII got 2 sequels back to back, same as X and same as IV gettings sequels since they were received very positively.
Hated the first, didn’t bother with the rest. I cannot stand Lightning as a character. Or Snow. Or Hope. Or Saz. I cannot stand the corridors. I hate how everything is planned. I like to level grind. It makes me happy. I hate how max weapons levels are different between weapons. I HATE the story. X was the last good FF game.
I enjoyed the combat and some of the characters. The story was very forgettable to the point that I forgot what was going on most of the time.
I can never say there has been a “bad” FF title, but this one is not going to be in my top 10.
They were fun but forgettable
I got soft locked at one of the summon fights after getting to a point where the very next fight was a summon as a boss, but I couldn’t backtrack to grind levels.
👎🏼
I could’ve even finish the first FF13. Really boring combat, plus boring characters and story. Really wanted to like it as a huge FF fan and it’s a beautiful game with great music, but everything else sucks. When I first seen the FF13 trailer when it was new, I thought the combat would be amazing, but it sucks. Luckily, many years later, FF7R combat lives up to the combat I seen in that original FF13 combat trailer, and FF7R combat actually looks like the combat in that FF13 trailer, and most importantly, it’s actually VERY FUN to play.
I heard FF13-2 improves the gameplay, but I stopped caring about 13 and moved on already. I can see why they never went back to 13 combat style cuz it sucks and just too weird. FF13 and FF15 are tied for the worst FF games IMO.
​
* Best classic turn-based combat: FF5
* Best modern action combat: FF7R
* Best story: FFX
Well… at least they’re better than XV
Absolutely loved 13. Went out of my way for the 100% playthrough achievement. The optional bosses are some of my favorite FF boss fights.
these are the only FFs I couldn’t get into.
It’s my favorite on the franchise. Mainly XIII and XIII-2. The timer on Lightning made me feel discouraged to explore and experiment, which I feel is a key part of FF games.