FINAL FANTASY® XIII-2
FINAL FANTASY® XIII-2
Game
Game2014
FINAL FANTASY® XIII
Developer Square Enix
Final Fantasy XIII is a 2009 role-playing video game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles and later for Windows (in 2014). Released in Japan in December 2009 and internationally in March 2010, it is the thirteenth title in the mainline Final Fantasy series. The game includes fast-paced combat, a new system for the series for determining which abilities are developed for… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
353 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Mastodon, Bluesky) · newest Nov 5, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
66
Fresh
198 positive · 101 negative
95% range 61–71%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 198 | 101 | 0 |
| Mastodon * | 2 | 1 | 48 |
| Bluesky * | 2 | 0 | 1 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
8,680 of 11,603 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What people are saying
Mixed: praised for story and combat, but criticized for linearity and broken PC port.
Many players praise the game's story, characters, and combat system, calling it overhated and underrated. One fan says it's "definitely my cup of tea" and another calls it "fun af" if you ignore the haters. [2][3][18][19]
However, the PC port is widely condemned as broken, requiring fan patches to run without crashes. Critics also note the game's linearity and slow combat start, with one calling it a "corridor simulator" and another saying the combat is "painfully boring" for the first 15 hours. [5][25][29][32][33][35]
Praised story and characters · combat system · visuals and soundtrack
Criticised linearity · broken PC port · slow combat start
Summary drafted by an AI model from the 36 reactions it cites ([n] links open each post), then checked by code: every paragraph cites real posts and every quote is verbatim. Written Oct 7, 2026. Method
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
FINAL FANTASY® XIII sits at 66% positive across 299 opinionated reactions from 3 sources. Fresh or rotten — where do you land?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Final Fantasy XIII received generally positive reviews. Review aggregator website Metacritic gave the PlayStation 3 version 83/100 based on 83 reviews, the Xbox 360 version 82/100 based on 54 reviews, and the Windows version 65/100 based on 6 reviews. It was rated 39 out of 40 by the Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu. Dengeki praised the game for the battle system, stating that the battles are by far the most exciting in the series, and concluded that Final Fantasy XIII deserved a score of 120, as 100 would not be enough. Universal praise was given to the technical milestones achieved by the game's graphics and presentation. Edge felt that Cocoon in particular was an "inspired setting [...]…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 353 · most liked firstThe thing is, I really like this game. Unfortunately, the Steam versions of all three games in the FFXIII trilogy are horrifically broken and you should not spend a cent on them unless you are personally willing to install a multitude of patches and mods just so the games function without constantly crashing or corrupting your save data. I cannot in good conscience recommend this game in the state Square Enix has left it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Do I recommend this game? Totally. Does it work from the get go? No. But its easily fixed Download FF13Fix + the 4GB Patcher https://github.com/rebtd7/FF13Fix/releases/tag/1.6.4 https://ntcore.com/4gb-patch/ Copy following files from the FF13Fix d3d9.dll FF13Fix.ini Paste them here: "Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\FINAL FANTASY XIII\white_data\prog\win\bin" Copy the "ffxiiiimg.exe" and rename the copy "untouched.exe" Start the 4GB Patcher -> navigate to the same path as mentioned…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I found out that the 15 year anniversary for final fantasy xiii was on the 17th so I whipped these up in celebration! 13 also just holds a special place in my heart as it’s the game that introduced me to the series ⚡️ #finalfantasyxiii #ff13 #ffxii #lightningfarron #serahfarron #myart
positive · AI labelView post →not everyone's cup of tea, but it is definitely my cup of tea. sip sip.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Alright, get ready because I have a lot to vent about this game. TL;DR: Terrible game, and you should play it. Let's start with the good points: + The character design and casting was overall good. Aside from Vanille that can't stop moaning at every step, the party composition is quite good. Each character is unique, recognizable and quite likeable. + The high-level story (and I insist on story, not narration) is alright. It's a classic journey to fight against an apocalyptic destiny,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →this game is fun af if you dont have a 40 year old misogynistic incel breathing down your neck telling you its the worst of the franchise
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Final Fantasy XIII was my first journey into the Final Fantasy saga, and what a journey it was. I experienced all kinds of emotions for both good and bad reasons. Final Fantasy XIII has a unique way of making you love its characters. You feel like you are living their adventures alongside them. After dozens of hours, the characters start to feel like friends, true traveling companions. Their character development is good and makes you genuinely attached to them. The story itself, while…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →THE XIII QUESTIONS I. Is FFXIII a bad game? No. II. Is FFXIII a corridor simulator? Yes, most of the time. III. Does that make it bad? No. It does make it linear which is by no means bad. IV. Does the game play by itself? No. The combat system has a lot of depth if you actually pay attention and learn its mechanics. If you think you'll get by the end of the game only by selecting "Auto Battle", you're gravely mistaken. V. Is the combat fun? Yes, it's fun but not for everyone. I really…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Go to pcgamingwiki and get the fixes and then it becames perfectly playable. VERY overly-hated ff, not without flaws but the story has become one of my favorites.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Once you install the fan patch to prevent the game from crashing this is one hell of a game. I'm not sure why it's such a controversial game. The gameplay is the peak of ATB, its super fast paced and satisfying to play. The visuals are insane too, I refuse to believe this ran on a PS3 or 360. The story and characters are all really good too. 10/10 would recommend if you're on the fence.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →You may have heard a lot of bad things about this game, and over all, pretty much all the criticism is valid. I won't mince words, the gameplay in this kinda sucks at times (although the strategic element does come into fruition towards the end). The levels really are walking-simulator-tunnels. The tone might get a bit sappy at times, the main protagonist might rub some the wrong way with her broodyness and there are not a lot of RPG-esque choices to be made. It is overall not a very great…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →its 2011 , im 12 years old , it was rainy night , im getting my first xbox 360 ever inside a small gameshop , thats moment when i enter the gameshop , theres the pink haired girl , her poster are everywere inside the gameshop, that night i pickup my first ever xbox and the game alongside dead rising and street fighter 4, back at home i plugging my newly xbox and inserted the disk, that night , its change my life forever, the moment i entered the main menu , this some kind of mellow piano…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →My problem isn't with the game itself, which is decent, if nowhere close to the series' peak. My problem is with this port. Even with fan-patches this port is rough. I'd recommend playing this game on other platforms if you're able to.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Given that this is currently on sale, I have to STRONGLY suggest no one buy it. I for one really enjoy this game and have fond memories of it despite the criticism around it. Ignoring that, I advise anyone considering this to *NOT* buy this as it essentially won't play on most PCs. Its just buggy. Look at the discussion tab about this game and you'll see endless posts about how they can't even get the game to play. Some people have got it to work but only after dealing with hours of research…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Final Fantasy XIII ignores every step forward the series had taken in terms of gameplay, world exploration, and RPG mechanics, offering nothing of comparable value in return. The first thing people criticize about this game is its linearity, and the problem goes well beyond the structure of individual locations. Technically, most of the game is a sprint from cutscene to cutscene through narrow corridors, with larger areas only opening up near the end, where there is almost nothing to actually…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I played this game when it came out on the PS3 and I was mesmerised by how beautiful it looks, the soundtrack is godly, the characters have interesting stories and development, and the combat is interesting and fun. Yes the game is pretty linear but aren't other beloved FF games as well? At least to me it isn't a dealbreaker. HOWEVER if you want it to run on Steam you NEED to download the FFXIII patch and the 4gb patch, play on windowed mode and use the lowest settings your PC can get if you…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I like this game but its broken. If you're willing to mod you can get it running pretty well though.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game won't run even with the ff13 fix and 4gb patch installed correctly. Eat my butthole square
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Final Facade XIII The game is breathtakingly beautiful even for todays standards. The characters and the story/lore give so much flavor to it, I even have the books that are enjoyable to read... the combat on the other hand is a genuine insult to the Final Fantasy series.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This was the only mainline Final Fantasy from IV onwards that I hadn't played yet. Early impressions: it's already clear that, worst come to worst, it's at least not as bad as 15 (the one in which SquareEnix forgot that women exists and the protagonist looks like someone's first DeviantArt OC) or 16 (the one that looks more like edgy euroslop than JRPG). The game does suffer from a terrible case of the PS3-era Ugly Green Filter when you're in dark areas of scenery, though. At least the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →DO NOT PURCHASE. There are guides to get this thing to work but they're not having consistent results on recent pc systems. Even if you get them to work the crashes and White Screens Of Emptyness are simply awful. I just refunded the game. Sucks bc it used to be my favorite ff game back in the day. I'm dreaming of a proper port or perhaps even a remake since dreaming is free.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I thought I was just too young when I first played this game so I got it on Steam. No, this game really doesn't feel like Final Fantasy before it and not in a good way. Story is alright but the gameplay gets old fast with so much combat. Grinding is not rewarded in this game either. It becomes a drag and I barely finished it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →gotta say at first i was dissapointed! not in the game, i played this when it came out and was not really impressed. I was unimpressed with functionality on a modern system, the game needs an update to work on modern PCs!!!! - not just mods to make it actually run! Following that revelation I decided to put the game on my Steam Deck and BOY was i happy! The deck runs this game just fine, a little jitter here and there but no crashes or failures to run. Definitely made me enjoy the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I give this a thumbsdown, because the game crashes frequently. And you will need to rely on a fix that was made by the community (INSTEAD OF FIX MADE BY SQUARE ENIX THEMSELVES, YOU LAZY ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥). Das right, Square doesnt even care to patch this game. Please square, if you dont want to fix this game, at least delist this game from Steam, so no one has to buy this bad port. And the worst part is that the crashes start to appear mid game (in my case its in the section where you play with…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →What XIII was originally criticized for, (I myself am guilty of doing so as well) is one of its strongest points - its linearity. XIII's story wastes no time in throwing you right into the mix, into the midst of a genocide disguised as an innocent wittle mass-deportation gone sideways thanks to the combined efforts of the story's cast. The cast spends the first half of the game split into various pairs, resulting in memorable exchanges both in terms of character arc, and voice acting - my…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have tried to play this game several times, going on and off of it, and I still am unable to finish it. The combat is so painfully boring and slow for the first 15 hours of gameplay, and gets SLIGHTLY less boring after that. The paradigm system does not have enough depth to make the lack of skills worth it, you are just stuck using the same 4 skills for half of the game, and switching between paradigms thats either dps or stagger. You will get these cool ults every now and then, but thats…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →it was awesome, it took me about 70 hours to fully understand the combat but that is because i am stupid
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's good. Install FF13fix and 4GB address patch and DXVK and you're golden. Now about the game it's probably my favorite in terms of story/character growth. Only annoying part is having to grind for item upgrades.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I put this game off for 11 years, and I just beat it. FFXIII is very good! I liked it! the paradigm shift system is downright addictive.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A narrative and battle system which had a lot of potential, but which are both let down by poor storytelling and game design. The graphics and sound teams did so much to make this a Final Fantasy ultimately still worth playing, but still one of the weakest entries in the series. Strangely enough, I'm playing 13-2 now and while the story is absolute hot garbage, it functions so much better as an actual game. If only they could have worked out how to do that before releasing the original it…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Most underrated ff game imo, just give it a shot and don't listen to the critics for this one. This game probably has the most in depth lore of any mainline game, arguebly the best soundtrack in the series and contrary to the common belief the gameplay is more than just pressing attack, its a really fun juggle of managing your party and their roles and the enemy's stagger bar for optimal quick fights and despite being nearly 20 years old it still has amazing looking cinematics. It has some…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Love FF games since being a child. FFXIII is a different spin in the genre. I played when it came out in 2010, liked a lot, but playing today as a older gamer, oh boy, the game is just better in the story and lore. Hope for all FF game lovers to give it a shot if haven't already!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Some people really did this game dirty. I love the linearity and the story. Sure, the patches were a need for a smoother experience since it does indeed crash, but once you get to play, it's all amazing. Love Light and the gang's adventure plus the battle system is enjoyable if you get the hang of it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →My all-time favorite game! This game received unjustified hate, and the reasons are bizarre! Is it because it's linear? Is it because it doesn't have minigames like Chocobo Racing? These reasons are unconvincing. If you're saying the story isn't good, I can agree; I find it average, but not terrible. However, everything else is excellent, even the characters are great. This game is the ultimate example of not caring about what people say; your experience is what matters. This game is a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really wanted to like this game, but the cons outweigh the pros. I heard this game was linear but holy heck I was not expecting it to be so on the nose. Its a literal hallway of back-to-back battles for the ENTIRE game excluding chapter 11 (the "open world" segment). I was holding out on complaining about it until chapter 11 because everywhere online says it gets better once you hit that open world. No, it does not. Once you enter the open world you are basically soft-reset back to level…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Despite not recommending it, if you're simply curious in trying it out you won't regret it. I picked it up because Lightning looks cool. Finally got my hands on this game and took it for a spin. Knowing absolutely nothing going in, it presented itself with many sci-fi spectacles with this Star Wars vibe thing going on. I like it. The design of the vehicles and Eidolons are breathtaking especially ones you'll see later in the game. It does tie in with the worldbuilding along with the story, yet…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Overhated, it has a lot of problems, but people acting like this is the worst thing ever made is just stupid. There’s a lot to like. My only real complaint is that I think the combat is way too slow at times and the paradigm system can get annoying, but the story and characters kept me going.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I bought this because it was cheap and I never finished playing through the game in 2010 when I first played it. I remember now upon replaying why I didn't finish it. This game is boring as piss. Game design doesn't make any sense in this game, even for when it came out. 1. Auto battle shouldn't have even been in the game. Its the default option and because of that most people are going to use it. This makes the gameplay so uninteresting because you aren't actively making any decisions. The…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Final Fantasy – the corridor simulator. Every single map is just one long corridor. And after 40+ hours, you finally reach the end. This game could easily have been 30 hours shorter. The world is beautiful, but I never felt immersed. Why? Because no matter how it looks, it’s still just another corridor with a different skin slapped on top. The combat is completely numb. All you do is mash A on your controller and occasionally switch tactics if it happens to be a boss fight. If you’re tired…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →we will decide our own destiny. it is definitely a mess, but a lovable mess to *me*. FFXIII was my first FF game that i finished, and i kinda had to torture myself to finish it in order to hop on FFXIII-2 (been more fond of it..) but it definitely wasnt a waste. you'll see tons of people complaining about the pc port, that its a very pretty much a corridor simulator, bad/boring combat, or even the story being incomprehensible, or too much of a "from point A to point B" game (no kidding, its a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I don't understand why this game gets as much hate as it does. Sure, the first half of the game is very linear because they are trying to tell a specific story. They switched up the combat system and it feels like a sort of evolution from X and XII's. This one is more about using the right strategy and not about choosing individual actions. Like a lot of JRPGs, I was very confused in the beginning as to what was going on. Lots of invented words, however with repetition and fleshing out the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Final Fantasy XIII is an underrated entry in the franchise. Though panned upon release, it has gradually gained acceptance within the fandom. While the game is certainly flawed, it can stand on its own two feet and make for a mostly enjoyable experience. FF13 was most commonly criticized for being a hallway simulator with no options to do anything else other than the main story for the first 10 chapters - this is an accurate description. But this does not make the game bad by itself, FFX was…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There’s something special about replaying a game and realizing it grew with you. Second time playing this game, first one I was like 14 years old so I feel like I really was not able to get in touch with the emotional deepness this history have. The world construction is just exquisite, and de link between most of the character are probabley one of the best in the entire FF series nos focusing only in the main character, also giving each one of the cast de importance they may have. One of…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It’s hard to believe this game has been out for 16 years. I was just an elementary student at the time. I never got to experience it on the PS3, but I'm enjoying it now as an adult and have even completed every achievement
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If ya'll play on overly modded potato's, you need to just admit to it instead of harping on this title being "unstable". Game plays fantastic, didn't crash on my RTX 3070 once. Didn't download a single after-market patch. Just set my shadows for default, played at 1080p because I have my laptop hooked to a 65". Already played this 100% on Xbox years back, just wanted to enjoy the story again so I speed ran it. Visually, and I did compare to Xbox, the game is absolutely stunning on PC at just…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →!WARNING THIS GAME DOES NOT RUN ON MODERN RIGS! Steam needs to add a disclaimer for future purchasers. I just spent 4 hours doing every fix the community/internet/ai suggested and nothing worked. You will only lose your time. If you want to play it, buy an old rig or a ps3. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME LIKE I DID.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i will never understand the hate this game gets for being too linear as if final fantasy x isn't that yet that game is extremely beloved ?? i also love ffx so this is no shade at all but the hate just seems so unfair when that's always the main reason i've seen for YEARS this game has some of the best gameplay loop, writing, characters and music within the franchise. final fantasy 13 is so special and the fact that the main protag is a woman makes it even more special because we barely get…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The black sheep of the FF series and sure it has it's problems but for me i can't help but love it. In 2009 Square was trying to do something different with the new tech and hardware and you can see that it's just they didn't execute properly in most peoples eyes. I think a lot of the problems of 13 come from them trying to do the whole Fabula Nova Crystallis collection which on paper and when done well like with 7 and Ivalice can be quiet good but some reason they failed with 13. Honestly a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Playing on a 7700xt / 7800x3d 13 hours in and had 3/4 big crashes so far. Worst part is they're usually after a longer section or boss during a cutscene so will then have to replay it to get to the next save point. Taking one of the less great FF games and making it less playable, impressive. edit* Crash count: 7
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →it's pretty. that's about all the good i can say about it. the story is absolutely terrible, and while some fights (especially the eidolon fights) are really cool and almost make the paradigm system shine, they are but brief undulations in this ocean of brooding nonsense. i can count the amount of interesting fights on one hand. the fact that grinding in this is practically necessary but with hardly any good grinding spots intuitively coming to the players attention is really telling. there's…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →FF13 might as well be split into two parts - before and after leaving the city of Bodhum. Before leaving Bodhum, there's a lot of promise. The gameplay is pretty boring, with not much player choice involved in the preparation of your team, and the most optimal / effective combat choices being to mash the "auto-battle" button - but you can excuse most of that on behalf of (overly long) tutorialization. There's still novelty to the experience and the expectation of later improvement and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I bought this game around 8 years ago because I got XIII-2 for PS3 and only lasted about 40 minutes before deciding to return it to EB Games. I got this game for 90% off or something and decided to give it a solid go. I've played a good 30 hours of the game and it still feels like a slog. The combat is somehow more boring than the regular turn-based style. I want to avoid it but each boss seems to take a few times to beat after buffing and debuffing. I tried to collect every item and fight…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've played Final Fantasy 1 through 10, and 13 is still my favorite. Active Time Battle on FF13 is unique, and nobody dares replicate its divisiveness.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am 16hrs in and it's still a tutorial... which is wild. The combat is so basic and the design choice to automate the combat was strange, but I get it when there is SO MUCH of it... I mean, it really doesn't resemble any of the FF games, not even the ones after it. It could have easily been a mobile game the way its been designed, no exploring, no NPC's... no towns, no villages to explore, no interesting characters along the way. NO CHOCOBOS? like, wtf. BUT! The soundtrack is great, the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am very late to the party, but woah were people wrong about this one, sure the pc port has a lot of issues, but after installing a few fixes and enhancements I can safely say that this is overall a great game, some sections really test ones' patience, but I have to say I really love Light and the gang. I think overall the gameplay is pretty good and the story is better than some make it out to be.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a very reserved thumbs up. For me, turtle farming made the game worth the price of admission, showing that there was actual depth and planning to the combat system that you don’t get to see for most of it. It feels a bit like a MMO raid experience where you have to trust other people will do their jobs with the correct timing (and it happens based on the computer’s schedule, without perfect synchronization with the graphics), and through successive battles you notice your performance…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Final Fantasy that popularised the Stagger system. Final Fantasy XIII is decent and fun yet weird, many nounce this as the "Corridor" where moslty everything is linear and no side content until you reach the 10th chapter then get side quests and walking like a lot of walking, immense walking, walking levels of Death Stranding and beating enemies. Which is mainly due to a lot of building like we got two games that continue the story. Shout out to Cheat engine for having a speed hack.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Only 16% Of Players Actually Finished The Game...I'm One Of Them More than two-thirds have yet to reach the halfway mark, but the reviews are SLAMMIN'. Gotta love it. This game is ccompletely average by JRPG stanards so it's not that it's a bad game, but for the bar set by mainline Final Fantasy games...it's mediocre. The battle system is NOT impressive by any stretch of the imagination and only fully opens up when the game is near its end. People thought FF12 "played itself". This game's…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Its complicated.... boring for a lot of it but there are little sprinkles of goodness in the story, made me care just enough to leave me crying at the end. but the combat horrendous probably some of the worse i'v ever played. just go in forgetting the final fantasy title and you might like it just a little bit
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I played this originally on the 360 along with 13-2 and LR, I wept at the the climatic story, at the ending scene and again here I am weeping again, despite the criticism for some of the gameplay and characters (which is fair) ff13 is a fav of mine and its story for the finale alone is golden.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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