Final Fantasy XIII was one of my most anticipated games in a long time.  Heck, I more or less bought an Xbox 360 so I could play it (well, and Left 4 Dead 2, of course!).

For those who know me, it is well understood that I am a big fan of the Final Fantasy franchise.  With the exception of a few spin-offs for the various hand-held devices (and XI, which doesn’t count), I’ve played every Final Fantasy to date.  I’ve reveled in the unparalleled awesomeness of VII and VIII, vigorously defended IX as a GOOD game, and even suffered through others like X-2 (remember that one?).  I’ve watched both movies, and have trudged through spin-offs of the franchise like Dirge of Cerberus.  My love of Final Fantasy, of course, guided me infallibly to Kingdom Hearts which, although probably consistently better than FF games, rings in at a close second.

Given my history, then, I feel I am an adequate judge of the games.  So without further introduction, here’s my breakdown of Final Fantasy XIII.

Story

FFXIII is the story of six otherwise unlikely comrades bound together by a common curse which has transformed them into L’cie, the hated and feared subordinates of the Fal’cie More >