Gamerpros.co makes the argument that the Final Fantasy XIII arc is the most underappreciated set of games in the whole franchise.

Final Fantasy XIII was rather divisive. While its gameplay and combat system were superb, the story was a bit over pretentious and it was extremely linear, with the player simply going from place to place on a pre-set path. The characters were wonderful though, the combat was intricate and completely customizable, and there was a level of difficulty — especially during the boss battles. You had to think quick on your toes with the paradigm system and be able to quickly switch your player’s roles in order to survive. It is the best Final Fantasy battle system yet, but fans are so hung up on the game’s linearity and complex story that the game gets so much unwanted hate from fans of the series, who actually prefer story over gameplay.

...

The battle system is a mixture of the system found in the previous two games with real-time combat. It took a bit of getting used to but I truly enjoyed it. Lightning can be equipped with a number of different outfits that allow her to perform magic, become a mighty warrior and more. Even her gear (like weapons) can be bought and equipped, making her classes completely customizable. The game was not critically praised, but I found it to be a wonderful conclusion to the XIII saga, even if the ending was a typical Japanese trope about killing God (who is actually just another deity within the mythology of Fabula Nova Crystallis). The combat and gameplay are solid, and you have a whole world to explore and so many quests to complete with incredibly compelling characters. All the characters from the previous titles return in unexpected ways, and it really is a great ‘last hurrah’ for the XIII series. Lightning’s character arc is finally put to an end, and it is one of the most dynamic and introspective arcs in the entire Final Fantasy series.

More information.

Gamers Elite think that Final Fantasy XIII is the Final Fantasy VII game of this era.

Final Fantasy VII is the most polarizing game within the Final Fantasy community. There is no arguing that; Cloud has become the poster boy for SquareEnix and in a death match, Final Fantasy VII characters always seem to “find” a way to win, even if the other character is stronger, faster, and a better fighter. FFVII was the first game that came out in a full 3D model, the story was strong, the characters were (mostly) lovable, and the gameplay is still amazing. Why FFVI is truly beloved by most, VII is the game you either love or hate; the game that causes the most debates, and the game that has led us to tears, the game that makes us feel strong when we defeat Sephiroth, and the game that made many of us LOVE RPGs. For several people, it was the first RPG and will always go down as a love! FFVII will always be “that game” within the FF community; hence the remake, hence all the sequels, and hence my wall scroll in my apartment.

Thanks Couch.

PC Gamer has the next review for Final Fantasy XIII, and it seems they did not enjoy playing the JRPG game. Why because the score was a terrible 48/100.

This is a weak version of an already contentious RPG, then. Players that find themselves won over by the combat system of Final Fantasy XIII and are patient enough to deal with the structural problems will eventually be rewarded for sticking around, but it never lives up to the still superior journeys of VII and VIII.

Hardcore Gamer has the first PC review for Final Fantasy XIII that I could find. The site awards the game with a final score of 2.5/5. Here is the reason why.

Final Fantasy XIII has its own set of problems, mainly consisting of a mediocre story and incredibly linear progression for the first forty hours, but the poor PC optimization puts it over the top. For a game released on PC in 2014, where standards are higher than ever, Final Fantasy XIII fails in every category. The keyboard and mouse controls aren’t unusable, but for whatever reason, performance becomes unstable if a gamepad isn’t connected. There are also no graphical options and locking the resolution at 720p is infuriating, but how Square Enix thought it was a good idea to map the Esc button to exiting out of the game all together is baffling. At the very least, the frame rate has been unlocked to a max of 60fps, and the dual audio tracks are well deserved. The combat is also a strong component as it mixes both exciting action with some strategy, provided players don’t just spam the “Auto-Battle” button. Unfortunately, these positives doesn’t redeem the RPG for all its misgivings. Final Fantasy XIII is a good game that’s unfortunately wrapped up in a shoddy PC port.

IncGamers Tim McDonald shares his opinion on the PC port of Final Fantasy XIII after playing the game for a few hours. Also don't forget to check out this  mod.

To the surprise of no-one who read the comments on my recent “Holy shit, Final Fantasy XIII on PC is gargantuan” news post, the PC version is a bit rubbish. Sorry, but there’s no other way of saying it. There are a few things it does right – which I would call the bare minimum requirements for a decent port, were it not for the fact that Final Fantasy XIII manages to fuck up things that I would call the bare minimum of any port – but, for the most part, it’s a bit of a catastrophe.

Let’s start out with what I said before: it’s gargantuan. We’re talking a 50GB download that extracts into a 58GB game. I was curious about why, so I had a look at the file folder to see if I could figure out exactly why it was so big. The answer: the movies.

Final Fantasy XIII was released yesterday and many gamers were dismayed to find the game is locked at 720p. Well look no further as a modder has released a new mod.

GeDoSaTo Beta 0.14 “Barrage am Ring”

I’ll shortly release a new version of GeDoSaTo, which includes a pre-alpha version of a custom plugin for Final Fantasy XIII. Its current features are:

• Arbitrary rendering and presentation resolutions (only 16:9 though)
• HUD hiding (using the normal GeDoSaTo keybindings)

It’s bugs and known issues are:

• Some off-by-a-bit scaling issues, making the output less sharp than it should be in some circumstances
• DoF effects are unchanged (still at original, low resolution – this is more apparent in contrast to higher resolutions)
• Probably some stuff somewhere is cut off. I saw some scissor calls and am not dealing with them yet
• Crashes when taking screenshots using GeDoSaTo
• Rendering resolutions larger than 3840×2160 don’t work
• Probably lots more

Some observations:

• The game performs really well from what I’ve seen, both GPU and CPU-wise. But their frame limiting/pacing stuff sometimes seems to bug out.

Tons of stuff can still be improved — obvious ones like fixing bugs and the DoF, but also e.g. probably shadow resolution — so if you like this work and want it to continue consider donating.

Of course, I’d also really appreciate any development or debugging contributions. As always, the source is on Github.

You can download the installer from here, it will automatically grab the latest version.

Final Fantasy XIII is now available on Steam, and I must caution new buyers the game will need about 60 GB of space once installed due to all the cut-scenes.

FINAL FANTASY XIII NOW AVAILABLE ON WINDOWS PC

LOS ANGELES (Oct. 9, 2014) – SQUARE ENIX® today announced FINAL FANTASY® XIII is available for Windows PC today. The game is available through the Square Enix Online Store and Steam.

FINAL FANTASY XIII is the first Windows PC release in the FINAL FANTASY XIII trilogy of games, with subsequent adventures in the trilogy coming to the platform by Spring 2015. The Windows PC launch includes a number of new features such as full screen mode, 60 frames per second (FPS) support from launch and Japanese Voice support with subtitles. The trilogy will also offer a set of Steam Trading Cards for players to collect and exchange. 

FINAL FANTASY XIII expands on the rich traditions of the series, with Producer Yoshinori Kitase, Director Motomu Toriyama, Character Designer Tetsuya Nomura and Art Director Isamu Kamikokuryo combining their creativity to deliver a beautiful FINAL FANTASY universe. Additionally, Composer Masashi Hamauzu presents a sweeping soundtrack while Movie Director Takeshi Nozue and his team of artists adorn the game with seamless cinematic sequences.

The FINAL FANTASY XIII trilogy began in March 2010 with the release of the original FINAL FANTASY XIII and continued with its sequel, FINAL FANTASY XIII-2, released in February 2012. The most recent release in the FINAL FANTASY XIII series, LIGHTNING RETURNS™: FINAL FANTASY XIII®, launched on February 11, 2014. The series has been widely successful, shipping over 11 million units worldwide.

Technology Tell's Lucas White has a new opinion article were he writes everyone will win if Square Enix helps Steam become a JRPG destination. I said this befofe myself.

Most of these releases are ports, sure, but it’s the beginning of something new. JRPGs developers seem to have come to terms with no longer having a huge AAA presence, and are starting to look for new avenues to get their fans what they want: more, high-quality JRPGs. Square Enix jumping aboard for ports of its major releases only gives Steam that much more legitimacy as a platform for JRPGs, and if Final Fantasy XIII does well (or as well as it can, still being Final Fantasy XIII), we could see a lot more of this kind of thing in the future. Perhaps more developers or publishers will latch on, and be able to take more risks with known franchises. Bandai Namco in particular could benefit from a PC presence beyond those goofy Naruto fighters.

Who knows? If everything goes well, we could end up with entire classic franchises in our Steam libraries. As long as Steam remains the juggernaut it is, it could become the perfect place for game preservation, and a new outlet for long sought-after or obscure releases. In the best-case scenario? We could end up with a new hotbed for brand new JRPG experiences. I don’t know about you, but while I love playing Square Enix’s Dragon Quest ports on my phone, having a set of Steam trading cards to go with them would be the best.

Seems the news from yesterday was correct as you can now pre-order Final Fantasy XIII on Steam for $15. The game will be released on October 9th, 2014.

The games two expansions will be released later this year, and next year.

FINAL FANTASY XIII SERIES ANNOUNCED FOR WINDOWS PC

LOS ANGELES (Sep.18, 2014) – SQUARE ENIX®, today announced the FINAL FANTASY® XIII trilogy of games will be heading to Windows PC, with the first in the series, FINAL FANTASY XIII, due for release on October 9^th, 2014.

The game will be available to download via the Square Enix online store and the Steam™ PC digital service (amongst others), priced at $15.99. The game is available to pre-order now (http://store.steampowered.com/app/292120), with those pre-ordering the Steam version receiving 10% off. FINAL FANTASY XIII trilogy will also offer a set of Steam Trading Cards for players to collect and exchange. 

On its original console release in 2010, FINAL FANTASY XIII marked the dawning of a new era for the celebrated series, bringing the game to multiple hi-definition consoles simultaneously for the first time in its history. The original game and subsequent adventures in the FINAL FANTASY XIII trilogy will soon be available for PC gamers to play for the very first time, with all games in the series due for release by next Spring.

FINAL FANTASY XIII expands on the rich traditions of the series, with Producer Yoshinori Kitase, Director Motomu Toriyama, Character Designer Tetsuya Nomura and Art Director Isamu Kamikokuryo combining their creativity to deliver a beautiful FINAL FANTASY universe. Additionally, Composer Masashi Hamauzu presents a sweeping soundtrack while Movie Director Takeshi Nozue and his team of artists adorn the game with seamless cinematic sequences. 

The FINAL FANTASY XIII trilogy began in March 2010 with the release of the original FINAL FANTASY XIII and continued with its sequel, FINAL FANTASY XIII-2, released in February 2012. The most recent release in the series, LIGHTNING RETURNS™: FINAL FANTASY XIII, launched on February 11, 2014 . The series has been widely successful, shipping over 11 million units worldwide.