There are few games in existence that can rile people up as much as Final Fantasy XIII. Nick D. takes a look at why, four years down the road, Final Fantasy XIII still gets under the skin of gamers.
Final Fantasy XIII isn’t a bad game. This seemingly innocuous statement can cause a mighty wave of internet rage to crash down on the poor fellow who types it. To many, Final Fantasy XIII represents everything that is wrong with not only the Final Fantasy series in its modern form, but all JRPGS in general. To some, it is as abhorrent as a war criminal. But to others, it’s not that bad. Some may even tempt fate by calling it good. Whatever your opinion of Final Fantasy XIII, one thing is clear – everyone has an opinion on Final Fantasy XIII, and that opinion is often extremely negative.
It is this amazing reaction that I intend to examine in this article. Debating the merits and faults of the game has been done to death and is, frankly, uninteresting at this point. But the phenomenon of distain that surrounds this game and its successors is one that’s worth a closer look.
Before we begin in earnest, a quick look at my credentials. I have played every Final Fantasy, starting at Final Fantasy IV on the Super Nintendo. Though I only dabbled in the MMOs, I have extensive experience with every game as well as most of the spin-off series. The reason I feel the need to mention my qualifications to discuss this topic is because of how wide-ranging the fanbase is, and how much particular bias can cloud perceptions. Some have played since the original release, and have a particular fondness for early-era Final Fantasy. Some have played and cling to Final Fantasy VII alone. Others started later, and prefer the backend games. I approach this article as someone who has enjoyed all Final Fantasy games, although to wildly different degrees.
Let us begin by examining the common objections levied against Final Fantasy XIII so we may better understand where the extreme reaction originated. Traditionally, there are two main complaints. First, there is the linearity. Often derided as a ‘hallway simulator’, Final Fantasy XIII has very few optional quests, mini-games, or, in fact, paths along the first thirty hours of the journey. As such, many argue that the game is stiflingly linear, and generally boring. Second, there are concerns over the story. Seen as overly complex and full of melodrama, many Final Fantasy fans found the story either hard to follow, or simply a bore to sit through. There are other complaints, but they are less universally agreed upon, so we’ll leave them out of the discussion.
Let’s assume for a moment that Final Fantasy XIII is a bad game. That’s the obvious reason why people hate it so much right – that it’s a bad game? Does it deserve the reaction it got, to be vaunted as malignant across the internet years after release? There are certainly worse games out there more deserving of that animosity. Keeping within the series, Final Fantasy: All The Bravest comes to mind. Outside the series, I turn immediately to floods of shovelware that infected the Nintendo Wii, such as Chicken Shoot. If merely being bad credited a game the level of hatred Final Fantasy XIII has been given, half of the games released would inspire fanatical derision. No. Something clearly bigger is at play with the Final Fantasy XIII phenomenon.
I put forth that the cause is rooted in the fanbase and its pain reaction after being dealt a crushingly disappointing blow. That seems like a most plausible reason why the hate has lingered so long. Fans are hurt, and they want to make that hurt known.
It’s important to remember that there was a time that Final Fantasy XIII was the most desired game for last generation. It was so big that when Microsoft announced that the series would be going multiplatform at their 2008 E3 conference, it was considered one of the biggest announcements of not only the year, but of E3 history. Perhaps that statement is hyperbolic, but those were the sentiments flying around at the time. To explore this idea of the heart-broken fan, it is important to look at the Final Fantasy fanbase and the sheer hype leading up to the game’s release. Hopefully, this will allow us a better understanding of how disappointing Final Fantasy XIII was, and why the reaction is so great. .
1. The Fanbase
To understand the kind of people who were getting so worked up over Final Fantasy XIII to begin with, it is necessary to look at the Final Fantasy fanbase, its past behavior, and its general make up
The Final Fantasy fanbase is, in my opinion, the most fractured fanbase in gaming today. This is due to the ever-changing nature of the series. Every Final Fantasy game is set in a different world, possesses a different gameplay system, and has a new set of advantages and disadvantages. The series has existed since 1987 and new fans have come in at every stage of the series. These facts combined make for very divergent views as to where the series should go. Go to any Final Fantasy news article and you’ll see Final Fantasy VII fans clamouring for a remake, while fans of other Final Fantasy games shout them down. A fan who grew up with Final Fantasy IV and VI, and who possesses a large amount of nostalgic love for those games, is more likely to dismiss future games that differ greatly from that model. And Final Fantasy differs greatly with each installment. As far back as the second game, Square was willing to completely reinvent the experience every time. It’s the series’ biggest strength and biggest weakness.
The negative reaction from the Final Fantasy fanbase is not new, or even unexpected, though it has never been of this magnitude. I’ve been active on internet message boards relating to gaming since Final Fantasy VII came out. Every single Final Fantasy that has been released since then has been met with almost overwhelming scorn from the fanbase, at least at first. Usually, the backlash against the new kid on the block lasts between as little as few weeks or as long as until the release of a new game.
Such was the case with Final Fantasy XII, which was widely hated by the fanbase and the butt of jokes for quite some time. However, nowadays, a person insulting Final Fantasy XII will be met with a host of supporters. The same can be said with other controversial entries such as Final Fantasy VIII and Final Fantasy IX. However, time has passed and people still treat Final Fantasy XIII as an abomination. So what makes this different?
One could argue that the quality has diminished. However, the slipping of quality did not lead to Final Fantasy fans universally treating Final Fantasy XIV as a metaphorical leper when it was first released. There was hatred to be sure, but not the same level of scorn Final Fantasy XIII continues to receive. Therefore, let us tentatively dismiss that point. Another could argue that, since Final Fantasy XIV is an MMO, disparagers haven’t moved onto the next Final Fantasy yet, waiting instead for the next single-player instalment. I would also tentatively dismiss this point because the cycle between games has been growing longer, and the time between each game has grown too far to use it as a measuring stick.
I propose two possible justifications as to why the fanbase has stuck to Final Fantasy XIII more than others in the past. First, and most obviously, are the sequels, because continued exposure compounds anger. Final Fantasy XIII was enough to create a swirl of hatred, but Square seemed to continue to rub gamers’ face in their unhappiness by continuing the saga instead of moving on like they so often do. This is understandable to an extent due to the economic realities of game-making, but it’s still a sore spot. It’s also important to remember that Final Fantasy XIII was a completely standalone product, and the sequels, no matter their quality, are tacked on. As such, Final Fantasy XIII-2 and Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII have artificially kept the Final Fantasy XIII name in news headlines for four years, much to the dismay of detractors.
The second justification is the changed market. Between the release of Final Fantasy XII and now, WRPGs have gained a much larger presence in the market, and JRPGs have diminished to the position of niche genre. This exacerbated the complaints levied by fans against Final Fantasy XIII in ways that never really came up before.
Let me explain. WRPGs are known and beloved for extreme non-linearity and choice. On top of that, they follow the western approach of frank, realistic story-telling. This trend was becoming increasingly popular when Final Fantasy XIII launched, and has only become bigger since. By bucking against market trends so vividly, Final Fantasy XIII set itself apart from older Final Fantasy games, which all conformed fairly nicely to previously popular JRPG tropes. This may account for why Final Fantasy fans have held onto their hatred of the game for so long.
2. The Hype
Of course, looking at the fanbase’s initial position and reaction is only half of the story. Final Fantasy fans may be a cantankerous bunch, but there is plenty of blame that must be apportioned to Square themselves for how badly Final Fantasy XIII’s reaction turned out. Once again, while it is tempting to focus only on the quality of the work, that is largely unimportant. What really set Final Fantasy XIII apart isn’t a dip in quality, but an astronomical rise in hype. It is standard procedure to hype a game you’re making, but Square handled Final Fantasy XIII’s hype so poorly that they’ve promised a lot more transparency in regards to Final Fantasy XV’s development in order to avoid repeating history’s mistakes.
It’s appropriate to start our look at Square’s poor attempts at marketing and hype by starting at the beginning – 2006. That was the year Square first unveiled Final Fantasy XIII to the world at E3. It had been in development for two years prior to this and people assumed quite incorrectly that Square was almost at completion.
In fact, the trailer shown was a concept of the game. There was no playable version of the game available, something that most gamers were not made aware of. This left nearly four years with gamers assuming the game was right around the corner. As happens in regards to highly anticipated products, people began romanticizing the game in their heads, looking at that amazing teaser video again and again imagining what perfect game would be attached to it. There is no perfect game, and such romanticization leads to crushing disappointment pretty much every time.
The release date for the game was handled perhaps even worse. Look at the release date announcement below:
This was all just to tell you when the game was coming out. You have a man in a suit so smug that you can smell the arrogance wafting off of him waxing on and on about how Final Fantasy XIII is the most anticipated game ever. This is interspersed between developers selling the game as hard as they can. The whole thing is less of a release date announcement than a massive event, which was probably the goal. Unfortunately, with such an arrogant presentation comes massive expectations.
Even around release, the hype continued to grow extensively. The PlayStation 3 version of Final Fantasy XIII holds an 83 on Metacritic. Major gaming publications were very positive. IGN gave a 89; GameSpot an 85; and Eurogamer an 80. While not perfect, these scores were high. This is on top of the pre-review buzz coming from the 39/40 Final Fantasy XIII received from Japanese titan, Famitsu. Whether these scores were because the reviewer liked the game, was blinded by the high production values, or, as gamers love to accuse, was paid off is immaterial, and a large enough topic to warrant its own article. What is important is that these positive scores from gaming’s biggest sites went a long way in the blindside that struck gamers when they started up the game.
All of this hype was only going to lead one place – crushing disappointment. Over-anticipated games never live up to the hype. People had years to build what they thought the game would be about in their head; Square was treating it like a messiah; and the reviews were positive. The insane hype surrounding Final Fantasy XIII is why I would label it as the most disappointing game every made. There’s almost no way it couldn’t have been. Even a game met with universal praise couldn’t begin to live up to the expectations that were leveled on Final Fantasy XIII. It was expected to be the greatest, biggest, next-gen-iest Final Fantasy ever. It was supposed to save the flagging JRPG genre. And it was supposed to be so great we’d be talking about it for years. Unfortunately, that last part came true, but not in the way we thought.
Why has Final Fantasy XIII continued to be a sore spot among gamers? The answer I put forward is that Final Fantasy XIII was a massive disappointment. This disappointment was fueled by too much hype and too much love from the fractured and finicky fanbase. If people hated Final Fantasy XIII so passionately simply because it was a bad game, the landscape in gaming would be very different. Developers would be quaking in their boots at the thought of releasing a sub-par game. No. Disappointment from impossibly high expectations led to pain, pain that a beloved series wasn’t what people wanted it to be. Is this fair? Perhaps, or perhaps not. No matter the case, the unbearable disappointment surrounding Final Fantasy XIII’s release, in my humble opinion, led to gaming’s greatest overreaction, an overreaction that still continues on, unabated by time.
11 comments
Great piece. If I’ve learned anything from comic books it is this: if you love someone then it is best to ignore her so she can’t be put in danger to be used against you. That’s why I avoid any video game news about games that I plan on playing. Zero expectations equals zero disappointment.
Pretty much spot on. It was a disappointment, and even though the production values were better than ever before all the good gameplay bits were placed in the second half of the game. I really think alot of people just grew tired of it before they got there. I’ve also grown up with the series and for me XIII was the last FF game I was willing to play simply because it was FF. I’ll still be keeping an eye on the franchise, but the next entry will have to either do something really new and interesting or go back to basics for this fan to be interested.
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Some constructive criticism, in no particular order:
You make assumptions, such as the fanbase being ‘finicky’, or the hype contributing to the disappointment. If that was the case, then MGS 3 and MSG 4 would have each splintered the MGS fanbase, which they haven’t. Halo would be another fractured series and it’s nothing to the degree of FF fanbase. The fanbase has not been fickle. It has been very vocal about a return to its roots.
You make the relative comparison of FF13 to other recent games to establish quality, which the fanbase would not do. We compare each FF to all previous iterations, which leads to disappointment as each new FF becomes farther from what the fanbase wants, which is more of 1-6. This is much more of an absolute comparison.
A 3rd common complaint is the auto battle system, which pretty much plays the game for you, or the ridiculous ability to Launch almost any enemy in the game, rendering them harmless. Having 2 characters automated was one of the biggest criticisms of FF12 but instead of reversing that, SE decided to automate all 3. This is the opposite gameplay mechanic fans wanted.
If you really want credibility with the fanbase, which given the amount of time on research for this article, you do, then you have to play thru FF1-3. The tenured fanbase will have played them and in many cases, grew up on them.
“One could argue that the quality has diminished. However, the slipping of quality did not lead to Final Fantasy fans universally treating Final Fantasy XIV as a metaphorical leper when it was first released.” This is completely untrue. The then CEO, Wada, even admitted the FF moniker had been greatly damaged by the low quality of FF14 and the critical reception of 13.
“If people hated Final Fantasy XIII so passionately simply because it was a bad game, the landscape in gaming would be very different.” It is very different from what it was in 2006. The lack of jrpg’s and the rise of mobile are 2 examples of that. So by your own logic, FF13 is a bad game.
First of all, thanks for the expansive analysis. However, I do have a rebuttal.
My experience with the Final Fantasy fan base, which I am both part of and have witnessed for the last dozen or so years is where I based my assumption. And, in my experience, and as is easily visible by any Final Fantasy message board, the fanbase is extremely fractured. This is a fanbase that has declared that “every Final Fantasy since __” is garbage on a regular basis with __ being every Final Fantasy game between Final Fantasy 2 and Final Fantasy XIV. Also, the fanbase is completely different than those of Halo and Metal Gear Solid, which have remained very united by comparison. A better comparison is to look at the Silent Hill fanbase, which is just as fractured as the Final Fantasy fanbase, though in a significantly more limited sense since it is A. much smaller and B. comparing far fewer games.
The reason I chose to number both the fanbase and the hype in the article is because I hypothesize that both were needed to create such a phenomenon. Games like Grand Theft Auto 4 or Resident Evil 6 were considered to falter as compared to the hype. However, their detractors, while still detractors, aren’t nearly as vocal as Final Fantasy XIII detractors continue to be four years out.
Next, while I did say that I started playing Final Fantasy at IV on the Super Nintendo, I followed up with that I have extensive experience with all of them. As such, I have played through Final Fantasy 1-3 numerous times, originals and remakes. It is to avoid exactly this kind of accusation that I even mentioned my credentials in the first place.
The battle system was not mentioned because, while a complaint, it is not at all universally agreed upon. It is often trumped as the single greatest part of Final Fantasy XIII by reviewers and fans alike. Thus, despite the fact I am aware of the criticism, it is unfair to consider it a clean cut and obvious fault.
Wada’s reaction to Final Fantasy XIV is irrelevant. It was released. People didn’t like it. And they went back to complaining about Final Fantasy XIII. That’s the interesting part. You’d think that if quality and the most recent Final Fantasy were, on their own, the reason for the disparagement, people would have moved on. They didn’t. Now, there are a whole lot of reasons for that, many of which I mention in the article, but it is still a good example of quality not being the sole motivator for the kind of hyper-lasting rage we see with Final Fantasy XIII.
As for your last quote, it is taken completely out of context. As you have limited it, yes the landscape has changed. However, the very next sentence explains and qualifies that statement. It says that the landscape would be different only in relation to developers releasing subpar games out of fear of getting the exact same reaction as Final Fantasy XIII. That reaction, to reiterate, is not special because people hated the game, even vehemently, but because of its longevity.
Thanks for the comment again.
Thanks for the reply.
I can grant you on everything except your last 2 points.
I argue Wada’s admission that FF14 was bad is pivotal. Suddenly SE realized they made a huge mistake and admitted it. The admission is everything because if they are willing to concede that then maybe there is hope they will also see all the problems with FF13 and admit it was a huge fan disappointment and offer to do something about it. For FF14, SE offered refunds and free play time. SE’s options of making it up to FF13 players were much more limited, so they could not admit any fault. This adds to fan rage because by omission, SE is promoting FF13 as a solid, quality product, which is the opposite of how many fans see it. SE also adds to fan rage by following thru on it’s trilogy plans. This all adds to the hype for FF15, which is also sure to disappoint many fans because it’s an action RPG and not what long time fans want.
I see your last point but I think it’s a stretch to claim that if FF13 suffered quality problems then the entire industry would start second guessing itself. Quality is such a relative/subjective term. IMO FF13 had high quality graphics and did not have game breaking bugs, so in that way it was a high quality game. When you consider things like story, game play, or offering fans what they wanted/expected (and justifiably so since it carries the FF moniker), it fails across the board. The wide differences in 13 and 14 from all previous games and fans’ reactions is what led SE to revamp 14 and to add many easter eggs/pay homage/etc to earlier iterations.
Since, the reply threads only go so deep, I have to reply to myself, but this is at superdide.
I agree with everything you’re saying, though they are not what I’m trying to say.
I do not want to seem like I’m underplaying the massive failure of Final Fantasy XIV in its original form, or the acknowledgement from Square themselves. All I’m saying is that even with how bad the original release was, fans still mostly pointed at Final Fantasy XIII as the centre for their hatred. This can be attributed to the fact is was an MMO and dismissed early by fans, that the refunds helped ease the blow, or many other reasons. I simply used it as an example that a bad Final Fantasy doesn’t necessarily invoke fanatical hatred. And I also fear that the overhyping of Final Fantasy XV may be an issue later down the road.
For my other point, what I’m trying to say is that if releasing a really bad game was the only qualification to get devoted, long term detractors, then developers would be afraid to release subpar games. This doesn’t actually have anything to do with Final Fantasy XIII, only an observation that poor quality isn’t, in and of itself, enough to inspired the kind of detractors we see in Final Fantasy XIII’s case. I’m just saying that there must be more at play than quality or we would be seeing this kind of long term reaction over and over again throughout all of gaming history, and Final Fantasy XIII would not be a special case.
Again, thank you for your points.
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Very nice work. I’d say that ME3 was actually the greatest overreaction since all but the last 5 minutes or so of the game was glorious, but this one is up there. I was a bit disappointed by FFXIII as a fan of the series for as long as you, but unlike other gamers, I really appreciated the game’s strong points. I’d say the 8/10’s from professional reviewers were very justified. The game looked breathtaking, had a fresh new battle system, the best summoning mechanic ever, amazing music, epic cutscenes, and a really in-depth and complex sci-fi narrative. The linearity was an issue, but that wasn’t an issue once you got to Pulse so the only really big issue was pacing. I do think Square was insane for making it a trilogy, though.
I suspect a lot of gamers didn’t play all the way through FFXIII. One guy at my work said he didn’t like it because he found the combat too difficult to progress. It’s rare to come by honesty that refreshing. It hadn’t occurred to me, but what if all of this harping on linearitiy was a smokescreen for the fact that some very vocal turn-based gamers were unable to adjust to the challenges of the real-time combat? Just a thought.
I beat the game and got a Platinum; so here is my statement.
This game is beyond non-Final Fantasy like, it should have never gotten the brand. Period.
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