My first 13 days with Final Fantasy XIII have officially come to a close. While I’m nowhere near completion I feel comfortable answering a few burning questions. Is Final Fantasy XIII worth it? Was it worth the 3 year wait?

Is Final Fantasy XIII worth it?
Are you a RPG fan? No, well then Final Fantasy XIII certainly isn’t the game for you. RPGs in general can take a while before the action kicks in, Final Fantasy XIII takes this idea to a whole other level, a solid week of steady gaming is needed for the game to start picking up the pace. So with that in mind, if you aren’t a Final Fantasy fanatic it is going to be a tough couple dozen of hours. If you are a fan of RPGs in general I would make sure you are a fan of JRPGs and not Western RPGs (Mass Effect, Fallout 3, etc). If you are a fan of the latter then I would still say this isn’t the game for you either.

Was the 3 years we have waited to get our hands on Final Fantasy XIII worth it?
Despite my answer to the following question, Final Fantasy XIII was definitely worth the wait. That is, if you are a fan of the series. Why was it worth the wait? Final Fantasy XIII has one of the most intriguing story lines the series has ever told and is full of characters with depth and personality. On top of that, it sports some of the most beautiful graphics to grace consoles to date. The vibrant colors that populate the landscape and its inhabitant is a nice contrast to the gritty dirt covered filters popularized by the Gears of War series and seen in many recent titles. The gameplay isn’t the best we’ve seen, but it’s bearable enough. The one clever thing that helps the monotony found in the gameplay is the ability to take control of different groups of characters at various points throughout the game and play a segment of the story through their experiences and point of view.

In short, you are going to be disappointed in Final Fantasy XIII if it is your first venture into the world of RPGs. But for those of us who have grown up with Final Fantasy in our lives any length of time would be worth waiting for the next installment. Final Fantasy XIII isn’t the best game ever, it’s not even the best Final Fantasy, but fans will love it anyway.