Wow, it seems that little more than a week ago, Japanese fans were raving at the release of the latest installment in the classic RPG series, Final Fantasy XIII. Now, after its initial release day success and subsequent 1.5 million units sold, fans in Japan, who are already playing the game on the PlayStation 3, have been logging in all over the net and are simply bashing away at the game and how bad it is turning out to be. Needless to say, this is definitely something that either Square Enix or fans in the overseas markets want to hear. But site after site of Japanese gamers are denouncing this installment of the series as “… the worst Final Fantasy game ever!”

What is it about the game that has all these fans in such an uproar? Well, the loudest and most consistent complaint that I read was that the game was simply to linear. In fact, many fans state that the game is repetitive and linear until about 20 hours into the game. If that is the case, then that is a real step back in terms as to what gamers today expect from huge games of this, or any sort. What doesn’t help this either is that many players are also complaining at how fixed your party is. You hardly get to switch out members from one to another. So not only does it seem that you are stuck following the same path, but you are stuck with the same party members as well. Hell, even one of the party members in the game goes on to state “This path is easy to understand, isn’t it?” Really, it is so obvious that characters in the game even state it? One online map for the game’s first 6 hours of play even looks like a straight line with hardly any twist or turns, and certainly no deviations. With a map detail as dumbed down as people are experiencing, I would have to say, that in my opinion, this is possibly the worst thing that could become of a game. In this day and age of sandbox game play, for any game to force players to follow a simple path as that, it is simply disgraceful and appalling.I wonder if this has drawn any comparisons with the Flash game, The Linear RPG?

Other prevalent complains that I have come across online is the fact that not only are you stuck on a simple path, but the game is loaded with cut scenes and movies that it feels more like a movie with an RPG mini game built into it. Players express how they feel that most control in the game is taken out of their hands and that the game is really just a promotional tool for the developers are Square Enix to show off their technical skills. Many also complain that the cutesy portrayals of some of the games female characters began to annoy them to no end almost immediately. That the charm of the characters, both good and bad, is overdone and forced on the player. Even worst to this dumbed down aspect at the characters in that the game give you little choices in how to customize the limited party you have available to you. Many players are even stating that the whole party is even healed after every battle. Seriously? If that is the case, then where is the challenge? Maybe the challenge comes from the fact that if the main character, the heroine Lightning, is killed in battle, no matter how many other party members are still alive, it is game over. So it doesn’t matter if you are carrying any Phoenix Downs or any type of revive magic, if she dies, that’s it.

These complaints go on and on about the simplicity and repetitive nature of the game. Maps and enemies becoming all too linear and simplified with every level. Cut scenes and summoning sequences becoming nothing more than a repeating joke. This is a serious step in the wrong direction for any RPG to take. I wonder if Bioware co-founder, Greg Zeschuk, played this game before he went and made the following statements. “The fall of the JRPG is due to lack of evolution, a lack of progression. They kept delivering the same thing over and over. They make the dressing better, they look prettier, but it’s still the same experience.” In fact, many of the online complainers of the game have pointed out as much. The game is simply beautiful, and the story is compelling, but with the lack of innovation or divergence, the game is simply not playable or recommendable to anyone.

It kind of has me worried even more so for the Xbox 360 port of the game. With reports coming out that the 360 version of the game will be graphically reduced, and with the limitations in DVD tech compared to Blu-ray tech already taking away 15 GB’s of data from the version, to hear that the game is as stale as many fans are making it out to be might make this game not worth any 360 owners time or money. Bad enough that the game is on 3 disc, bad enough that the game is going to be handicapped by hardware compatibility, but to throw on top of that the game is a bad experience to begin with… Honestly, I really don’t think I would even give this a second thought. And that is a real shame, cause I know a lot of people who really wanted to play this game on their 360s.

You know what they say. You can’t judge a game on what other people say. I am still going to give this game a shot. For better or worse, I am a Final Fantasy fan boy at heart. And despite all that I am reading online, and this goes for every game that I buy, I have to play it for myself before I can judge for myself if it is good or bad. And I really recommend that you out there do so as well. Just be forewarned that you may be trading in this game faster than you anticipated. And considering that a recent poll at GameFAQs.com has shown that FFXIII is the most anticipated sequel visitors on that site are looking forward to, and by a wide margin as well, there may be a lot of disappointed people around the world once this game is released.