Severely underrated, and a nostalgia bomb for me.

Playing it on Steam Deck as that is my preferred platform. Unlocked framerate, glorious 720p.

The Paradigm system is an amazing adaption of the traditional JRPG system. Where I thought FFXII become to finicky with it's real time program system in the later half, FXIII is smooth, frictionless and modern system that still upholds traditional JRPG systems. In later entries we see Final Fantasy combat becoming even more restricted on your control over your party and here a nice balance is kept.

The story similarly flows seamlessly, alternating between gameplay and story cutscenes. Playing in Japanese probably enhances the voice acting significantly (even though there are no proper subtitles available). The story still feels contemporary, reflecting current conflicts in our world.

Coming from FFXII, I didn't miss the semi-open world slogs and preferred the concentrated main quest. Even in FFXV, I skipped most open world parts and focused on the main storyline. Being in Chapter 7, I'm still a ways off from the open world part, having never reached it in my playthrough upon release. I'm excited for what is to come and wouldn't actually mind having some time to grind now.

We can see a bunch of Western influences like Star Wars and Halo. Does this make it a lesser entry? Future entries will likely continue this trend, yet here I still feel a reverence to the old Final Fantasy entries.

This much-maligned entry might have spelled doom for traditional JRPG design, but in hindsight, there is a real gem here, and nothing in this era beats this level of production design.