Final Fantasy: Every Numbered Game Ranked

If your favourite part of a family trip to France is travelling through the Channel Tunnel, then Final Fantasy XIII might just be the game for you. It's like that, except it takes about 30 hours, after which you're finally allowed to frolic in a big field for a bit. If, on the other hand, you want a game that is in any way engaging, then it's not ideal.

FFXIII takes tunnel vision to its terminal extent; it really is just one long path from the start of the game to its final quarter, with occasionally changing wallpaper. Holding the analogue stick in the up direction is broken up by battles that are scarcely any better: you simply choose a formation, and then hit the same button repeatedly ad nauseum. It's clear Square-Enix spent an inordinate amount of XIII's development time creating crystalline forests and cyberpunk highways, beautifying every strand of Lightning's hair and adding bounce to Sazh's afro, but forgot to put a game in there until the last minute.

This, is in fact, almost exactly how the game's production panned out, and boy does it show. The world of Grand Pulse certainly looks, well, grand, but unfortunately, it's virtually lifeless.