How Praise Turns to Criticism: Final Fantasy X. vs Final Fantasy XIII

This game can't be good... no online multiplayer.

Let me go ahead and get this out of the way: I fucking love the Final Fantasy series of video games. I've at the very least played every incarnation of the main series and most all of the spin-offs. I've fully completed IV, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, and XII. I came very close to finishing I and II. III I've spent the least amount of time with followed by V (which I'll be working through next). Oh, and yes, I played Final Fantasy XI and I enjoyed it while I did.

So, naturally, I was hella excited when XIII hit. I even took a picture of it with my phone and uploaded it to Facebook before I got home after the midnight release.
At that point I had a 360 so I popped my game in and started playing. Boy, was it beautiful! Everything looked amazing. Some of the first few battles kicked in and while I felt very limited to what I could do at first, more and more combat techniques starting creeping in. I started noticing similarities to Final Fantasy X, definitely one of the best entries in the series, after the introduction level. I quite enjoyed that first night playing it.

A few days later, I wanted to know what my friends thought about it. Their response was almost universally negative. In fact, one kid at school kept bugging me day after day with a new disparaging review he had read on Screw Attack, anecdotal stories about how "it was showing up in bargain bins for like $15 everywhere," and parroting oft heard criticisms of "it's too linear." I told everyone I enjoyed the game and they just couldn't believe it. It was like I was the sole defender and everyone who knew that just couldn't wait to tell me how they didn't like the game very much. I didn't really argue with them except to simply say that I didn't buy the linear argument for a second since I generally prefer linear games to sandbox games. Especially for a story-driven experience like Final Fantasy. However, one day I decided to fight back and I brought up how similar the game was to the much beloved Final Fantasy X.

Oh nostalgia!

For example, in both games, "summons" (Aeons for X, Eidolons for XIII) play a central role in the plot. Characters are driven to complete a task that will end with death for success or failure depending. The growth system ditches experience points completely and opts instead for a kind of map (Sphere Grid for X, Crystarium for XIII) that the player explores to unlock benefits and new techniques. Both games feature a theocratic body that engages in a sort of "Holy War" (Bevelle for X, Sanctum for XIII). Both games are linear with players advancing from one point to the next to further the plot and engage boss characters. Both games have minimaps used to steer the player to the next objective. Both games feature an large free-roaming area at the end of the game that can be explored. In both games many monsters are portrayed as corrupted souls ("fiends" being corrupted Unsent and "Cie'th" being I'Cie that didn't complete their Focus) Both games were also directed by Motomu Toriyama and both mark huge changes to the battle and development systems. On a more superficial note, both games are well-known for their graphical advances and lush, detailed environments.

So why then is Final Fantasy X lauded and Final Fantasy XIII derided by most players I've met? Most professional reviewers did give both X and XIII high marks. For one, XIII featured a hugely different battle system that was an evolution of Final Fantasy XII's love-it-or-hate-it ADB system. ADB played out more like an MMO with monsters roaming the field and battles taking place in the field without a separate "battle screen". X's Coditional Turn-Based Battle system is more like Final Fantasy Tactics than any other main series title and is miles different from the Active Time Battle system that the series used since IV. In ATB, time was always counting down and a characters could perform an action when their ATB gauge was full. CTB eliminates time pressure but creates a new kind of tactical pressure. It gives you a list at the right showing in what order each battle participant gets to act so you can choose whether to mount a full assault or build up your defenses for your enemies get their turns. XII drew much ire by some players for its departure, but was openly embraced by many more it seems. XIII is certainly no different.

Most interesting to me is the criticism of XIII being so linear. I didn't hear much mention of this when X came out. X and XIII are virtually similar in this regard. XIII does seem to have more FMVs than X, but the point still stands. There were a few that raised small objections lamenting the departure of the the controllable airships and open world maps, but these objections were minor and not shouted from the mountaintops like they were for XIII. But what do you expect? We live in an age where games like universally acclaimed games like Uncharted 2: Among Thieves still draw criticism, mostly by average Joe gamer and hardly ever by critics in this case, for being "too linear". It feels like every Western game has to have character customization and open worlds to be successful or "good".

Does nostalgia play a role? FFX's combat felt more traditional compared to anything that came after it. XII and XIII took bold steps in a new direction and seemed to step on a few toes in doing so.
So what gives? I'm not trying to make the argument that Final Fantasy XIII is as good as Final Fantasy X because I don't think it is. I do think it's a really good game. However, people who dish out harsh criticism of it, and then remember X so fondly perhaps need to think a little longer on the issue...