LogFAQs > #972970476

XIII is weak for sure. Not sure if it belongs below 2 but yeah, its certainly the worst in the (numbered) series since the NES days. The only things it really had going for it are its soundtrack (no notes), the core battle system (wasted on poor encounter design), and the visuals at the time (now badly aged).

The story is terrible, the storytelling is even worse, the characters are unlikeable, almost all the battles are boring, the level design for the first 70% of it is some of the worst ever for a major game and even the more open parts arent that good. It is really carried by its aesthetics alone.

Also, as it was a story-focused game released in 2010 its probably fair to compare the writing to at least movies, and man. That is not a kind comparison for this game.