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Final Fantasy X vs Final Fantasy XIII

Final Fantasy X is an RPG game from Square (2001) while Final Fantasy XIII is an action-RPG JRPG game from Square Enix (2009).

Quick answer: Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy XIII are too close, or too thinly reviewed, to separate on the numbers; the table below shows what each holds.

Final Fantasy X

2001 · Square

92Metacritic

Final Fantasy XIII

2009 · Square Enix

6.7GamingPickz Score

$15.99

Steam: Mostly Positive

What each one is

Final Fantasy X is filed under RPG. In contrast, Final Fantasy XIII under Action-RPG and JRPG.

Final Fantasy X

Final Fantasy X is a 2001 role-playing video game developed and published by Square for PlayStation 2. The tenth main installment in the Final Fantasy series, it is the first game in the series to feature fully three-dimensional areas, and voice acting. Final Fantasy X replaces the Active Time Battle (ATB) system with the "Conditional Turn-Based Battle" (CTB) system, and uses a new leveling system called the "Sphere Grid".

Description from Wikipedia

Final Fantasy XIII

Final Fantasy XIII is a fantasy RPG in which a band of brave humans struggle against fate in the utopian sky city of Cocoon and the primeval world of Pulse. Follow stylish heroine Lightning's fast paced battles and high adventure in a mysterious new world.

Description from its Steam store page

Story, characters and reception

Final Fantasy X
Plot

Setting and characters Main articles: Spira (Final Fantasy) and Characters of Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2 Final Fantasy X is set in the fictional world of Spira, consisting of one large landmass divided into three subcontinents, surrounded by small tropical islands. It features diverse climates, ranging from the tropical Besaid and Kilika islands, to the temperate Mi'ihen region, to the frigid Macalania and Mt. Gagazet areas. (Wikipedia)

Reception

Reception Final Fantasy X received critical acclaim from video game critics. The Japanese video game magazine Famitsu and Famitsu PS2 awarded the game a near-perfect 39/40 score. Another Japanese gaming magazine, The Play Station , gave the game a score of 29/30. (Wikipedia)

Final Fantasy XIII
Plot

Setting Final Fantasy XIII is set on the futuristic world of Gran Pulse (often simply called Pulse). Central to the story is Cocoon, a massive artificial sphere that floats above Pulse's surface and is ruled by the Sanctum, a theocratic government. The two worlds are controlled by fal'Cie / f æ l ˈ s iː / , mechanical beings with godlike power. (Wikipedia)

Characters

Main article: Characters of the Final Fantasy XIII series The six main playable characters of Final Fantasy XIII are Lightning ( Ali Hillis / Maaya Sakamoto ), the main protagonist of the game, a former soldier and older sister to Serah; Snow Villiers ( Troy Baker / Daisuke Ono ), Serah's fiancé and leader of NORA, a paramilitary group; Oerba Dia Vanille (Georgia van Cuylenburg/ Yukari Fukui ), the game's narrator and an exile who is later revealed to be a… (Wikipedia)

Reception

Reception Final Fantasy XIII received generally positive reviews. Review aggregator website Metacritic gave the PlayStation 3 version 83/100 based on 83 reviews, the Xbox 360 version 82/100 based on 54 reviews, and the Windows version 65/100 based on 6 reviews. It was rated 39 out of 40 by the Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu . (Wikipedia)

At a glance

Final Fantasy XFinal Fantasy XIII
GamingPickz Score—6.7/10
Steam rating—Mostly Positive (75%, 19,914)
Critic aggregate92/100No aggregate
PriceUnknown$15.99
Install size—60 GB
Steam DeckUntestedplayable
Released20012009
DeveloperSquareSquare Enix

Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.

Final Fantasy X vs Final Fantasy XIII, point by point

Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.

  1. Genre and premise

    Final Fantasy XRPG game
    Final Fantasy XIIIAction-RPG JRPG game

    What each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.

  2. How it plays

    Final Fantasy XNo descriptive tags
    Final Fantasy XIIIJRPG, RPG, Female Protagonist

    The tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.

  3. Content and scale

    Final Fantasy X—
    Final Fantasy XIII19,914 reviews · 3 add-ons · 60 GB

    Reach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.

  4. Price

    Final Fantasy XUnknown
    Final Fantasy XIII$15.99

    Read live from Steam and subject to change.

Across the rounds a number can settle, it is level at 0 each. Which one is "better" is the part no figure decides, so we leave it to what you want from the two.

Where they differ

Final Fantasy X is also

Final Fantasy XIII is also

JRPGRPGFemale ProtagonistLinearGreat SoundtrackSingleplayer

Tags players apply to one game and not the other.

Difficulty and who each is for

By the tags players apply, Final Fantasy X is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Final Fantasy XIII is demanding, for players who want a challenge.

System requirements, side by side

Final Fantasy XFinal Fantasy XIII
Minimum GPU—NVIDIA® Geforce® 8 Series/ ATI Radeon™ HD 2000 series
Minimum CPU—2GHz Dual Core CPU
Minimum RAM—1 GB
Install size—60 GB

Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Final Fantasy X · Final Fantasy XIII.

Accessibility features

Steam store pages declare 0 accessibility features for Final Fantasy X and 5 for Final Fantasy XIII. A declaration is a floor, not a review.

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Common questions

How different are Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy XIII in scope?

Final Fantasy X lists little scope data. Final Fantasy XIII has drawn 19,914 Steam reviews, ships 3 add-ons and installs in 60 GB.

Is Final Fantasy X or Final Fantasy XIII better?

Neither carries enough reviews for us to score it reliably, so we do not call a winner. The table above shows what each does have.

Which is cheaper, Final Fantasy X or Final Fantasy XIII?

One or both do not have a current listed price, so a straight comparison is not possible. See the table above.

Should I get Final Fantasy X or Final Fantasy XIII?

Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy XIII are too close, or too thinly reviewed, to separate on the numbers; the table below shows what each holds. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.

Do you rank one above the other for a fee?

No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.

All comparisons

How we compare, and what we will not do

The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.

More on each