I think most people criticize the confusing story of Final Fantasy XIII is. But most really don’t know why it’s confusing.
Secretly, I believe most people didn’t bother to understand the story. Not just because the game demanded so much reading to understand the story. More so because no one wanted to put in any effort in understanding the story.
Based on peer review…
A lot of people simply listened to the online criticism, which tarnished their view of Final Fantasy XIII’s story. This criticism sets the mood for most of Final Fantasy XIII’s critics; they expected only the worst. While playing, they complained incessantly about the game, adding their voice to communal opinion. When something was wrong with Final Fantasy XII, they went overboard in criticizing the game. Basically, every flaw proved them right.
Many people believe the story is terrible based on criticism. But when you ask them what makes the story so terrible…they can’t tell you. All they can say is “it’s bad”, “it’s really bad” or point out superficialities. But shouldn’t they want to know why it’s bad?
Truth is, Final Fantasy XIII has flaws like the other Final Fantasy games. But the story is just as poignant when taken time to understand it. A lot of people hate how uncomfortable they feel with the melodrama. They don’t believe they should feel emotions they do, because the crowd tells them they shouldn’t.
Then, to force down these feelings, they become part of the rabble. They want to kill what they feel for Final Fantasy XIII to be a part of the community. They hate for the basis of feeling good about themselves.
Some people who like the game are afraid to speak up in favor of Final Fantasy XIII. They believe they may have their Final Fantasy community card revoked, metaphorically speaking. They also want to avoid flame wars and useless petty arguments. So then a vocal dissent group who didn’t care to understand Final Fantasy XIII ends up judging that game. And based on what everyone else said about it, too. Those who like the game stay silent, giving an almost unanimous opinion that Final Fantasy XII is horrible.
I wonder how diverse our opinions would be if we didn’t have the internet to influence them by peer pressure.