The main reason people disliked it was because of how linear it was. You can only move forward, no where else, etc etc. Even tho FFX isn't too different in that aspect... Anyway.

My Game Design teacher also really didn't like how you'll have tutorials still much later in the game, but like... Sir, those tutorials are there because sometimes new has been unlocked??? Uhm, idk, I get not wanting to introduce something new much later one, but also, we're not adding a battle mechanic, we're adding an exploration one.... Idk, that one always sat weong with me lol

Either way, I can't give much of an opinion on the game as I never played, only watched its story, and on that aslect I can say it's great. I truly love the story and highly recommend knowing it.

I just didn't like the battle system. I think that's what turned me off about the game. One of the worst in the series IMO.

I love xiii amazing graphics, amazing music, interesting battle system. I find it the most replayable FF game along with X.

I am glad to hear that you are enjoying it. It was my second favorite game for a while, though lately VI and XII have gotten slightly above it but they and VII are all in my top tier. And Lightning is my favorite character from the franchise, and third favorite female character from a game overall (second being Krystal and first being Legend Trilogy's Lara Croft).

Its linear style was pretty fun for me, and the battle system, soundtracks, etc. I'm not a fan of stories outside of horror being this grimdark but the gameplay and characters made up for it. The Crystarium is a lot better than the Sphere Grid since you can continue from anywhere you left off rather than costing stuff to backtrack on it, and everyone gets the same amount of CP even if they are not in the party.

My only real complaints aside from a few potentially difficult fights are a.) Everywhere before Chapter 11 is unrevisitable once you complete their respective chapters, and b.) Gil farming is harder than FFXII (in FFXII, just about all enemies drop loot to sell, especially if you chain them, while in FFXIII, only select enemies drop stuff specifically for selling and not all chapters have them, though in Taejin's Tower after beating Dahaka you can do a certain mission over and over for something you can sell).