It is a RPG, Tim. I've been hooked on this series since I played #7. The only thing I don't like about this one is your course is pre-set. They give you a course to travel and there's no real exploring of the world your on compared to the others. And the weapons upgrade system is boring. You get to upgrade at save points around Chapter 4, before you get to the Odin fight. On the others you get to go to shops and buy what you need and later in the game win the Ultimate Weapons for the characters. Other than those few bad spots the game is cool as hell. That is until Chapter 11 when you need to do some side quests to upgrade your characters to the max, which from what I seen on the walkthrough on IGN will take you several hours to do.
If you want to get into the series and you have a PS or PS2, start with #9 (PS) or 10 (PS2) and go from there. The only ones I never played was 11 because its online only and the one that came out for PSP.
Dan, I almost used the force out the window.
But there is one item you can pick up on the game that is a nod to SW. Its a lifesaver.
Subject: Final Fantasy XIII 
Sat Mar 20, 2010 2:28 pm
I already checked that out. Just glad a gerbil wasn't brought into the mix! Bad enough celery was added. So glad I didn't ask this in chat, but I got it now. As soon as I posted the question, I started playing and went through it first try.
