Final Fantasy XIII producer Yoshinori Kitase has admitted that his game had a number of flaws, addressing criticism that the game was too restricted and lacked the sense of exploration felt in other Final Fantasy games.

"Obviously it was the first Final Fantasy numbered titled for current-gen, high definition consoles, so we found it very challenging," said Kitase. "When it comes to graphical standard, game volume and [creating a] big story, we were quite satisfied. I think we did a good job. However, when it comes to gameplay there were some issues.

"Because the game was very story-driven, I think the problem was that it was quite linear. There could have been more opportunities for world exploration."

He did, however, apportion some of the blame to North Americans who were expecting too much: "Gamers outside of Japan, who hadn't played the game yet, might have had some kind of preconceptions which might have led to a bit of overreaction, possibly. Having said that, the criticism of the game being too linear was sort of true, as well."

Linearity was the last of Final Fantasy XIII's problems. A story seemingly written by children, a piss-boring combat system and cutscenes that basically amounted to an art department showing us its dick for twenty minutes. Those are the things I'd like to see Kitase address.

Kitase admits to Final Fantasty XIII shortcomings [Videogamer]