>>71086580FF13 is really just okay at best. It has great music but it's really underwhelming for a long while before the game finally opens up towards the final chapters. This was also the phase where FF wanted to be more of a movie than a game.
Keep in mind that 13-2 improved the gameplay and Lightning Returns was actually really solid with a good job system and had a good conclusion to the 13 series.
FF13 is unfortunately that ass game you have to deal with to get to the better 13 games.