This port is an ABSOLUTE MESS. I was greeted with a near-deafening sound just by opening the game for the first time due to some surround sound incompatibility, how does that even happen, man?
But thanks to some BRILLIANT individuals in the community, there are very in-depth tutorials of how to fix the game with mods and patches to make your experience the best it can be. Cheers to them!
Obviously you shouldn't have to do all that and it should probably be the basis of any review, but I followed through with it and was able to have a blast with the game without any problems whatsoever, so I'll be that guy and totally recommend it. Jut get in in a sale and follow one of said guides and give the game a try.

As someone who enjoyed the first game SO VERY MUCH because of its story, world and characters, I was disappointed with the direction this game took, but I immediately decided to treat it as a "filler adventure story" between the other two games and so I was able to enjoy it for what it was. Though I was still deeply disappointed about Lightning being sidelined like that after all that development in the first game, I had some many expectations... but oh well.
The combat changes were very welcome and it was engaging from the get-go, unlike in the first game. As per usual, the XIII's don't disappoint in the soundtrack department, the combat themes are SO DAMN GOOD. That boss theme and a certain big-baddie's theme? I could listen to them for hours on end.
So yeah, overall I really recommend it if you were able to enjoy the first game. Get the game in a sale, fix it with the help of one of those guides and give the game a go. It's not a guarantee you'll enjoy it, as I said I was disappointed with the direction it took but was able to gloss over it by treating it like a fun little spin-off, so I encourage you to do the same. Who knows? Maybe you'll come out enjoying your time with one more game instead of being miserable and waste time complaining about video games online.

Where do I begin bad port bad characters and bad story telling trash final sequence

Good FFs = 7,9,10,14,15!