Final Fantasy XIII-2 Review
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A game in which anyone can play not to hard and not to easy with a good story and game play.
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Final Fantasy XIII-2 doesn't capture Lightning in a bottle, but it's still a fun and heartfelt role-playing adventure.
On the other hand, the game's second half features an extended sequence that combines gameplay and narrative in powerful ways. To fully describe them would risk spoiling what makes them so intriguing. But consider this circumstance: you wander through desolation, citizens of another time appear as semitransparent figures. You can normally phase transparent objects into your own time, thanks to the moogle that hovers and whirls at your side (useful when you find a treasure sphere, shimmering and bobbing somewhere nearby). When you phase in one of these human figures, he falls to the ground dead, crying out to his goddess. It's shocking and heartbreaking, yet not a major plot point; it just happens as the result of experimenting with a routine game mechanic. This may seem a mere detail--a subtlety you could overlook. But it's this kind of touch that gives the game's latter hours so much heart and heft.
You won't mind spending so much time with Noel and Serah. The actors deliver their lines in earnest, though other characters aren't so uniformly excellent. Final Fantasy XIII's Hope and Snow both reappear; Snow as stubborn as ever and Hope less whiny than before. You could even call him strong and likeable. Hope's assistant Alyssa, on the other hand, is insufferably precious, while feathered shopkeeper Chocolina's soprano screech might have you shoving chocobo feathers in your ears. Inconsistent acting aside, Final Fantasy XIII-2's production values are impressive, the occasional frame rate dips notwithstanding. But the sequel is more visually diverse. In Augusta Tower, neon yellow and orange accents provide a striking contrast to the blue checkerboard walls. That area couldn't be more different from the Archlyte Steppe, where the grassy plains harbor grazing sheep and a machine allows you to control the wind and weather.
Of course, Final Fantasy XIII-2 is more than a semicoherent time-traveling tale threaded through a hodgepodge of beautiful settings. It's a full-fledged role-playing game that builds upon its predecessor in sensible ways. Does that make it ultimately a better game than the previous one? Not necessarily. It certainly addresses the issue of linearity that irked so many of XIII's players, though. Rather than follow a narrow path toward your eventual goal, XIII-2 offers room to breathe. Many areas--too many--are still collections of constricted paths. But in regions like the aforementioned Archlyte Steppe, you can venture off on your own and uncover the secrets waiting for you. (Caution: touching a cactus may not have the expected effect!) Citizens may offer you tasks, though these are few and usually amount to no more than "find me some missing items" or "kill a big monster." If you're so inclined, you can also head to Serendipity--a casino that exists outside of the normal constraints of time and space. Play the slots. Enter your chocobo in some races. Such side activities are good for the occasional diversion, but they're not so urgent or addictive that you would lose hours to them.
The overall structure also invites nonlinear exploration. Once you've unlocked a node that represents a particular place/time period, you can visit whenever you like. In fact, a later quest has you hopping around multiple nodes, scouring every square inch of the land in search of shimmering objects hidden in some of the most ridiculous places. (This excruciating quest is old-fashioned padding at its worst.) Thankfully, such time hopping is usually optional, but it often gifts you with unexpected results. You can return to the area as you left it--or you can reset it and play it as though it's your first time. Doing so allows you to choose different dialogue options or, perhaps, to approach some dangerous behemoth differently from the first time around. It's best left to discover on your own what benefit such excursions might bring you. Let's just say that when it comes to time-travel stories, the future isn't always absolute.
Freer exploration aside, Final Fantasy XIII-2's moment-to-moment gameplay is remarkably similar to its originator's. Moving about the world causes monsters to spawn, and you can run away from them, but you'll usually wish to attack. As before, party members have combat roles associated with them (ravager = offensive magic; synergist = defensive buffing). As you level up, you earn new roles to take on, so Noel and Serah aren't limited to a single role. From there, you create combinations of roles called paradigms. When battle commences, you enter the battle arena, an action bar called the ATB gauge fills, and you queue up actions for your party leader. (Other party members perform their actions automatically.) When the gauge is full, you unleash your skills, whether that means healing your ailing friend or casting lightning bolts at marauding ghouls. And should you need to, you can switch to a different paradigm during battle.
The action's primary strategic consideration lies in knowing how to put together successful paradigms and when to use them. There's also an additional consideration this time: the most powerful enemies can inflict blood wounds, reducing your maximum amount of health during the fight. Until you reach the final boss gauntlet, however, you'll rarely worry about blood damage. Simply put, Final Fantasy XIII-2 is noticeably easier than Final Fantasy XIII. If XIII's Eidolon battles had you pulling out your hair in frustration, this may come as welcome news. But in XIII-2, you can overcome a few too many battles by just setting your party to an offensive paradigm and letting things take care of themselves.
By
Kevin VanOrd, Senior Editor
Kevin VanOrd is a lifelong RPG lover and violin player. When he isn't busy building PCs and composing symphonies, he watches American Dad reruns with his fat cat, Ollie.
168 comments
1 Like I thoroughly enjoyed the game; the storyline was put together pretty well, and I really liked the ending, not so much the secret one. Having said that, I do agree that we needed more of Cais and Lightning. When I first saw the trailer I was hoping that we'd play alongside Lightning in the game and perhaps see the battle system a bit less ATB - I know it's Final Fantasy tradition, but I would've liked the battles to be 'button' based. Other than that, it was a great game and would also recommend it to anyone.
I honestly thought the only thing lacking was lightning and Cauis facetime. I mean we know that Lightning was working in the background and narrating part of the the sorry (Spoiler: I like how they put the Vile peak as a sort of tribute to Lightning and a hint at Sazh location.) And the battle systems is a bit different from FFXIII because of the mog clock and monster stuffs. But I'll admit the game is a little easy even on normal mode (but that could be because I venture away from the story sometime (the Steppe and looking for specific monster crystals).
I honestly don't see what was really wrong with FFXIII: I heard people saying the story is lacking, the battle system is confusing, didn't like certain characters like Hope (they should see him now) and Vanille... honestly I personally like FFX-2 as well (I think the whole paragism shift thing was based off of that).
But for this game I would definitively recommend it to anyone (even the one that played the first game but not the second). As long as time travel doesn't confuse you.
An avid Final Fantasy fan, I'd eat up any game they spit out. However, I'm not really into XIII-2. I thought XIII didn't need a sequel, the ending was amazing. But for what it is, it wasn't all that bad. The game play was a major plus. This is where I thought Square-Enix really improved on XIII. I also didn't miss the summoning - I was never impressed with the Eidolons. As for the storyline, I just though it was bland. Time traveling to save the world - cliche. Overall, I thought game play was great, storyline wasn't. In XIII it was the opposite for me.
@yourmominHD I honestly felt that they should had left FFXIII alone for the sole purpose of finishing Versus XIII and KH3. But you have to admit the ending + Cauis himself= what you thought of FF completely shattered.
1 Like Picked this up for less than a tenner on play so i cant really complain but ive found it so far just a linear button mash. I much prefer choosing my attacks but its just so much easier to mash auto attack. Really miss calling up massive almighty summons and the forced cut scenes are a bit too much so im enjoying this but not loving it. Looks beautiful but so far super easy and i havent touched easy mode yet.
1 Like just started playing , love the easy mode they added in this game!!! guess I don't have to power leveling anymore
5 Like When it comes to "too easy" or "too hard", I think it's wiser for a game to lean towards the easy side, just as long as it doesn't drop to a state of boredom. Remember, some people play games just for fun, casual entertainement, or as a hobby - not to be challenged. If a game is too hard, there's nothing those people can do to enjoy that game since cheats aren't even available on most games these days. However, if a game is too easy, there are tons of ways the player can challenge himself (if he has any hint of imagination, that is). Do a speed run. Complete a level using only melee attacks. Some of these might even net you some achievements or trophies. Bottom-line, I honestly hope developers never listen to the inconsiderate gamers who keep whining about games being too easy, and I also hope gaming journalists have the proper sense to convey the message that you should NOT ostracize such a large portion of the gaming community. I'm all in favor of games that have multiple difficulty settings, so that everyone has what they came in for but, if some weird reason that's not possible, aim towards the easy but playable, NOT the hard and punishing.
@Star_Gem i found ff 13 was to hard mainly in boss battles. ff 13 should`ve had a diffculty choice like ff 13-2. that way those who want a challenge can set on a harder diffculty while others who just enjoy the story or simpler game can choose an easyier diffculty. so in essence i agree with you.that why i like 13-2 better than 13.
1 Like @Kevin-V Well Kevin, since you're reading.. 7.5 is just "good" in the GS rating. Very good would be more like an 8, similar to great. We all know that 8 is a psychological threshold for video games. Anything between 7 and 8 is of uncertain quality. Below 7 not worth to be played. To me this game is a 9 for the reasons I described already. Also its technical execution (on PS3) is nearly perfect as usual, which matters a lot. A 9.0 for PS3 messy Lagrym 1.0 while giving 7.5 to FF XIII-2 is a crime against humanity. But anyway, my bigger concern is that professional reviewer should refrain from evaluating FF games depending on how much they like some characters. To me Mog is very cute although a little too over the top sometimes (but that's true about all moogles, I suppose) and Chocolina is just terrific. I connected with her since the demo. While the first Lightning was a? female dog, just give me Fang and Vanille. Stepping back on time? overrated Cloud was a whiner (The British would use a much more appropriate derogatory term. Oh yeah!). That's subjective. Some people even love Hope!! Still the FF XIII-2 fun factor is high. The game is fast, moves on, makes sense. It's beautiful. It's just too short and small compared to FF standards and too easy or unbalanced.
@slainta -- It is indeed very good. I say so in those exact words in the review ;) Also, 7.5 = very good.
Also, the most popular games list has nothing to do with how good a game is. Street Cleaning Simulator was the most popular game on GS for a while not so long ago, and it got a 1.5. people read about games for all sorts of reasons, and if you've played games (or listened to music, or read books, or watched movies) long enough, then you know that what's popular isn't necessarily what's best. :)
If this game was not so exceptional why is still the most popular here in GS? I just finished it 100% few days ago. A very good sequel, with a good story, an improved combat system and full of exploration. The only downside is that it's a little too short for being a FF game and there are few locations, changing a little (very little) depending on the year. But all together it's a solid FF game. Ah, and Choco-boco-lina is just choco-tastic! Don't listen to reviewers, we know better! :D
I beat the game two days ago, after 71 solid hours of gameplay. I, personally, liked it pretty much. The story is compelling and the idea to play with time and paradoxes was pretty fun. Characters are likable, though I'd have preferred a wider choice of playable characters. I kinda don't like some of the themes and how they overlapped with characters' voices. I hate the random encounter bubble-thingamajiggy, though. If there's another episode I'd go and buy it asap. Yet some aspects need to be fixed. Less copy and paste please!
Just beat the game yesterday. I think squenix need to make another badass villain like Caius The only ''thing'' that is not-out-of-place in this series
My opinion on this game: Decent story, the first 30-50% of the story is meh, but the end really draws it together and makes you wished it didn't end so quick. Decent gameplay, Monsters add quite a bit of flavor and IMO they are done right. No leveling monsters atleast not with EXP like a traditional sense. Items are used instead. You also have quite a bit to do and quite a few puzzles to solve. though the puzzles and side-quests could of been longer and harder they aren't mind-numbingly boring like some open world RPGs. The leveling system could of been a bit better, but then again in most games it could of been. Characters are decent. Sure Serah isn't the smartest heroine ever made, but she does add quite a bit. Noel on the other hand kind of fits nicely into the story. Overall comments: Game has a lot to do, and most of it is done well. Might not be the best of the best, but a creative and innovative game and a very good take on both the Time Travel and Monster control systems.
This is only my personal opinion, but what a let down this game is. No more almighty summons, Pokemon style collective gameplay, Mass Effect dialogue choices...man, the list goes on and on. I like cutscenes occasionally, but, wow. A little overkill here Squenix. Serah, while very likeable (considering you're staring at her cleavage most of the time) is no heroine. Feral attacks are sooooo boring to use most times. The exact same prerendered scene over and over and over again and the attacks don't "connect" most times. They kind of take place on your back, or off to the side, or while a bad guy is circling you, you will see "punch" damage as it's flying overhead. Really? I REALLY wanted to like this. When I heard gameplay improvements, I was ready and willing to jump on board. I'll finish it just to do it and get it done. It really is more of a chore now than enjoyment, which, honestly, is the first FF game I can say that about. Go back to the drawing board Squenix. Make FF15 something to talk about, something to shine. Get rid of "auto battle".Bring back summons. Cut the whiny character development, and give me something mature, something I can sink my teeth into. Please.....
TheoAlmighty, it is Japanese games as a whole that is taking longer. It doesn't help also that they announce games prematurely. Resident Evil 6 was the only exception of a game from Japan that was announced and coming out the same year.
doesn't matter if gamespot rated this a 7.5, i am still enjoying this game for hours...dont really care about the story anyway cuse its fun to play!
I'm at the final boss after playing for about 60-70 hours (I'm kinda a completionist) I sorta missed the fetch quest everyone says is annoying due to already having all the required items but the platforming section is just...bad, it's just a case of waiting for platforms to move where you want them, jumping and fighting a combination of under-powered enemies (including nektons which are probably the first enemies you'll fight in this game) and over-powered enemies capable of 1-hitting your entire team if you're not over-powered. Overall good game though, if not too easy in parts. Really hoping they add a hard mode as DLC in the future .
I'm about 18 hours or so into this game, towards the end of episode 4. Finding this game to a mix of good and bad. Exploration is a bit freer and you do get side quests, though they're not all that exciting, as the review points out. The dialogue spoken by the characters varies wildly, from fairly good to ridiculous. Most of the voice acting is decent, but you'll wish you could mute Chocolina and Mog, the moogle who accompanies Noel and Serah on their quest (if I ever hear "Kupo" again, it'll be way too soon!). The battle system is a bit more fluid, but more likely you'll be forced to sticking with auto battle, since the enemies attack at a rapid pace, leaving you no time to make any decision. Also, way too many random battles (to the point of ridiculousness at the beginning of Episode 4). Curiously, I'm finding the quieter moments where you can just explore and uncover the (thin) story to be more enjoyable. At least the environments are varied, but that doesn't make the fetch quest you get bogged down in any more fun. Basically, it's worth playing if you played the previous game, but I'd recommend renting before you buy.
@tjsmoke63 The side quests aren't really anything much just for more power players of RPG. But the most fulfilling one are the paradox endings which sort of explain some parts of the stories.
@NTM23 I mean... Gamespot gave this game a 7.5 but all of users just slapped in their face after we make it the most popular on their first page.
Great game every gaming franchise has it's hiccups but they seem to be going bac in the right direction keep it up
Im enjoying it throughly, honestly if you take away the Final Fantasy from the title im pretty sure this game would get a lot more positive reviews out of it. Honestly when it comes down to it we kind of have ourselves to blame for this one, Square-Enix did open up a forum for people to put in suggestions for XIII-2 in order to appeal to us more, you see what happens when they act upon what we want? they make something that normally doesnt flow as well as it should have, and even break out of the comfort zone they have for creating Final Fantasy. If you have played the others you are aware of what the company is capable of, I completely understand that, and then there are those who played VII and rave over that game like crazy, we all plead remake, remake, remake, but kind of hard for a company to remake a game let alone get the people to do it if even when they answer to our pleas they still catch flak for it. Play the game with an open mind, and don't consider it a FF and i guarantee you'll fall in love with it. I was the same way with Spirits within, hated it at first then watched it again with a more open mind, loved it.
@Romangelo -- What are you talking about? It has nothing to do with GameSpot's opinions, it's the rest of us that make the current most popular list. Plus, the score of a game doesn't effect it either, other than the fact people want to view the review page. The reason it is or was so high was because people look into it, it has nothing to do with score. I... I don't why you thought this way. What did you think it was, GameSpot loving a game so much they put it on there like a top ten list? No.
I'm saving money for this... But many people on GS says it sucks, and there are many others say it's good. I think the game play is about 6/10 but I'm curious about the story too. I don't care if it's good or bad, but I have appreciation for every game I buy and I play. Now that XIII-2 is released, will u SE guys continue working on Versus XIII and KH series? Finish those while I'm playing XIII-2,'kay?
This game is the current Most Popular "out now" game on the Gamespot first page. OMG! a 7.5 game is more popular than Skyrim and the others? Must be the greatest 7.5 game ever. right? Gamespot.
vigin nerds everywhere just joygasmed. my friends would kick my A$$ if they saw me playing this , and rightly so. this game has homo written all over it
hmm this is strange,i hated 13 pretty much within the 1st few minutes but for some reason i don't hate this game even though ive been only able to play it for a few hours before my son took over the ps3. sure the battle system still sucks and is uninteresting cause its too easy but i think its because i can choose multiple choice dialog when talking to characters in the game,sort of reminds me of the previous games.
I really couldn't understand why there would be a sequel. Even with all the promotion and hype, my mind was set on just hating it (old wounds from X-2). SE Put out a demo for this one and I couldn't get myself to play for more than 15 minutes. I hated the demo so much I deleted it. Then the game comes out and I decide to rent it and play it with an open mind. Turns out I was playing for hours. Yeah, If you want 5 stars, auto battle, blah blah. The game has changed my perspective so far. I'll give SE props for this sequel. Knock 'em dead with XIII versus guys.
Great mixed opinions. Looks like I will wait until I find this in a random used video store for less then $50. Especially if you can only get 20 hours of story gameplay.
i just bought the game today but dont even know why as i didnt enjoy 13 itself :P i guess its because i still hold onto that glimmer of hope where i think maybe this one will be the one that would blow me away... fingers crossed. but i swear that they dont even care about the story or character development anymore,its all about the gameplay system and cutting-edge visuals and audio (which is written on the back of the case) god damn yous... make a ff title where i can actually feel for the characters and get pulled into the story.
Ehh, I love this game, sure it's easy, but its not bad at all. Its a solid 9.0 for me.
@blamix99 I just read IGN's review for this game. How can you recommend it? Are you serious about that? They state "Final Fantasy XIII-2 proves itself the better game" right after saying "Characters act without clear motivation, and the only driving force is to find Lightning." How can you say it's a better game when there's absolutely no structure? Sure, parts of the game are great (exploration, monster-hunting, side-quests), but it lacks very important components of a game in that statement: story-telling and characters. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying GS's reviews are the best, either. But from this comparison it's clear that IGN doesn't realize that having a compelling story is just as important as having good mechanics. When you break it down into parts, the sequel might have better parts; but when you take it as a whole, the original certainly is much more than the sequel.
@Linkmaster2010 Then who is it? Last I read the reason why they have not started KH3 was because the main guy was working on FFXIII-2.
I thought that this was a certain buy for me, but now that I learned Serah is in the spotlight, I'm not so sure. Maybe that's pathetic, but oh well. I really liked Lightning. Serah was ok as the "damsel in distress" but as a protagonist, I'm on the fence on that one. I'm going to need to mull this over on whether to buy or not.
That's because Hironobu left Square after 10 to cause them to merge with enix. He has Mistwalker now( Lost Oddessey and Blue Dragon + a wii game in the making.)
@Lambon23 - try IGN they understand games more than this site. i hate too how they rate games here on gamespot
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