The sequel to arguably the most controversial Final Fantasy does the series justice.
Story: 7.5/10
The game picks up right where the first game left off, but you wouldn't know that right away, instead you're in Valhalla, playing as Lightning fighting a mysterious man named Caius. It's one of those stories that presents you with a bunch of questions early on then slowly answers each of those questions.
It gets the job done and is rather interesting and neat to see how each of the original characters are doing (Hope making the biggest transformation). What I didn't like was how some really interesting events had to be unlocked since it can be really confusing to find out where each gate is located. As Sereh and Noel, you're tasked with trying to fix the timeline by solving paradoxes.
The biggest disappointment was the ending, I don't want to spoil anything but don't get your hopes up. I'm one of those people who really didn't mind the ending of Mass Effect 3 but the ending to this game made my jaw drop for the wrong reasons. Sure there are multiple endings, and after seeing each of them, I would've had the same reaction.
Characters: 8/10
Your main party is Sereh and Noel, obviously Sereh is Lightning's sister, and Noel is a warrior from the future sent by Lightning to assist Sereh. You also have Mog who acts as Sereh's weapon and can also reveal hidden treasures or time rifts. All 3 are likable, but not as memorable as Lightning and her party. At least in Final Fantasy X-2, you still played as Yuna, Rikku, along with the cool Payne. This sequel doesn't allow you to play as any of the previous characters, although some do help you in battles.
Visuals: 10/10
The developers from Square-Enix is easily some of the most talented in the visual department. Final Fantasy XIII-2 is a beautiful game with vibrant visuals, atmospheric locations, really setting the mood for each area. There's one area that's pretty much a barren wasteland and you feel it and it kind of makes you sad when you're exploring the area because of the atmosphere that Square-Enix built around that specific area.
The characters themselves are highly detailed and animate well, same with the monsters.
Sound: 10/10
Along with the visuals, sound is another area where Square-Enix excels at. Each song perfectly suits each area and adds to the atmosphere of the environment (like the barren wasteland being accompanied by a sweet but somber ballad). Voice acting is done very well and if you think Sereh and Noel's voice sound familiar, well Sereh's voice has done Tohru from Fruits Basket and the main girl in Code of Princess, while Noel's voice is Chester from Fairly Odd Parents. Although Sereh is somewhat less interesting than Lightning, she does have more personality and balances out well with Noel. Mog is especially humorous and adorable, kupo!
Gameplay: 8.5/10
The battle system is largely unchanged from the original FFXIII, the major difference with this entry (apparently inspired by Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World) is that your 3rd party member is a monster whose crystal you've obtained. Each monster has a specific role (like a Tonberry is a Commando and a Gigantuar is a Synergist). Also take note of the monster's description when building them up. A monster that says "Early peaker" can only grow up to lvl. 20, whereas one that says "Well Grown" can go up to lvl. 40-45 and "Late Bloomer" can reach the up to lvl. 99. Naturally you'll want to have a medic early on (which you will) and you'll probably also naturally develop monsters that are commandos and ravagers (I used the MiniFlan and Flabanero since they both can grow up to lvl. 99, have excellent super abilities along with powerful stats, and you can get them early on, as for medic, I used Flanitor due to its powerful healing capabilities and strong stats despite only going up to lvl 40). If you do intend on taking on much more powerful monsters, I do suggest you build up a sentinel (I used the Bunker Beast but I read that the Silver Chocobo is the best, if you can find it).
While the battle system is fast and requires a good deal of strategy in the harder battles, everything else can easily be won by just pressing "Auto-battle", although it's important to set up your paradigms well and if you do want to get those 5 star rankings, it's better to take control into your own hands since the auto-battle system sometimes makes them fight inefficiently.
While you still gain Crystarium points to develop Sereh and Noel, the monsters can only be developed by getting the monster growth items (droplets for grade 1 organic monsters and bolts for grade 1 mechanical monsters). Final Fantasy XIII-2 also has "Cinematic Events" which are basically quick time events that usually take place during a battle (mainly boss fights). Key Triggers are events in the story line that have you make a choice, if you answer correctly, you're rewarded with an item.
Value: 9/10
One thing I've always loved about JRPGs is their length, while this one is on the shorter side, I still spent around 45 hours on it and I'm not a completionist. For completionists, this game can run you about 60 hours. The core storyline doesn't take that long and should only take about 30 hours to beat. The game does offer multiple endings so for those of you eager to see them all, there's that incentive (although I just looked them up on youtube since I didn't have the patience to do all of the necessary tasks to obtain each ending).
Overall: 8.5/10
Final Fantasy XIII-2 is a solid sequel to Final Fantasy XIII, it's much more open and allows for more exploration, things can get confusing since you do have to visit the same areas but in different times and the ending (in my opinion) is the worst I've ever seen in a JRPG, but yeah, it sets itself up for the 3rd and final entry of XIII, Final Fantasy: Lightning Returns.