Get over it, lightning's not in this game just yet, but Requiem of the Goddess is on the way! Still a good FF
The story involves two characters, Noel and Serah whom were called by lightning through telekinetic communication to find lightning, however, as they traveled their path was certainly not straight forward! There were countless obstacles, however, lightning expected and send an amazingly adorable moogle, Kupo to assist them.
My perspective:
Final fantasy 13-2 is pretty underrated in my opinion. I am most certainly not a biased reviewer, however I love sword games (mostly jrpgs ones, not skyrim or amalur). Many gamers that purchased this probably played final fantasy 13 and found this one pretty boring and gave up. I felt the same way, unlike 13, there isn't an enormous twist (CHPT 9 13-1). But the real reason it felt boring was because of the gap of power between lightning vs noel and serah. Lightning is currently in the top 5 most power ful final fantasy characters, she goes from unleashing a ferocious quake on the ground too, summoning a powerful eidolon dragon in the sky along with any creatures (she has the power to control even bahamoths!) So its no surprise its boring, however that is no excuse for putting the game down, you are simply not a gamer if you give up. The game is worth completing to the end, trust me.
Overall ~ 8.5/10
Story: 8.5/10 As confusing but good just like the last iteration. Couple of interesting cutscenes every now and usually involves a flashback of lightning or a glimpse of gran pulse's future inevitable destruction. I am disappointed that 13-2 lacked pre rendered cutscenes!
Gameplay: 8.0/10 Almost identical to 13-1, however, many critics have criticized the eidolon system and shrouds leading square to eliminate it and ultimately impacting the game negatively. Obviously western critics don't know what the f@ck they're doing…..
Graphics: 9.0/10 Still provided some breath taking scenes, still among the best of displaying realism and the BEST for artistic canvases.
Sound: 7.5/10 I have only heard a few audios that I have actually become attracted too, however, 13-1's soundtracks were much better. The effects of the sword, voice actors were great, I think kupo was an enormous improvement over 11!
Replay value: Like many other jrpg's you won't coming back for 13-2 any time soon after completion.
Concusion:
I suggest renting the game first since many of you westerners will probably not have patience to sit through it, (I am from the US if you are curious but I always favored lengthy stories and gameplay involving shinobi's). For you final fantasy 13 fans, I suggest you buy this, ones tons of DLC too keep this game going when you feel out of it and also final fantasy regulars should also take a look because linearity was totally eliminated and replaced with lots of exploration, however, leveling up isn't as flexible as 13-1 unfortunately…