One of my favourite games of all time...
The Story: Starting out you see Caius and Lightning locked in battle, Lightning defending the throne of the goddess Etro. Caius for his own reason, wishing to kill the goddess and release chaos. It quickly switches to Serah. Confused, as her new hometown is being invaded by beasts from the Void Beyond, amongst the chaos a young man- Noel Kreiss rescues Serah, on a mission from Lightning, and his own motives... the two set out to create a new future.
The story starts out lighthearted and humourous, the drama from FFXIII cut down to a minimum, the story soon rises from lighthearted and whimisical to dark and confounding. If you seek closure from games, the ending will likely cause great distress. Though I thoroughly enjoyed the story.
The Characters: The two main characters you will meet in FFXIII-2 are the two protagonists, Noel and Serah. Quickly forming a quick bond that is charming to say the least. Serah introduced in the previous game, finally gets some time in the spotlight and it suits her quite well, becoming a lovable heroine. Noel a cocky young man, staying strong to save his future and his friends, containing his sorrow deep within. Both are voiced tremendously well, with Noel in particular delivering powerful; and emotional lines. Then you have your two antagonists Caius Ballad and Yeul, Caius lead by his own sorrow for a future he believes absolute for him and his partner Yeul.
The Sound: The voice acting is top notch by the main cast... some of the regular NPCs getting annoying at times. The music (in my opinion) being one of the series best alongside my personal favourites (FFVI and FFIX), the soundtrack being very diverse from emotional acosutic themes, mellow yet powerful orchestral theme, even beautiful vocal themes.
The Gameplay: The core battlesystem is not much different from it's succesor, but includes little things here and there that enhance and demoralize it's base. Monster collecting and customization being very fun and deep, the ability to unlock all abilites from the get-go, cinematic actions offering a form of QTEs. Then you have such things as chocobo racing, multiple endings, sidequests, dialouge options and much more freedom that the last, ther Historia Crux being a "worldmap" of sorts. The gameplay being unique and fun... but sadly the game offers little to no challenge. To top that off the mainstory can be completed in a measely 20 hours, but the bonus optional content can easily bring that to around 90 hours.
Conclusion: If you didn't like FFXIII you're not likely top enjoy FFXIII-2 (though I know a few who like it much more) and some of the new things added in FFXIII-2 may be polarising to fans of FFXIII (ironically). I thoroughly enjoyed this game, being one of the few games this generation.
Pros:
- More freedom/ exploration
- Sidequests
- The characters
- The end
- The music
- The amazing final boss fight
- Absolutely beautfiul environs
- Monster customization varied and in depth
- Puzzle and platforming elements
Cons:
- Much, much too short
- Waaaaaaaaay too easy
- The story takes awhile to build up
10/10