Today's game is Final Fantasy XIII-2 for the PS3 and Xbox 360. I've been cooking this review a bit more, thinking about the game. I got the platinum trophy, so i think I'm ready to give my opinion now.
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| Surprisingly, those are a man and a woman. |
History changed right as FFXIII ended and Lightning's survival from the ending has been rewritten. Her sister and friends decide to go on a magical time adventure to find her, fixing the timeline where they can.
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| Should you travel through time and space? |
Story
Okay, I'm gonna keep this as spoiler free as possible, i want these reviews to be useful without giving away too much. In a word, the story is adequate, in my mind. It hits some good points, some not so good points, sadly the ending is very... unsatisfying.
Now, of course, I'll have to admit two things. First, i really liked Final Fantasy XIII, it's characters and setting and those are still there, so I kinda started knowing I'd like at least some parts of it, namely the setting and, if they show up, the characters from the previous game. Secondly, i have a soft spot for Final Fantasy and JRPGs in general, so those kind of stories usually hit higher notes than for some people who despise those.
That being said, I think this game has competent storytelling, although it has some plot holes and things that are possibly left unexplained until some DLC drops. Without the DLC, though, I guess I'll have to say it's a definite con for the story. Basically, it's about time travel, resolving paradoxes and trying to find their way to Lightning, but getting embroiled in a plot that threatens the world. You know, because otherwise the stakes aren't high enough.
The main problem with the game's story is that a lot of it seems like it was left behind so it could be sold in DLC later. Ignoring that, it flows well enough while still leaving you room to explore the sidequests that litter the game world, which actually tie in with the main storyline quite nicely. The Characters have understandable motivations in general, are well written and acted enough that I got attached to them and wanted to know more about their backstories and such. I never really felt like the story was particularly bad until the very end, where it just ends on such a bad note.
Sadly, there just aren't as many main characters and interesting backstory as in FFXIII, since it focuses mostly on Noel and Caius, the new characters for this game. Of course, at the same time, Square-Enix definitely seems to have responded to the fans regarding "annoying kid characters", so that's certainly something nice. A lot of the setting is still told through menus and is still completely optional, which I think is a nice feature, not boring people with world-building if they don't care, but still leaving that option open.
On the whole, even though this game has steeper odds than the previous one, it doesn't manage to hit the same sense of wonder through the story, doesn't have as many characters or as much setting information, but still manages to be competent with what it is. This isn't a story that detracts from the game, but not one that enriches the experience as much as the previous game.
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| Exciting numbers action! |
Gameplay
This is where the game really lies, the Gameplay. This time, Square-Enix really addressed the main complaints of linearity by giving us a very complex "Time Map", more open areas, side quests peppered throughout the game, towns and such. A lot of care was put in making amends for what so many found outrageously bad in the first game, and they did it rather well.
What was praised from the first game was fine tuned. The battle system featuring paradigms, an abundance of automated commands with a focus on macromanaging over micromanaging is back and better than ever, adding a monster taming and growing system, letting you pick 3 monsters to fill the 3rd party member spot and letting you fine tune your.paradigms, affecting how your party reacts to enemy parties.
As for the weapon upgrading part from the previous game, it's more or less gone, replaced by the monster upgrading system. there is now only one shop, a woman named Chocolina that shows up in every era and area, for no real discernible reason.
Sadly, not all has been as drastically improved as you'd think. The maps are reused between eras with changes in where you can go and where you can't go, enemy composition and quests, but they're still essentially the same maps. i found there was a distinct lack in dungeons. There are a few wide open areas, but only 2 or 3 areas you could consider similar to "dungeons", only 2 with any puzzle elements to them. Everything else didn't feel like closed spaces, which might have been what they were going for. Still, I like dungeons and thought a few more places, dungeons of some kind, labyrinthine and puzzle-filled, would've scratched an itch I have with RPGs.
The gameplay is pretty solid, fun, the battle system is extremely nice and it's great they kept it and fine-tuned it. The monster taming really helps with the replayability since you can raise a very wide variety of monsters to help you and experiment with a vast array of strategies. The main problems with the first game are also solved as well as they could, though it doesn't completely please me.
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| Visit exciting areas on the back of a giant bird! |
Presentation
Final Fantasy games look and sound amazing, most of the time. This is no exception. The areas you explored are very well-crafted, the different time periods also look often very different, giving the same maps a different character entirely. From treacherous mountains plunged in darkness to a massive megalopolis, from the vast plains of Pulse to the cramped jungle of Coccoon, there really is a lot of variety in the places and times you explore.it's really a feast for the eyes whenever you explore a new areas or an old area in a new time period.
The music is very good as well, though some may... disagree with some tracks, such as the metal remix of the chocobo theme, which I found simply hilarious. But there is a variety of different themes for each area and for events of varying emotional impact. Surprisingly, a lot of the areas have vocal songs that serve to give some backstory to those who listen closely. One song in particular bathes an area in melancholy, really helping with the atmosphere of the world, while simultaneously linking it to a character. The way it comes together is nothing short of amazing.
Now, the character design is... Well, it's a bit as you expect from knowing this is a JRPG with designs by Tetsuya Nomura. The designs are not very practical, putting aesthetics in the forefront. i'm not a fan, and really, it's a bit silly to see Noel's clothes, his pants so baggy, they're basically a skirt, contrasted to Serah, who has two completely separate pant legs and a minidress. Of course, this pales in comparison to the main villain, Caius, featured on the box art. i'd say he's probably the most menacing villain with pink highlights. Sadly, the character design clashes with the characters themselves, which i found detracted a bit from the rest of the visual presentation. I guess nothing's perfect.
In the end, the presentation is top notch as usual, with great visuals and great music, only slightly marred by the character design that is typical of current JRPG trends.
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| Were the details from FFXIII that bugged you exterminated? |
Verdict
This is a rather good game that has, as it's biggest flaw, in my mind, it's reliance on future DLC to tell the full story. Otherwise it's a very pretty game with a very interesting spin on traditional JRPG combat that goes further than it's predecessor. Now, should you buy it?
If you disliked the combat system from FFXIII, this game probably won't charm you back, but if you liked FFXIII even a little bit, you should probably check this one out, Square-Enix really tried to make amends and, in my opinion, succeeded to a good enough extent. This is Quite a Fun game, you might want to rent it and, if you like it, purchase it, as a lot of DLC is planned.
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