Forum - View topicGAME: Final Fantasy XIII-2
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Volibear
 Posts: 344 |
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i just mean that they should finish FFXIII Versus and the western version of Type-0 and then end things for FNC, i'm all for getting those games released but i don't think anymore new sequels or games for this set would be beneficial unless they need finances, thats all |
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Magna_Lilly
 Posts: 79 |
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I didn't like XIII while I was playing it. Every character was completely annoying for at least half the game (early cut scenes are cringe-worthy due to character interactions, especially between Hope and Snow *twitch*), and I really didn't like having to read my Datalog to understand what was going on. But after I beat it and spoiler[ watched Fang and Vanille turn to Crystal to save everything] I was left feeling that the game wasn't a waste of my time.
I haven't beaten XIII-2 yet, I've just gotten to spoiler[ Chapter 5 and got Noel out of his "dream world" place] so I can't say a great deal about the overall yay-or-nay for the sequel. The story does just feel tossed around a bit, but they seem to at least be explaining things that initially bothered me (like spoiler[ how Serah can use magic even though it was originally l'cie-only power, etc etc)]). I do agree that the little time I've seen Light is kinda pissing me off. The commercials and such made it seem like she was gonna be more involved. But now it revolves around Serah, who was really more of a side character before; and around Noel, who I do like, but there really is "nothing particularly notable about them". They are alright, but not spectacular. Overall gameplay has been fine, but I haven't encountered any difficult fights since spoiler[Caius in Oerba, and even that wasn't too tough]. I don't feel very challenged. I absolutely love sidequesting in games, but going back to fragment hunt is starting to lose its luster. When it comes to collecting monsters, I just don't care (unless it's Chocobos). I do like the soundtrack despite some awkward lyrics. So my feelings toward XIII-2 as of my Chapter 5 status, it's fine but I don't like it more than the first one, it's not presenting a great challenge, and it never really seemed like a necessary sequel to begin with. Hopefully when I beat it, I'll be left with a similar "that wasn't half bad" feeling like it's predecessor. |
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yuna49
 Posts: 3804 |
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I've been trying to find a reason to buy this game, but after fifteen seconds of listening to that song, I've now decided to save my money for the X remake. I tried to like XIII, but I just couldn't. The story was silly when it wasn't confusing, and characters like Snow were among the worst the franchise has ever offered. Heck even VIII's Zell is a more entertaining and less self-important rough-houser than Snow. Other than Fang, and occasionally Sazh, I just couldn't warm to any of them. Lightning could have had some appeal, but she seemed to fade into the background as the story unfolded. I've been replaying XII lately, and it's a far better game in terms of story and gameplay than XIII ever was. I do get tired of all the heavy breathing in XII, especially by Ashe, but at least the story had some continuity and sense to it. (Does Ashe's Japanese seiyuu always seem to be on the verge of orgasm like Kari Wahlgren's portrayal?) I never understood what was supposed to be going on with the "*-Cie" in XIII and eventually decided I didn't care. |
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ikillchicken
 Posts: 7272 Location: Vancouver |
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I'm inclined to agree with this. Not a lot of people liked XIII. Those that did didn't even seem that crazy about it. It just seems like it would make more sense to simply move on to something new (or even, move on to XIII Versus) instead of deciding to make a sequel. |
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CareyGrant
Posts: 453 |
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Final Fantasy, I desperately want to like you, but I don't right now.
As a child of the 80's, one who has many found memories of rockin' out to FF IV on the NES and latter FF VI on the SNES (perhaps the best in the whole series, in my opinion), I've become less and less enamored with it. Admittedly I did like FF IX, but lately I find myself unimpressed, longing for a return of the grand adventures I loved as a kid, or perhaps just some stronger plotting and writing. To me, it feels like flash and style have supplanted substance. And if I'm being honest, the overproduced, "pop culture" aesthetic of Japanese RPG's aren't really doing it for me anymore. |
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R315r4z0r
 Posts: 717 |
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I liked this game much more than XIII. I should also mention that these two games are the only two Final Fantasy games I've ever played.
I liked the story in this game much more than the story from the previous. I felt it made more sense and was more focused. In XIII, the first half of the game was everyone in denial, split up and doing their own thing. It got old and boring and that made it hard to follow... especially since there were multiple stories happening at the same time. As for the game's ending, I actually thought it was awesome. The story did get resolved but the thing that people are harping over is the fact that after the goal of the game was accomplished, a plot twist happens and a new story arch begins. It's at that time the "To be continued..." message comes up. At first I was actually excited to read that. Because it means that there is more to be played. I'm always up for more and the fact that they went and said "To be continued" meant that there was still a sufficient amount of story left to be told that was large enough to warrant its own extension. My mind immediately jumped to the idea of a XIII-3 and that had me excited. However, then I read that the intention wasn't to spur a 3rd sequel but rather open up windows for story episode DLC in the future. When I heard that my excitement drained out of me. The DLC better be long and well worth it. That's all I have to say about it. More over, however; as for the game itself I enjoyed it a lot. Collecting fragments doesn't seem to be that fun in the beginning, but once you start unlocking their rewards it gets pretty fun. I love the sound track and I'm really kicking myself because I didn't buy the special edition like I originally planned to. As far as monsters go, I'm with the guy who posted above me: I'm not too interested in collecting them all except for chocobos. And that brings me to the next thing, all the end game content like chocobo racing is a great way to spend your time while you wait for the DLC to come out. The biggest complaint I have about this game is also a problem with the previous game: It is at times very cheap and unfair. I like a good challenge and a difficulty level that really gets me involved. But I feel that some of the things in this game are just unfair to the player. Things like one hit kills from bosses that come out of nowhere. I'm all for it if an enemy can do an instant kill... but at least give me a way to counter or prevent it some how... And fighting isn't the only victim here. There are other aspects of the game that cheat you out of a fair accomplishment and force you to rely solely on luck in what otherwise would have been a skill or intellect testing challenge. All in all, other than the few cheap things here and there, I'm very pleased with this game. I'm just annoyed at the fact that I forgot to change my pre-order from regular to collectors... |
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Greed1914
 Posts: 4433 |
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I had a similar reaction to finding out that it was aimed at DLC rather than another full game. I don't have an inherent dislike of DLC, but it's also difficult to balance the price and the content. Seeing as how we're left with a "to be continued" ending, I hope they understand that people will have high expectations for any DLC. |
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m0x
 Posts: 37 |
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I'm about 60 hours into the game, after beating the main storyline in about 36 hours. All three of my main monsters (Lightning from the DLC, Chichu, and a Purple Chocobo) are maxed leveled and have pretty much the best infused abilities they can all have. Serah and Noel are both maxed at 99 for all their roles. All enemies pretty much get 1-2 shotted by my 10,000+ damage per hit. Stressful battles are nonexistent at that point in the game. All I do is farm gil and horde components and rare accessories.
Why did I do all this for FFXIII-2 and not FFXIII? Because I've noted that FFXIII-2 has so much more content to offer gameplay-wise than its predecessor. Judging from most of the comments, that is what people generally agree on. As for the story? Since I blazed through the game, it didn't seem all that slow to me. I guess if you play it in spurts, it would seem broken and slow. At the "finale," you have no idea how upset I was. But because there is a lot of post-game quests to complete, at least my pain was soothed a bit. spoiler[I'm talking about the "To be continued..." statement after the horrid plot twist at the end.] While I do miss the Final Fantasy titles of old: FFVII, VIII, etc., I do enjoy these newer ones like XIII and XIII-2 just to see different atmospheres. By the way, please do not compare FFXIII-2 to FFX-2. No. XIII-2 is not "Final Fantasy: Charlie's Angels Edition" like X-2. The former is far darker (barring the retarded Moogle) and lack the mushy romance. I would agree with the final ratings: between B and A-. Reason being, I can't believe Square Enix would release a somewhat incomplete game just because they want to make use of DLC's. I already spent money on the Lightning & Amodar pack. If the next DLC offers a lengthy additional episode with closure for the ending... by all means, bring it forward and I'll pay. But I'll hate Square Enix for doing that to its fanbase. |
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Arisato-kun
 Posts: 17 |
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Fair enough, but if you ever do want to accept the silliness of the song and try it out I'll save you a seat at The Choco-rodeo. |
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RDespair
 Posts: 244 Location: California |
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As far as plot goes, I'd say FFXIII-2 is much better than its predecessor. Outside of the beginning and ending of FFXIII, nothing ever happens in that game - you run around in areas that were chosen more for their visuals than relevance to the plot and unless you spend a lot of time reading the game's encyclopedia, it's very easy to be confused.
As far as characters go, FFXIII-2 is a mixed bag. Noel & Sera are surprisingly unoffensive but they're also not horribly interesting either. On the other hand, FFXIII-2's villain is one of the better villains the series has had and much better than anything FFXIII had. Gameplay is drastically better in FFXIII-2 primarily for a couple reasons (beyond the additional of more side-quests and greater freedom): 1 - It doesn't take long for the game to unlock all of its major systems. 3 hours into FFXIII-2, you've got a 3 character party and all paradigm roles. 3 hours into FFXIII, and you've got a 2 character party, your only commands are Attack & Potion, and you haven't even unlocked the ability to LV-Up. 2 - The monster ally system is too fun. Tons of monsters to recruit and LV-Up plus you can customize them further by having them absorb other monsters. There are other nice improvements to the game (I enjoyed the occasional puzzle sequences) but those are the two key differences. Overall, I really hated FFXIII but I'm really enjoying FFXIII-2. |
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ChibiKangaroo
 Posts: 2941 |
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I haven't played a FF game since FF X. Prior to FF X, I played FF IV, FF VI, FF VII, and FF VIII. I played all the way through FF X, and found it to be mildly entertaining as far as the strategic aspect (i.e. leveling up and tweaking characters for combat), but ultimately I strongly disliked the main characters, thought the story was pretty weak, and found the game to be a bit too easy compared to its predecessors.
I thought Yuna and Tidus were the worst two protagonists I have ever seen in a role playing game, Tidus especially. I could forgive Yuna's heavily simplistic personality to a certain degree, but Tidus' whiny angsty pouting and terrible voice acting made me want to reach into the screen and punch him in the face every time he was talking. The rest of the characters in X were also similarly one dimensional. I didn't feel there was very much growth at all, unlike games like FF IV and FF VII where character growth was an essential part of the plot. I also enjoyed the character growth in FF VI though it wasn't on the same scale as the others since there were so many characters, but the game actually took the time to take you on a pleasant journey through each of their backstories. Unfortunately, what I've seen from the previews and reviews of FF XIII and FF XIII-2, it is just hard to get excited about a new FF release these days. I feel like the people at Square Enix have shifted more towards just churning out video game versions of the latest trends, fads and tropes in anime... and not the good ones. Maybe i'm wrong about FF XIII/XIII-2 but from what I've seen it is pretty hard for me to pull the trigger at this point and make the substantial time investment. |
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GVman
 Posts: 729 |
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Does anyone else ever get the feeling that if Final Fantasy XIII wasn't a Final Fantasy title there'd be many more people leaping at the chance to defend it?
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Erusac
Posts: 2 |
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Well I've played all the ff to be released so far (except 14... withdrew my pre order when i heard the beta rumors). So i realy dont see the problem with either 13 or 13-2. They were what they were anounced.
ff13 took just over 5 years to make because enix had to remake all their graphic engine plus format issues for the ps3, that was the reason the game was so linear, they just didn't have the time. Im fine with that. The story was cool and the side quest exploring was subpar when compared to other FF, but it wasnt terrible. FF13 2 set out to fix 13 just like 10 2 did for 10. what were u expecting rly? Well i was expecting less, and so 56 hours in with 147 frags, i can say i enjoyed the game and will definatly get the last 13. I think people just had too high expectations since its a FF game. If this had been a completly new title i cant see people dissmissing it as a bad game. Finally theres issues that the reviewer and forum members have pointed out that arent actualy an issue. If u payed attention at the very beggining, the game tells u can switch to manually imputing abilites a well as other features like changing camera angles and stuff. Also the game tells u to go look in the datalog for more info on monsters when u get to the bresha ruins 5 af. The only gripe i have is the removal of the repeat abilities option that was in 13 but not 13 2. |
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doctordoom85
 Posts: 2093 |
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I really enjoyed XIII, but I'll probably pass on XIII-2 unless the inevitable XIII-3 turns out to be amazing (doubtful). Reasons I'm not interested:
-only two party members (leave catching monsters to Pokemon games) -replace the awesome Lightning with the so-so Serah, and replace the rest of the great cast (well, Hope is merely okay, but the rest is great and Sazh is my third favorite FF character of all time) with a freakin' time-traveller (hey, remember all those times time travel was mentioned/suggested in XIII? Me too!  )
-retconning XIII's ending. Sequels should NEVER retcon an ending unless the ending was just massively lame (AKA "all a dream" or something on that level). Not to mention unlike X, XIII didn't even have any sort of sequel hook so I never saw the point of a direct sequel the moment it was announced -not having a conclusive ending AKA "give us your money when XIII-3 comes out!" Since I've heard XV's creation will be headed by the main guy behind IX (the best FF IMHO), I say we move on from the XIII verse and let XV arrive already. |
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Cryssoberyl
 Posts: 240 |
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I'm enjoying it so far, although I agree that you shouldn't play this for the story. X-2's story was also throwaway, but it had amazing gameplay. XIII-2 is in a similar situation, and although it sadly didn't pull X-2's level of gameplay innovation, it's still a better, more playable game than XIII was, by far.
Oh, and for those who are doubtful about the music, you shouldn't be. The music in this game is, I'd say, one of the major reasons to play it, because it really is an amazing soundtrack. So if that's your worry, you can stop worrying. (Then again, I also think Crazy Chocobo is absolutely hilarious.) |
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