Table of Contents
amazon Final Fantasy XIII-2 reviews
The Story and Narrative
“Final Fantasy XIII-2” is a direct continuation of the story of “Final Fantasy XIII,” but its focus is on a completely different perspective. The story begins three years after the events of the original game. The Gran Pulse is in turmoil with the sudden emergence of a mysterious figure known as Caius Ballad. The protagonist of the first game, Lightning, has disappeared, and with that Serah Farron takes center stage.
It is with Serah and a newbie, Noel Kreiss, that we time-travel as much as they want to find answers to the mystery surrounding Lightning’s disappearance and the disturbances in the timeline. The conflict unfolds as Serah and Noel confront Caius, who wants to bring chaos upon the world. Time travel, destiny, and causality are also necessary and complex themes introduced into the story.
The story is told through a combination of in-game dialogue, cinematics, and optional “Fragments” that players can collect. Although interesting, the main storyline can sometimes come off as confusing due to its time travel elements. The way the game works is also interesting; players can move into different timelines and worlds parallel to the narrative, adding layers to it but making it equally fragmented.
Characters
“Final Fantasy XIII-2” has a varied cast of characters, each with her own motivations and storylines. Main characters Serah Farron and Noel Kreiss drive the plot forward.
Serah Farron
Serah is Lightning’s younger sister and the game’s lead protagonist. The development is focused primarily on her character, whose motivation is to find her sister and restore balance to the world. In contrast, her story is also emotional: she has grown from a side character in “Final Fantasy XIII” into a strong, independent heroine.
Noel Kreiss
He is a new character in “Final Fantasy XIII-2.” He comes from a post-apocalyptic future and has the ability to manipulate time. Noel’s back-story is layered. It tells of his relation to the events of the game and gives insight into his hindered character development, tormented by the burdens of his own timeline. In contrast, his relationship with Serah is dynamic and complementary; Noel counterbalances Serah’s emotional drive with his reserved seriousness.
Caius Ballad
Caius is the main villain of the game; his agenda revolves around manipulating time and the world’s fate. He is a tough and mysterious character, whose back-story is revealed minimally as the game progresses. The character of Caius is well thought out, and having such a deep villain adds shades of grey to the story.
The game gives minor roles to supporting personas from the “Final Fantasy XIII” title such as Snow Villiers, Hope Estheim, and the rest. They are front and center in the story and add depth and connectivity to events in the previous game. Interaction with these characters enhances the story and gives nostalgia and continuity to fans.
Gameplay System
The gameplay of “Final Fantasy XIII-2” retains elements from “Final Fantasy XIII” but innovates with new and better mechanics. One can deem the mix of traditional RPG elements combined with their own newly introduced systems, thereby making the experience better.
Battle System
It maintains the new attributes compared to “Final Fantasy XIII”‘s Paradigm Shift system. The real-time combat nature and the strategic attributes are ever so present, but they are mixed in with some enhancements:
Monster System: The single most important property could be the Monster System, permitting players to recruit and train monsters as party members. The customization of monsters with various abilities and roles provides new tactical dimensions to the battles, and players may choose different monsters, each with distinct skills and attributes.
Paradigm System: The Paradigm System has returned. In this system, players can choose between different roles and strategies during the battle. The flexibility it offers makes combat strategy dependent on the situation and type of enemy being faced.
Real-Time Adjustment: The battle system, therefore, allows adjustments made in real-time under a more fluid combat experience. Players can now seamlessly perform attacks, switch paradigms, and use abilities to bolster the combat dynamics in this game.
Time Travel or Exploration
The time-travel mechanism, one of the principal features in “Final Fantasy XIII-2,” can easily allow players to transmit from one timeline to another, visit other different worlds to explore. This mechanism sets the unique flavor of the gameplay as players will review and even change events in different periods.
Timeline Exploration: Players can navigate through different timelines, each with its own distinct environments and challenges. The exploration of these timelines offers a diverse gameplay experience, with different quests and objectives in each era.
Fragment System: The Fragment System provides additional content and story elements through collectible fragments. These fragments offer insights into the game’s lore and allow players to uncover hidden details about the world and characters.
Side Quests and Mini-Games
“Final Fantasy XIII-2” features numerous side quests and mini-games that provide more content and rewards; for instance:
Mog Clock: One mini-game wherein players use their in-game companion, Mog, to solve puzzles and find hidden items.
Colosseum Battles: Players can go for optional battles, and tournaments in the Colosseum, gaining rewards and leveling-up abilities.
Side quests: There are many side quests in the game exploring different aspects of the world and its characters. These quests reward players with valuable items, thus enhancing the overall experience.
Graphics and Art Design
Final Fantasy XIII-2 goes with the art style shown in Final Fantasy XIII, with a focus on high-quality graphics and detail-rich environments. The game has:
Environments: These are diverse and richly designed, comprising futuristic cities, lush landscapes, and ancient ruins. The detailing in the environments aids in immersing the player into the game. Character Models: The character models in FFXIII-2 are very finely detailed, having realistic animations and creative designs. The looks and animations of the characters help in storytelling and combat.
Cutscenes: Many high-quality cutscenes are scattered throughout the game: cutscenes that continue the story and give some cinematic moments. They are great-looking cutscenes that help the story along.
Music and sound design
The musical score and sound design are the soul of Final Fantasy XIII-2. It gives the game atmosphere and emotional weight. The soundtrack is composed by Masashi Hamauzu, blending orchestral and electronic elements into a vertiginous and thrilling listening experience.
Soundtrack: The soundtrack has several songs that fit with the different environments and situations playing in the game. The music heightens the emotional and dramatic moments of the story and blends seamlessly with gameplay.
Vocal Performance: The vocal performance in Final Fantasy XIII-2 is commendable, with thick, diseased casts. The vocal rendition gives a lot of depth to the characterization and relays the narrative of the game.
Sound Design: The SFX are immersive and well-engineered to add value to battling and searching. The SFX just melt into the atmosphere and gameplay.
Final Fantasy, Square Enix’s popular franchise, is an unfamiliar name for RPG enthusiasts.
Among the Final Fantasy versions, perhaps the trilogy in the Final Fantasy XIII series are the titles that bring the most mixed opinions and are always the hot topic, causing controversy when it comes to discussion.
Through the opening battle, players will quickly realize that the core elements of the combat system in the early version are still preserved. Final Fantasy XIII-2 still uses the “Command Synergy Battle” system, along with allowing the player to assign attacks to the “Active Time Battle” (ATB) bar.
Besides, the “Paradigm Shift” mechanism allows the player to change the role of the characters in battle, enhancing the tactics of Final Fantasy XIII-2.
But not only that, but the combat system in Final Fantasy XIII-2 also has a lot of new and interesting improvements, overcoming the limitations from the previous version, making the game more attractive and attractive. The first new is the “Mog Clock” mechanism, which allows the player to gain an edge before each battle, as well as avoid unwanted encounters.
The little Moggle that joins Serah’s journey will “sense” the monsters before they appear.
Instead of chasing the character like in the first version, the monsters will now standstill, giving the player some time to perform the attack and gain the advantage of battle.
Aside from that, the player can also dodge aggressive monsters by moving out of their active range. Another interesting point in Final Fantasy XIII-2 lies in the third “character”. Players can play (apart from Serah and Noel) throughout the game’s main content.
After each battle, the player has a chance to recover monsters just defeated, allowing them to summon them up as a third character participating in battles.
Players can change the Leader of the party right in their battle. Captain authority will be changed automatically when the team leader is defeated, allowing players to maintain and change their attack strategy in-game, instead of starting over.
The intense boss battles also feature a “Cinematic Action” system, allowing players to take advantage of the “Quick Time Event” phases that appear in mid-battle cutscenes.
Contrary to the lengthy instructions of the previous installment, the tutorial screens in Final Fantasy XIII-2 are fully summarized and concise through early game battles, helping players not be confused and quickly grasped get a new combat system.
In stark contrast to the original game’s boring linear plot, the time travel system Historia Crux in Final Fantasy XIII-2 allows players to freely choose the places and times that Serah and Noel can explore on their journey.
Final Fantasy XIII-2 also no longer forces the player to take certain paths. Instead, throughout the adventures of Serah and Noel are countless open worlds for players to explore. In each world, apart from the main goal is to find “artifacts” to stimulate In Time Gate, players can also participate in a multitude of side quests as well as track down treasure chests hidden on the map.
The sidequests in Final Fantasy XIII-2 vary from quests to defeat monsters to find lost items. Through completing sidequests, the characters in the game will receive valuable and useful rewards to support throughout the journey.
Despite the addition of detailed graphical customizations to Final Fantasy XIII-2 as a “corrective” action from Square Enix after the original game, the game still encountered some annoying graphics issues. The erratic increase in frame rates, especially in battles, will decrease the enjoyment of the game.
Besides, Final Fantasy XIII-2 graphics look quite “pale”, even when running at 1080p or higher resolution.
Also, Final Fantasy XIII-2 doesn’t provide players with sound settings. This has brought many complaints from players when they have to “endure” the background music is too loud and sometimes drowns out conversations.
where can you get a Final Fantasy XIII-2 online
Final Fantasy XIII-2 – Playstation 3: Buy it now
Final Fantasy XIII-2 Collector’s Edition – Playstation 3: Buy it now
Final Fantasy XIII-2 (X360): Buy it now
Final Fantasy XIII-2 therefore can be seen as a landmark title in the series that holds claims to innovation and evolution alike. The clear advancements it made over its predecessor, Final Fantasy XIII-a better battle system, broader story, and time travel mechanics-all allow for a notable position for this game in the franchise. Despite being chastised for overly complex narrative structures and nontraditional expressions, this remains a remarkable title in its ambitious designs and effects on the series.
The very legacy of the game is seen from its influences on its own offspring of future Final Fantasy titles and mapping the decision of the series. “Final Fantasy XIII-2” delivers joy and satisfaction to players fond of good stories, innovative gameplay, and top production values, thus making it a deeply engaging and memorable experience. Even though it contributed to realizing JRPGs, clearly, it is bound to be forever remembered in the view of its uniqueness and undeniable impact on the Final Fantasy franchise.