Final Fantasy XIII-2

Let's not kid ourselves.  I was not the biggest fan of Final Fantasy XIII when it first appeared, but a second play through really made me appreciate the game.  And even my first inclinations with its sequel (in demo form) were positive.  So how did Final Fantasy the Thirteenth Part 2 fair?  Hit the jump for the full details...



Final Fantasy XIII-2 tells the story of Serah, FFXIII's damsel in distress/MacGuffin.  Serah is living on Cocoon in the town of New Bodhum, peaceful, except for the fact that her sister (Lightning) is gone and everyone had forgotten about her triumphant return at the end of the original game.  What's that?  A different chronological existence?  Separate dimensions?

Listen, I will not lie to you: I love stories of convoluted time travel.  In fact, the more incomprehensible, the better.  The only caveat is that the story must not take itself seriously.  FFXIII-2 doesn't, until it suddenly does.

Anyway, Serah is approached by a mysterious man named Noel, and the two begin to travel through time to find Lightning and - presumably - save the world.  Noel and Serah take on one of the six roles from the original game, and both characters have access to the full Crystarium and Paradigm System from the first game.  This is nice, as there is very little "tutorial" section to the game.

Combat is mostly unchanged, but enemy encounters are different.  Occasionally, a clock will appear under your character, and an enemy will appear.  You can escape or engage the enemy, but it adds an aspect of random encounters that FFXIII was missing.

The bestiary is vastly wider, even if most enemies are palette swaps of other designs.  This is important, because you can capture and ally yourself with most enemies in the game - up to three monsters can join you as your third party member.

Length-wise, the main story is a fraction of its predecessor.  However, the game offers so many splits and alternative time lines, and even different endings if you chose to veer to far from the "main" storyline.    Viewing all of these endings is not just worthy of a trophy receipt, but also highly satisfying answers to "what-if," sometimes hilarious, and sometimes very, very sad.

The best part of the game, hands down, is its music.  Some of the best music from the series is in this game (of all things).  Noel's Theme is heartache in music form, and expertly catches the mood when you first hear it.  Even the battle themes are engaging, without being annoying.

Highly recommended if you are a fan of the series, and the ending literally resulted in my mouth dropping open.  Well worth a Platinum Run (but few games aren't).