Final Fantasy XIII-2 Thoughts

Haven't played too much of it yet, but holy crap is it awesome.
History
When I first heard about it, all I could think about was FFX-2, which was in some ways good and in other ways awful. It was a different spin on a game that was so good that it didn't need a "new" outlook. FFX-2 should have been FFX with more stuff to do. That would have been amazing. Instead the amazing work of art that is FFX (I could talk about it all day, from the languages to the culture to the actual gameplay itself) and changed it to be a chickflick wannabe with a different (not bad, but different) gameplay style. If you're going to change the game that much, don't effing call it FFX-2, call it FFX: Girl Power or something that is obviously setting it apart from FFX. Having said that, FFXIII-2 is not the same case. They took a great game that needed some work, and did some work. They obviously listened to their fanbase and did their best to keep it true to the original but make it better, and damn better if you ask me.

Gameplay
The #1 complaint from anybody who disliked FXIII is that it was linear. Personally, it was literally the only thing people had to say to me when I asked them, including my friends (including Charlie who is a FF enthusiast like me) and random online conversations. In my opinion, Square abolished the linearity in a perfect fashion this time around. They didn't stray so far from the first by making it completely nonlinear, but instead gave it many avenues it could travel in order to reach the same goal. There's so much to do, all sorts of different time periods, mini-games, side-missions, you name it. But, they stuck to FFXIII by giving it a linear goal, the entire game you know where you are headed. And holy crap do you want to get there from minute one when you see the most epic opening battle I think I've ever seen in a video game, period.

Battle System
I heard the fighting would be much different, but it's not. They stuck to the same battle system, which many people disliked, but I personally loved. They did tweak it some though, adding some more customization, more allies, and the ability to capture monsters. Plus they added cinematic elements in which you have to press the right button at the right time to deal extra damage or finish off a boss. It's fluent, it works, and it mixes things up.

Plot
The plot of FFXIII recieved mixed feelings. It seems as though the idea was amazing but the execution wasn't there. But personally, I think that only applies to the overall plot of the l'cie and Cocoon. The character plots, however, were amazing to me, and I'd play the first few chapters of that game all over again any day to relive their stories. The storyline tangle between Snow and Hope was amazing, the same goes for Vanille and Sazh, and the constant feeling of "Sh!ts bout to go down" never got old. But once the characters were developed and it was time for the story to unfold, it became "okay, now what's going on again?" Soon we were fighting a giant sword thing and the ending was so bizarre that we wish we understood it so we could realize its awesomeness.

I haven't played much yet, but I can say that FXIII-2 seems to be on the right track. It introduces new characters who are very lovable, and the plot is easily followed. It has a Kingdom Hearts feel to it because you travel to different areas (in this case, time periods) and help people in order to travel further towards your own simple goal. Although you get tangled in other people's stories, you don't lose sight of your own path. In addition to that, the game reminds you of what has happened every time you load a save, which I believe every RPG ever should do. During the game you always have a small feeling of "is any of this actually right?" They give you a bunch of different opportunities to "choose your own path" whether it be missions or things you say to people, but I don't know if any of that actually affects the end of the game or just items you receive later. You can also travel back in time and choose different decisions so you can play them all out, which I think is awesome.

Other
The graphics are definitely there, and the game flows just as good as FFXIII did. The battling is instant, fluent, and fun. One thing that is weird to me is how battles begin. You walk around and enemies will appear out of thin air, and you have to hit them to start the battle. If you do, you get a preemptive strike, but if you don't then the battle starts normally. Why couldn't they just have enemies walk around like FFXII and FFXIII? There's also a coliseum and casino that are supposed to be awesome, but I haven't reached them yet. In addition, Square finally jumped on the DLC bandwagon by offering a bunch of DLC this time around, but for stupid prices. Who wants to spend $3 on a different costume for a character when the game isn't multiplayer? I'd understand if you want to show off to your friends, but that wouldn't work unless you invited them over to your house to watch you play a single player game, in which case they'd call you a loser anyways.

Conclusion
In conclusion, if you enjoyed FFXIII, I have no doubt in my mind that you will love this game to pieces. However, if you were one of those FFXIII skeptics, you should ask yourself why you hated FFXIII before you pick this one up. If you hated it simply because of its linearity, perhaps you should give this one a shot, especially if you enjoyed Kingdom Hearts 1 or 2. If you hated FFXIII for its battle mechanics, I would advise you to skip this sequel. It's not different enough to hold your interest, and you have to fight A LOT. And if you played through FFXIII with a crush on Serah, buy this game because instead of making random appearances like before, she is eye candy for this entire game. Just saying.

So... Maybe I'll play FFXIII and FFXIII-2 once I finish FFX. I know, sad, but I don't have a memory card

Rafix wrote:

So... Maybe I'll play FFXIII and FFXIII-2 once I finish FFX. I know, sad, but I don't have a memory card

Good luck with that then.

Saint570 wrote:

Rafix wrote:

So... Maybe I'll play FFXIII and FFXIII-2 once I finish FFX. I know, sad, but I don't have a memory card

Good luck with that then.

Haha, yeah. Thanks

Rafix wrote:

Saint570 wrote:

Rafix wrote:

So... Maybe I'll play FFXIII and FFXIII-2 once I finish FFX. I know, sad, but I don't have a memory card

Good luck with that then.

Haha, yeah. Thanks

Play FF13 first

then

Either Get FF13-2

OR Get FF10 remastered for ps3 -_- ( problem solved\)

Bloodharbringer wrote:

Rafix wrote:

Saint570 wrote:

Rafix wrote:

So... Maybe I'll play FFXIII and FFXIII-2 once I finish FFX. I know, sad, but I don't have a memory card

Good luck with that then.

Haha, yeah. Thanks

Play FF13 first

then

Either Get FF13-2

OR Get FF10 remastered for ps3 -_- ( problem solved\)

But I own FFX already, and I would think buying a memory card would be cheaper. Plus I'm broke, so it'll be a while till I get FFXIII.

I'm either going to attempt to play a non-stop session of FFX or look around for a memory card

Rafix wrote:

Bloodharbringer wrote:

Rafix wrote:

Saint570 wrote:

Rafix wrote:

So... Maybe I'll play FFXIII and FFXIII-2 once I finish FFX. I know, sad, but I don't have a memory card

Good luck with that then.

Haha, yeah. Thanks

Play FF13 first

then

Either Get FF13-2

OR Get FF10 remastered for ps3 -_- ( problem solved\)

But I own FFX already, and I would think buying a memory card would be cheaper. Plus I'm broke, so it'll be a while till I get FFXIII.

I'm either going to attempt to play a non-stop session of FFX or look around for a memory card

2 memory cards bidding for 1 penny. Ends in 3 hours.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/playstation-2-8mb-memory-cards-quantity-2-/320874592683?pt=Video_Games_Accessories&hash=item4ab59db9ab#ht_500wt_949

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-64MB-PS2-Memory-Card-Playstation-2-Black-Save-Game-Data-Stick-Module-/310311844607?pt=Video_Games_Accessories&hash=item484006faff#ht_2276wt_932

HOLY *censored* *censored* *censored* *censored* MY GOD *censored* *censored* RAVAGING *censored* *censored* PENIS PIG ANAL SEX BALLOON *censored*.

THIS...

THIS GAME...

*breathe*

is awesome. really. i'm just... knocked over by this game. it's just amazing. i'm in love with it. that's it. i just am in love with it. I haven't had this feeling of wanting to go back to a game like this since Kingdom Hearts.... I am just flabberghasted.

... wow.

death_unites_us wrote:

Bloodharbringer wrote:

I think Rafix is a pretty cool guy. Eh is cool and doesn't afraid of anything.

I concur, he IS pretty cool.

Aw shucks, you guys are making me blush!

death_unites_us wrote:

Bloodharbringer wrote:

HOLY i am a totally MY GOD sincere and RAVAGING loving human PENIS PIG ANAL SEX BALLOON being.

I was expecting penis, anal and balloon to be consored...

Bloodharbringer wrote:

death_unites_us wrote:

Bloodharbringer wrote:

HOLY i am a totally MY GOD sincere and RAVAGING loving human PENIS PIG ANAL SEX BALLOON being.

I was expecting penis, anal and balloon to be consored...

"I really like to suck the helium out of *censored*! It makes my voice sound funny!"

Yeah, dunno how well that would work, lol