My Review: Final Fantasy XIII-2 (PS3)

My Review: Final Fantasy XIII-2 (PS3)

I’ve mentioned this many times before, but it bears explaining again. Final Fantasy XIII was a game that received a very mixed reception among series fans, and for good reason; it removed many traditional Final Fantasy elements in favor of a more streamlined approach. I personally enjoyed the game very much. The visuals and music were top-notch, the battle system was excellent, and for the most part I thought the story and characters were quite nice. It’s far from the best Final Fantasy game I’ve played, but it was a good game in its own right. Square Enix heard the outcry among some fans concerning XIII’s linear gameplay, however, and with Final Fantasy XIII-2, a direct sequel similar to 2003’s X-2, it seems Square intends to win back some of these fans by creating a more open experience, returning some more traditional RPG elements. Does it succeed in improving upon its predecessor?

STORY

Final Fantasy XIII-2 picks up three years after the end of XIII, and stars Serah, Lightning’s younger sister who spent most of the last game needing to be saved by Lightning and Snow. After the fall of Cocoon, Lightning apparently disappeared from the world, presumed dead by everyone except Serah, who is convinced that her sister is alive. Her suspicions are confirmed with the arrival of Noel, a warrior from the future who tells Serah that he can take her to see Lightning, who is waiting in a mythical land called Valhalla. Together, the two of them travel throughout the tangled timeline in the hopes of finding out what happened to Lightning.



Final Fantasy XIII had its share of problems regarding its narrative delivery, but still managed to tell a provocative tale of people fighting against their destiny. The world of Cocoon served as an intriguing setting, and the story was based in the rules and lore of that world. Final Fantasy XIII-2, unfortunately, throws away anything that was interesting in its predecessor, instead telling a hackneyed story of time travel that has little, if anything, to do with XIII. It’s a major letdown, especially from a series usually known for great stories. There are a few bright spots here and there; personally, I thought the villainous Caius was the most interesting character in the game, and the kind of strong central villain that XIII sorely lacked. Lightning's new design is pretty cool as well, even if she's barely in the game. Unfortunately, the rest of the cast is vapid and uninteresting. Serah seems to be completely airheaded, repeating each plot point as it comes to her, and Noel is a typical cocky and brash hero, but with hardly anything to redeem him- I couldn’t bring myself to care about either of these characters. Hackneyed dialogue and a rather underdeveloped and confusing take on time travel don’t help matters, and at this point it’s become clear that writer Motomu Toriyama has his head stuck firmly up his own anus. It just seems like nobody cared about this game’s plot, as if they just threw up their hands and said ‘screw it, people are whining about the gameplay, let’s just fix that.’ Even worse is the game’s ending. It ends on a cliffhanger, followed by a ‘to be continued’, making it seem as though content was deliberately held back for DLC, or that Square might stretch this plot out for a second XIII sequel. Either way, I’m not interested in continuing this asinine story. Square, I love you guys and I love your games. I know you’re capable of so much more than this.


GAMEPLAY


What manages to save XIII-2 from total mediocrity is its varied gameplay. There are a few pointless or contrived elements that seem out-of-place here, like dialogue sequences and ‘Cinematic Actions’ (quick-time events), which seem like lame attempts to corral the favor of western gamers. While I personally hope that this doesn’t become a trend, XIII-2 does reintroduce several classic Final Fantasy elements that do manage to make the game fun to play. If anything, had XIII played like this, people wouldn’t still be whining about it.

First thing’s first- XIII-2 is much more wide-open than XIII. The days of linear corridors are done. From a central hub known as the Historia Crux, Serah and Noel can progress to various self-contained areas, each with their own story segments, boss monsters, loot, and ‘Gates’ which can be used to open new areas. Each area has multiple branching paths and are fun to explore; some areas can be accessed in any order the player chooses, giving XIII-2 a much more non-linear feel than it’s famously focused predecessor.


The excellent combat system from Final Fantasy XIII remains intact, with a few minor enhancements. The Command Synergy Battle System is an enhanced version of the classic active-time system from prior Final Fantasy games. You still create loadouts of different roles called Paradigms, which you can switch between with the tap of a button. Switching Paradigms is a big part of the strategy in battle, allowing you to adjust your party to suit your needs in the ever-changing situations in each battle. You can also ‘stagger’ enemies by building up a gauge at the top of the screen, and staggered enemies take a considerable amount more damage. The battle system was the best part of XIII, and it’s been virtually untouched, but the improvements made really smooth out the experience. Paradigm shifts occur faster, you can switch what character you’re controlling at any time in battle, the stagger gauge increases faster, and you no longer lose the battle if the character you’re controlling dies. Entering battle has also changed, with the return of random encounters. Enemies appear randomly, and when they do, a timer known as the ‘Mog Clock’ begins to count down. By landing a blow on the enemy before the clock runs out, you score a preemptive strike. If the timer runs out, you won’t be able to retry the battle. Speaking of Mog, he’s a moogle that you can use to get hidden treasure chests. You can even throw him to get faraway treasure, which incidentally is hilarious.

XIII-2 only has two permanent party members, Noel and Serah, but that doesn’t mean you can’t bolster your ranks. The Feral Link system is where you’ll get the rest of your party, by recruiting monsters defeated in battle. This Pokemon-esque system is one of the game’s high points, with over 150 different monsters that can join your party. Monsters can’t be controlled by the player, but they come with their own unique skills which bolster their strength, including a Limit-break styled move that is activated following a brief quick-time event. And having a Behemoth or a Chocobo in your party is awesome. Just saying.


The Crystarium level-up system has also received a significant overhaul. You still level up each of the six available character classes, but here all of the classes are on one Crystarium. Each new node on the Crystarium can be used to level up any of the available classes, providing stat bonuses and, at specific levels, new abilities. In a sense, this means that XIII-2 has a more traditional level-up system, as characters are able to level up any of the roles they choose. Once all of the available nodes have been filled, the Crystarium ‘expands’ and a bonus can be selected, such as a new role, increased capability for equipment, or a role bonus. Monsters also level up on a Crystarium, only they have a set role and abilities to learn, and level up using items instead of experience points. It’s a much better level up system than the Crystarium in XIII.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 won’t sell anybody who despised XIII, but for those looking for a traditional JRPG will find a lot to like about the numerous gameplay enhancements. The combat system is virtually the same (not really a problem, considering how fun it is), and some of the elements cribbed from WRPGS seem very out-of-place, but overall the gameplay is solid.


PRESENTATION


Final Fantasy XIII was without a doubt one of the best looking games this generation, and Square Enix is known for making great-looking games. XIII-2’s graphics aren’t quite on that level; the game was made in significantly less time, and perhaps as a result the game doesn’t look nearly as polished. There are considerably more technical issues, including slowdown and glitchy NPC movement (some of these NPCs look downright goofy during conversations), and there is a significantly smaller amount of pre-rendered or CG cutscenes. It’s still a good-looking game, just not as impressive.


Musically, the game is a bit of a mixed bag. Masashi Hamauzu, the composer of XIII’s excellent score, returned along with two other lesser known composers, and from the sound of things they just went nuts with this soundtrack. It sounds like they had a lot of fun, and for the most part the music is great, and there are a lot of varied musical styles present, although there are a couple of really terrible songs (one of the main boss themes is a horrendous grungy-song with vocals by Shootie HG of Devil May Cry fame). The voice actors actually do a great job, considering the script they’re working with.


CONCLUSION


If Square can tell a great story with interesting characters to go alongside some of these gameplay enhancements, we’ll have a great Final Fantasy on our hands. XIII-2 is not that game, even if it is a step in the right direction. The game does make some significant enhancements over it’s predecessor, even if most of them really weren’t necessary, but the sheer awfulness of the story is really disappointing. Square, I’ll say it again. I know you can do better than this.


SCORE: B-  

                                   Credit for the video goes to Omegaevolution. Some gameplay if you're interested.