What Do You Want From Final Fantasy XIII-2?

Realistically, of course. We can't go backwards and Square Enix certainly has no intention of resurrecting dead mechanics.

Chances are, Final Fantasy XIII-2 will be very similar to FFXIII, with a few upgrades and alterations here and there. The most we could possibly hope for is the addition of towns, but even that might be a stretch. So what do you want? The fans have been forced to reassess their priorities when it comes to this franchise, as FFXIII was a departure in so many ways, and the company in question is hell-bent on "progression." ...or at least, that's what they call abandoning winning formulas and attempting to cater to a completely different audience.

Personally, I just want FFXIII-2 to feel more like an RPG, and I can deal with the rest. For instance, let me switch my damn characters in combat and let me fully equip those characters. I also want more control in battle; I want to be able to pause the action in order to plan strategies, and get rid of the small drawbacks; i.e., letting enemies move during the initial animations of a Paradigm Shift. ...that's called cheating. You can keep all the rest of it, although we could all do without the uber-linear 20 hours to start. I mean, I don't mind a linear path for the sake of in-depth storytelling and character development but even so, there's a reason the first part of FFXIII felt too tedious. I didn't mind it too much, but still...

I'm just wondering how the veteran fans feel. By now, they must know they'll never get the good ol' days back, and they'll just have to accept and make allowances. I suppose the question is, what are they willing to tolerate and what do they dare hope for? It's a little sad that we have to phrase the question this way when talking about the next Final Fantasy, isn't it?

6/3/2011 Ben Dutka

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Comments (57 posts)

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LimitedVertigo
Friday, June 03, 2011 @ 9:36:00 PM
Reply

I don't think it really matters. I watched the short trailer for it earlier today and noticed the gameplay looks exactly like FFXIII. I enjoyed everything about FFXIII but the gameplay and well when it comes to gaming that's the most important thing.

Bla...

1 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Friday, June 03, 2011 @ 9:41:02 PM

Link?

0 up, 0 down

LimitedVertigo
Friday, June 03, 2011 @ 9:43:17 PM

It's on Gamespot, or you can try IGN too.

http://e3.gamespot.com/video/6315324/?tag=topslot;title;2

0 up, 0 down

ZettaiSeigi
Friday, June 03, 2011 @ 9:43:31 PM

I did see that short trailer from Gamespot and I cringed when I saw the battle system to be exactly the same. Of course, it may not be fair to judge the game just for the short trailer, but seeing that on the trailer is telling me not to get my hopes up.

1 up, 1 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Friday, June 03, 2011 @ 10:02:30 PM

That fraction of a second of battle did show a stocked set of moves. Grrrr. Well if it doesn't shape up with some new features it'll just have to be a bargain bin.... never thought I'd say that about an FF.

0 up, 0 down

allDFlavors
Friday, June 03, 2011 @ 10:12:50 PM

yeah... the second I saw AutoBattle, I knew Square-Enix failed me

0 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Friday, June 03, 2011 @ 9:46:28 PM
Reply

Well they said they listened to the fans so I'm going to dare to hope for a lot of the same things. Towns, NPCs, a more explorable world, full party control, and some side quests.

I think I'm finally coming to terms with the fact that good JRPGs are gone and the best way to play these games is gone, it's sad but at least I have more franchises to hang my hat on where once only FF would do.

I'd just like to point out that developers are wrong. The old RPG mechanics aren't JUST a way to get around the fact that in the old days they couldn't accomplish the kind of real time action they can today. They are also a way of making battles more substantive. Otherwise I'm just hacking, blocking, and casting spells. That works for some games, but not games that want to give off the impression FF has always tried to.

Give me back some more strategy and control dammit!

6 up, 0 down

LimitedVertigo
Friday, June 03, 2011 @ 9:47:33 PM

bump

1 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Friday, June 03, 2011 @ 11:05:49 PM

*bumped*

0 up, 0 down

FxTales
Friday, June 03, 2011 @ 9:49:27 PM
Reply

What will be interesting is how much of that feedback they end up taking from their fans and implementing it into the final product.

They'd be fools for not listening, again.

0 up, 0 down

Oyashiro
Friday, June 03, 2011 @ 9:53:59 PM
Reply

All I expect is a good game, but SE has a hard time doing that on anything other than portables the gen.

0 up, 0 down

Ultima
Friday, June 03, 2011 @ 9:59:15 PM
Reply

Well, if they aren't going to give engine a total overhaul, there are things they can do with the current system to make it more palatable (not necessarily in this order):

1) Give us the ability to switch party leaders in combat.
2) Remove the lame XIII-only rule of "Game over if party leader gets Koed". This would probably tie into implementing the rule above though.
3) Give us the ability to shift job roles for one character at a time instead of forcing us to switch the entire team at once.
4) FFXIII essentially had the gambit system from XII except you couldn't directly edit the gambits for your teammates. Give us full control over what we want each character to do in each job.
5) For the love of GOD, give us the ability to slow the battles down somehow! I don't want to spend another 20 hours watching numbers and meters instead of what's going on! Give us the equivalent of a "Wait" mode or something!

Outside of combat, how about:
- Either a refined and non-confusing equipment levelling system, or chuck it in place of more standard fare.
- No more having to grind for money, sheesh. At least not to the ridiculous extent as in XIII.
- More classic enemies that are actually recognizable.

3 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Friday, June 03, 2011 @ 11:06:55 PM

Yeah what the hell was up with the gil? There was no way to get it but grinding areas with soldiers that had credit chips, and you couldn't even go back to those once they were gone.

0 up, 0 down

Excelsior1
Saturday, June 04, 2011 @ 8:12:55 AM

there are still ways to still farm gil. even in the areas where the soldiers disappeared after you defeated them. go to a save point after you battle, save, then quit game. load up from your previous save and the soldiers will be back. rinse and repeat. levitan plaza is a great area for this tactic.

an even better way is to have vanielle as a party leader and take on a adamtoisse. summon at the beginning oh the battle and dismiss to bring it to its knees then repeattedly cast death with vanielle.(equip marlbarro wand for improved debuff) have hope as syn, and fang as sab in support roles. one hit ko when it works. you will often recieive a platinum ignot that can be sold for a whopping 350,000 gil for your troubles. equipping collectors catilogue helps improve odds of treasure pick up after battle.

Last edited by Excelsior1 on 6/4/2011 8:14:07 AM

0 up, 0 down

TheCrazyMerc
Friday, June 03, 2011 @ 9:59:33 PM
Reply

I want FF versus XIII, I don't know about you guys...

2 up, 0 down

allDFlavors
Friday, June 03, 2011 @ 10:14:03 PM

Always

0 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Friday, June 03, 2011 @ 10:28:49 PM

yeah that looks a lot better, the action mechanic even appears to belong there and have more options available to the player than in XIII.

0 up, 0 down

shadowscorpio
Saturday, June 04, 2011 @ 10:26:21 AM

Yes FFversus13 is actually looking like the game it was announced to be. Hope Nomura is able to do what he wants with this one.

0 up, 0 down

Scarecrow
Friday, June 03, 2011 @ 10:06:02 PM
Reply

Better characters and weapons

0 up, 0 down

Scarecrow
Friday, June 03, 2011 @ 11:05:45 PM

And towns*

0 up, 0 down

dmiitrie
Friday, June 03, 2011 @ 10:35:24 PM
Reply

I can't really say for certain, because I only made it a few hours into the game, but if I'd been able to control all of my party members and pause the battles, I'd have lasted much longer. So I guess that's a start, at least.

1 up, 0 down

gunblademaster
Friday, June 03, 2011 @ 10:48:51 PM
Reply

One of the coolest part about final fantasy 13 were the summons. Keep those the same, they looked so epic.

0 up, 0 down

Underdog15
Friday, June 03, 2011 @ 11:08:44 PM
Reply

I saw "auto-battle". That's enough for me not to invest some newfound hope in a more RPG feel. I don't really care for the game playing itself.

I'm just looking forward to playing a pretty decent game. I won't be looking for it to be the revolutionary experience I used to look to FF's to be. But, I did kind of enjoy FFXIII. It wasn't nearly what I'd hoped, but I still like it. I think as long as I don't raise my hopes like I did with XIII, I have a shot at enjoying it for what it will be.

Out of principle, though, I may wait for a price drop. We'll see. It'll depend on what I'm playing at the time, I suppose.

I dunno... guess my indecision is just a symptom of me feeling..... meh...

0 up, 0 down

Lawless SXE
Friday, June 03, 2011 @ 11:20:59 PM

Damnit, FFIV has autobattle!

0 up, 0 down

Underdog15
Saturday, June 04, 2011 @ 9:04:34 AM

FFIV has autobattle? I'm playing that now on PSP and haven't noticed it yet.

1 up, 0 down

Lawless SXE
Saturday, June 04, 2011 @ 8:14:13 PM

Hit Select.

0 up, 0 down

Underdog15
Sunday, June 05, 2011 @ 8:18:31 AM

lol, has it always had that in previous versions, or did they just add it with this PSP version?

Either way, at least you still have control if you want control.

0 up, 0 down

Claire C
Friday, June 03, 2011 @ 11:10:45 PM
Reply

A world to explore. A shorter tutorial.

I'm of the few who like XIII so very interested.

3 up, 0 down

Lawless SXE
Friday, June 03, 2011 @ 11:18:00 PM
Reply

Watching that teaser... It appears as though there'll be a few more characters to toy around with, though that's just a guess. I saw what I thought to be something like a platforming segment, and I'm not sure I'd like the inclusion of that, unless it's set in a side-mission, or like Scarecrow in Batman:AA. I saw a character running around on a beach, with a minimap in the top corner. And the map looked more complex than anything I remember from XIII, so maybe bringing back a rudimentary form of towns?

I want the battles to be slower, and not require you to keep only a single player alive. Slowing it down will allow you control the entire party, and that will be a good thing, as it means that you will get a chance to vary your battle strategies. Perhaps cut it down to only four Paradigms, but allow you to switch each character individually as you see fit. I'd like a more focussed story. I don't know. I enjoyed FFXIII for what it was, but I felt as if it could be much more, and I wait to see what S-E has in store for us.
Peace.

P.S. I saw a Moogle!

0 up, 0 down

mad pony
Saturday, June 04, 2011 @ 12:23:52 AM
Reply

As long as you're asking - towns, exploration, secrets, more control, everything you asked for and more.

0 up, 0 down

Keeng
Saturday, June 04, 2011 @ 12:37:27 AM
Reply

I hope it plays identically with a new story. I don't want towns and inns and random exploration. I don't want the game to just waste my time letting me run around. I loved how FFXIII pushed you into a specific direction and made you follow the mood of the story. I hate when a game acts like the end of the world is mere seconds away but then says you can run around and solve random quests. FFVII LITERALLY does that.

FFXIII presented a very tense, very urgent scenario for 25 straight hours and it made for a much more believable, exciting plot. I would hate to see them take a step back.

...oh and better summons, lol. Summons haven't been relevant to the actual battles in an FF game since like FFXI.

Last edited by Keeng on 6/4/2011 12:38:58 AM

0 up, 3 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Saturday, June 04, 2011 @ 12:56:36 AM

I could build a hallway for you that goes on for miles and charge you to run from one end to the other.

7 up, 0 down

Underdog15
Saturday, June 04, 2011 @ 9:06:14 AM

Does your mom still hold your hand when you go to the bathroom too?

I don't want a hand-holding game. I'm smarter than that. So are most people.

Last edited by Underdog15 on 6/4/2011 9:06:49 AM

0 up, 0 down

Underdog15
Saturday, June 04, 2011 @ 10:54:47 AM

Oh yeah... and Keeng... FFVII literally does NOT do that. Right before you go to Northern Crator, they CLEARLY say meteor will fall in about 7 days. Everyone goes home to be with friends and/or family for 1 night, then they come back. You have six whole days to do whatever. And I beat the Northern Crater in about an hour, and when we all came out meteor fell shortly after.

If you ask me, the game expects you to take 5 days to explore!

Last edited by Underdog15 on 6/4/2011 10:55:11 AM

0 up, 0 down

allDFlavors
Saturday, June 04, 2011 @ 1:24:24 PM

Here's my problem with that. You're tasked to save a world that you have no attachment to -- that you don't understand your characters having a connection to -- so what is your motivation for saving that world or really doing anything? Without any real interaction witha world, a story fails at a fundamental level. FFXIII felt hollow ultimately because there were no real stakes in the story. It was a bunch of hallways and enemies, and the occasional flashback to a character's previous life, but I didn't care. None of them presented something that pushed the story forward in an satisfying way other than Zasz. RPG's work on the idea of submersion into a world, without having a good level of submersion in the storytelling, you just have a battle system and a flat goal to reach with it.

0 up, 0 down

Dreno
Saturday, June 04, 2011 @ 1:33:10 AM
Reply

I'm gonna have to pick up ff13 and give her a try.

But reading everyones comments who feel almost the exact way about what an ff should be that I do, its not loooking to good.

But its an ff. Atleast in name, so ill give her a try.

0 up, 0 down

Beamboom
Saturday, June 04, 2011 @ 4:42:36 AM

You can have my copy. Really. Don't waste money on it. Do you live in europe somewhere? If so postage should be rather cheap so I'll just mail you my copy.

This is one of those games that I just know I'll never instert into the ps3 again. So if it can make another person happy then coolness!

Last edited by Beamboom on 6/4/2011 4:50:09 AM

1 up, 0 down

Ultimadesires
Saturday, June 04, 2011 @ 6:54:41 AM

You can get it for quater the original retail price now, Its easily worth that!

0 up, 0 down

Beamboom
Saturday, June 04, 2011 @ 7:08:56 AM

Well, to put it this way: I have a *lot* more fun playing Space Invaders Evolution from Square Enix that's in the store now for a few bucks than I ever had with FF.
I actually can't recall having a good moment *at all* in FF, the few hours I spent on it. It was one giant "uhhh... okey..." moment for me.

But this is all fine of course! It's wonderful that games are so diverse now that one gamers trash can be another gamers gold. That's a healthy sign.

Last edited by Beamboom on 6/4/2011 7:20:40 AM

0 up, 0 down

Dreno
Saturday, June 04, 2011 @ 12:37:36 PM

haha, naw i live in the us. but thats hella sick youd be willing to do that.

0 up, 0 down

Ultimadesires
Saturday, June 04, 2011 @ 6:53:51 AM
Reply

I am one who enjoyed XIII while I like the FF series extensively, I am willing to critise it (Just ask me about XII...) But I thought XIII was a very good game not th ebest FF obviously, but still realy enjoyable.

I see from that gameplay trailer we have moogles :D. What was that part with th echaracter walking on a grid about, this is a major concern, while I could accept it for Dissidia, I will not expect it for a main FF title.

What I want from XIII-2:
- To keep the charisma - The main appeal to me for XIII was the characters personalities, while they werent written to a massive depth, They all had different constrasting personalities which I felt worked really well, I heard XIII-2 may be darker, If they turn it into someting like PoP: Warrior Within, I will be furious.

Gameplay... I want it to be similiar, so I unlike many of you are not dissapointed by this, remember it is a sequel, it they suddenly chanced it to the style of X, just would not match. I admit though they could have got rid of auto battle, (Maybe there will be somthing in the options for that.) Also I hope that if the lead character dies, the party will have time to revive the fallen member, that never made sense to me.

Towns - As i suspected from the 2 screenshots, there will be towns to walk through and explore :) I approve of that.

Shops - I hope they change the whole shop and upgrade system, that is one thing I did not like from XIII, i rarely bothered whilst playing through the story...probaly why i sturggled at times lol.

Pace - While XIII was called linear it had teh perfect pace for the story, I hope this is not changed to much with the exploration, If the story is broken up into 5 hour gaps like XII I will not be happy.

2 up, 2 down

Underdog15
Saturday, June 04, 2011 @ 6:59:49 PM

I'd like to note that there was a big difference in battle system between FFX and FFX-2. I thought both battle systems for those games were fantastic in their own rights. I have no issues with them losing the gameplay mechanic in FFXIII, personally.

0 up, 0 down

Mamills
Saturday, June 04, 2011 @ 7:54:46 AM
Reply

lol, i dun want this FF at all and will probably skip it. hell, 13 i got to near the end, said screw it and sold it on ebay as i Youtubed the ending.

FF 13 was one of the worst of the franchise, (Right next to FFX-2)
hope this iteration crashes and burns

now c'mon mist walker, hurry up and translate the last story.

2 up, 2 down

Excelsior1
Saturday, June 04, 2011 @ 8:20:50 AM

12 is worse. you can't even youtube the story for it becuase it was practically nonexistent. jk, but i despised ff12.

2 up, 1 down

Ultimadesires
Saturday, June 04, 2011 @ 10:00:31 AM

Youtube endings... you people make me sick.

3 up, 0 down

Mamills
Saturday, June 04, 2011 @ 1:25:15 PM

lol, no Square enix makes me sick, with this trash that they try to pass off and call Final Fantasy

1 up, 1 down

BigBoss4ever
Saturday, June 04, 2011 @ 2:29:21 PM

two thumbs up to Mist Walker and I really look forward to The Last Story, too bad it is released on the Wii and in Japanese.

Please walk out of the mist Sakaguchi and walking into the Square Enix and get rid of Wada, the rest will be healed automatically :D

Last edited by BigBoss4ever on 6/4/2011 2:29:57 PM

1 up, 0 down

CHAOS THEORY X
Saturday, June 04, 2011 @ 9:17:38 AM
Reply

this veteran will be saving $60

2 up, 0 down

LegendaryWolfeh
Saturday, June 04, 2011 @ 10:08:38 AM
Reply

A main character that doesn't look like a male Yuna. Geez why did SE have to essentially Rehash most of the characters into this game.

1 up, 0 down

Temjin001
Saturday, June 04, 2011 @ 11:33:04 AM
Reply

Here's hoping for less talk and more mash =p

0 up, 0 down

Mamills
Saturday, June 04, 2011 @ 1:35:36 PM
Reply

well, i guess this is where the 2nd half of the game that was removed from the 1st one went.

1 up, 1 down

BigBoss4ever
Saturday, June 04, 2011 @ 2:26:31 PM
Reply

this game is still struggling to get on my most wanted game list, not even the bottom of this list.

1. Dark Souls
2. The Last Guardian
3. Uncharted 3
4. GOW 4
4. Metal Gear Solid HD Collection
5. ICO + SOTC HD combo pack
6. WKC-2
7. MGS Raiden
8. inFamous 2
9. Catherine
10.Ninja Gaiden 3

Let the westernization die with Wada! enough said!

1 up, 0 down

Temjin001
Saturday, June 04, 2011 @ 2:55:29 PM

Woo hoo for NG3!

0 up, 0 down

Claire C
Saturday, June 04, 2011 @ 6:26:03 PM

MGS Rising and The Last Guardian are 2012 for sure.

0 up, 0 down

nogoat23
Sunday, June 05, 2011 @ 9:41:02 AM
Reply

I have two cents, and here they are. (Some of you already mentioned these.)

Give me a world that's big enough to get lost in, and give me incentives to explore that world. (ie, secret treasures, optional bosses, hidden collectibles...) I liked in 12 how if I wandered the wrong way, I suddenly found myself overpowered by enemies that were way too strong for me, and I had to run for my life. In 13 you never have to wonder if you are strong enough to fight an enemy because the game is so linear. (Except for the Adamantoises, which stomped me dead a few times.)

I think it would be interesting to also punish me if I start to explore too much. If the story tells me that a town needs saving, and I decide to go pick flowers for a week, then that town should get destroyed.

Give me ultimate weapons and make me work for them. I don't want the dodging 200 lightning bolts randomness in 10, but I do like that each weapon required three different side quests to complete. (Find the weapon, find the crest, find the sigil.)

Side quests, and mini games. I liked the hunts in 12 and the blitzball in 10. It's easy to add optional hunts/bosses, but I'd like some more creative side quests too. (Maybe there's a guy that needs to prove his courage to win the heart of a girl he likes. So you team up with him to go down a previously unreachable path in a dungeon you were just in. Then there's a few alternate endings to the side quest: the guy you're helping lives and the girl likes the token you bring back to her, he lives and she doesn't like it (multiple paths and treasures in the dungeon, but you have to decide which one to give to the girl), the guy you're helping dies, but you still recover the treasure, and the girl becomes a playable character for a while... It's easy to be creative.

An upgrade system that feels like exploring or discovering. I liked 10 because it felt like I was exploring a crazy complex grid. I liked 12 because each time I unlocked something I got to discover what the adjacent squares were. I also liked 10 because at the end of the game, the grid wasn't completed. I always kind of wanted to go back and play until I filled out that grid for every character.

Give me the option and incentive to back track. 10 did this with the capturing enemies thing. 12 just let me go wherever I wanted.

I want the option to be awesome. If I want to grind a bit so that I'm overpowered, let me. In 13 if I wanted to fight somebody, I had to keep going forward. I could never just hang out and fight infinitely spawning enemies.

Make me think. I loved the puzzles of the different temples in 10. Give me a puzzle with multiple solutions, and reward me if I complete the most difficult solution.

If they did these things, and removed auto-battle, I'd enjoy 13-2.

0 up, 0 down

Underdog15
Monday, June 06, 2011 @ 10:35:33 AM

Excellent thoughts, nogoat. (I think BigBoss4ever replied to a bot. See what happens when you reply to them? Your comment gets bumped and you look like a meanie.)

0 up, 0 down

BigBoss4ever
Sunday, June 05, 2011 @ 12:06:09 PM

get off the site, for christ sake!!!

1 up, 1 down

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What Do You Want From Final Fantasy XIII-2?

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