Final Fantasy XIII-2 Preview
So I played the Final Fantasy XIII-2 demo today. …it’s difficult to select a starting position. On the one hand, I don’t mind at all that it stayed very much like its predecessor because I maintain that FFXIII was a great game. On the other hand, I have a little difficulty seeing where Square Enix “listened” to all its fans. Plus, I have to consider that the game in question is quite large and we only saw a very small piece in this playable demo.
So I’m a little stuck but I’ll do my best. First and foremost, let me say I’m intensely annoyed at the prospect of keeping the exact same party throughout the adventure. Of course, your third “party member” will always change due to the new monster recruiting and training mechanic, but if I’ve read the news correctly, it’s always Noel and Serah throughout FFXIII-2. No exceptions or changes. Now that I have that out of the way, let me focus on this new monster idea.
Personally, I don’t really like it. However, before elaborating, I want to make it clear that this is a very subjective viewpoint and I can see how some gamers could really fall in love with this new feature. It actually reminded me a bit of Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne, where you would recruit, train, breed, and use monsters in battle. In FFXIII-2, it seems that just about any foe you conquer in combat becomes an ally that can be used by attaching the monster into a Paradigm Shift. You can have up to three monsters equipped into various Paradigms at any given time.
It’s a tremendously in-depth feature that acts as a double-edged sword. You can “adorn” your monsters with items, allow them to grow, and even fuse them with other monsters to create more advanced allies. The fact that each has its own set of skills, combined with their inclusion in every Paradigm, makes this an extremely robust mechanic. Furthermore, when a monster hits a certain point, he can unleash his Feral ability, which, in FF parlance, is kinda like a Limit Break.
The downside is that due to its depth and because you only have Noel and Serah to consider, this monster thing could take up half your life. It could easily take up a good portion of the gameplay preparation, and I find it a tad tedious. But as I said, some people might love it. The other major change in battle comes in the form of Cinematic Actions, which is similar to the button prompts you’ve seen in numerous action titles, ranging from Resident Evil to God of War. They’re relatively easy, as analog movements are on the left side of the screen and face button prompts are on the right.
In the demo, you run around the Bresha Ruins, tracking down a giant creature called Atlas and even taking on a side quest or two. As expected, it’s very pretty, and there are plenty of people to talk to at certain parts of the demo. Oh, and there’s one other gameplay addition and this involves choice, an element we often see in many modern-day RPGs. When it comes time to make a big decision, the game will give you an option of who to ask for advice, or sometimes you can just fish for more information.
Basically, it’s FFXIII with a few small additions and one big new feature in the monster collection. The Paradigm Shifts seem faster but other than that, those who enjoyed FFXIII should be able to dive right in with little problem. I just don’t know if it will satisfy those who didn’t like this sequel’s predecessor. I’m guessing it won’t but you never know.
1/10/2012 Ben Dutka
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Date |
Game |
Reviewer |
 06/13/11 |
Final Fantasy XIII-2 | Ben Dutka |
Comments (58 posts)
The1Weapon
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 @ 12:25:06 AM
Back to 13, though, I liked it, and I'm optimistic for XIII-2. We'll see how it turns out though.
1 up, 0 down
Ultimadream
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 @ 7:19:03 AM
1 up, 3 down
Underdog15
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 @ 9:44:09 AM
I'm ok with exploring different battle systems. Differing battle systems is what makes FF such a great franchise. Rather, it's ONE of the reasons. FFXIII's system was awful because it lacked depth, freedom, strategy, and more. The weapon's forging was overly simplistic, and also, without any sort of strategy.
I'm sorry, but changing between 6 paradigms at JUST the right moment is not exactly very strategic.... not when you can hardly even make decisions mid-battle nor decide how your allies behave. Any complexity in strategy was only needed for 1 or 2 enemies in the game. You don't need to be efficient because your health restores after every battle. There's no longevity to your strategy. As long as you can beat up the guy in front of you, you don't have to plan for ANYTHING.
That simplicity without depth, exploration, or anything else was like playing an RPG version of a rail shooter.
Last edited by Underdog15 on 1/11/2012 9:44:46 AM
5 up, 3 down
PasteNuggs
Tuesday, January 10, 2012 @ 10:14:33 PM
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0 up, 0 down
gungrave
Tuesday, January 10, 2012 @ 10:57:11 PM
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0 up, 0 down
Russell Burrows
Tuesday, January 10, 2012 @ 11:02:27 PM
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Sigh.......
Back to playing Skyrim.
5 up, 5 down
Marckon
Tuesday, January 10, 2012 @ 11:17:46 PM
0 up, 0 down
Highlander
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 @ 10:35:21 AM
Last edited by Highlander on 1/11/2012 10:35:45 AM
0 up, 0 down
Jutter
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 @ 12:26:49 AM
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I don't like the idea of 2 permanent party members either and the 3rd party member being a monster isn't bad but it just doesn't feel... the same? it was better than I expected still not as great as actually having 3 party members though.
1 up, 1 down
CrusaderForever
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 @ 8:59:34 AM
Also, make sure you allocate the CP for party members you never use! That hit me last night with Snow. Snow was so weak it was like he was throwing pebbles at the enemy. It took 30 minutes to kill this sub boss with pretty much only 2 characters.
0 up, 0 down
Oxvial
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 @ 12:41:55 AM
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0 up, 1 down
Coffeya
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 @ 4:01:17 PM
Asura demo was definitely off the chain! Played both levels and had a blast.
0 up, 0 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 @ 12:45:24 AM
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0 up, 0 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 @ 1:25:08 PM
0 up, 0 down
Temjin001
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 @ 1:01:12 AM
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Anyway, don't know how I feel about the lead characters in this new FF. The lanky skinny girl and the big blue pants boy. oh well, FF's always mezmorize me with their awesome brand of sci-fi'ish artistic beauty. Just seeing the content is worth my time.
2 up, 0 down
CrusaderForever
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 @ 9:22:26 AM
DA:O was fantastic to say the least. I was glued to my PS3 during my time with it. Keep going as it is great all the way through. DA2 I didn't like, I played the demo and was really disappointed. I guess you cannot change your parties armor or anything. Also the combat is way different.
1 up, 0 down
dmiitrie
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 @ 1:29:46 AM
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I don't expect to like the game as a whole, since it apparently is very similar to its predecessor. But the one interesting sounding part makes it worth a free download at least. And hey, I've been surprised before...
0 up, 0 down
BigBoss4ever
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 @ 1:52:42 AM
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one simple question -- why can't they just retain the damn cool graphics but use the FF7, FF8, FF9 or FF10's game mechanisms and worlds? what is the difficulty or hardship in putting it there and build a world like FF7-10??? if they can do just that, it might become the greatest JRPG this gen.
Last edited by BigBoss4ever on 1/11/2012 1:58:13 AM
2 up, 0 down
main_event05
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 @ 8:47:01 PM
0 up, 0 down
karneli lll
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 @ 2:25:19 AM
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0 up, 5 down
Sogi_Otsa
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 @ 7:54:35 AM
4 up, 0 down
Underdog15
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 @ 8:42:51 AM
Moogles are a staple of the franchise!!! They are right up there with there always being a "Cid" and chocobos!
Mog for the win!
Last edited by Underdog15 on 1/11/2012 8:43:26 AM
2 up, 0 down
bentl78
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 @ 3:45:31 AM
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On Vgchartz, seems the preorders for ff13-2 was actually higher in the US compared to 13.. very different results than japan. lets see what happens, cant wait to play the demo after it finishes downloading!
1 up, 0 down
bentl78
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 @ 3:45:53 AM
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you are not doing the review on this game? no review copy yet?
0 up, 1 down
Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 @ 9:38:20 AM
1 up, 0 down
SmokeyPSD
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 @ 5:06:20 AM
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0 up, 1 down
Ultimadream
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 @ 7:00:01 AM
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Mog Clock:
I was hesitant about it during the previews and I did not like it during the demo. a lot of the time the mosters just appeared off screen or directly infront of me, it press atatck and strike, but the monster was still generating into the map that it would not count my hit.
Mog's scan ability:
This is found frequently annoying, the animation itself is very slow, so doing this feels tedious. I also dont like the fact that all through out the maps there will be items hidden with no clue, sure sometimes Mog gets excited over a hidden item, there were other times where i pressed it randomly where he didnt.
What was more infuriating was that I was in Mog Clock Mode just when he found something. the game focused on the item while the enemy crept up behind me while i couldnt move, that was just lame.
Accessory point system:
Did anyone else notice this system they have now put in the game. At the start I sold most of my potions and pheonix downs to buy weapons and accessories. I bought a load hoping to equip them only to find out each accessory had an ammount of points and each character could only have a certain amount of points active at once. This is nearly as tedious as XII's license plate system. Why cant i just equip what I have bought! The only way I have found so far to raise a characters Accessory point limit is to activate it on the rare Lv up bonus. If you got it automatically each level I would not mind, but to have to sacrafice a level bonus is poor.
The new blood system(?):
In XIII-2 I noticed your characters can be wounded in battle, this takes points of your HP which you cannot reghain back in battle by simply curing. How you get these HP's back... I have no idea, but I hope you can because that would be really horrible if so.
Puzzle sections...:
I have to admit I dont see the point in the puzzle sections within the game, where your in a paradox and you have to walk over the platforms like in Dissida... Not fun at all.
They're my major irritations about the demo. Here is what I loved.
The monster system:
I love this! Sure you can just slap it as pokemon, but it is so much fun. The monsters simply act as a third party member in battle. But you will have to know their strenghts before equiping them in a paradigm. What I like is how you can swap monsters as you change paradigms. This is going to add a lot of depth to the game and is something i am really looking forward to expanding on.
Noel:
From what I read up on the datalog and his on screen presence, he seems like he'll be an interesting character to follow which is a mircale as I am still not sold on Serah.
The sassy chocobo merchant:
This made me laugh and it is also good to see a merchant on screen, ratehr than in XIII just shopping at a save point.
That's what I got from playing the demo. the rest was much like XIII. I am definatly looking forward to gettting the game within a months time :)
1 up, 2 down
CrusaderForever
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 @ 8:18:05 AM
0 up, 0 down
Underdog15
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 @ 8:47:25 AM
0 up, 0 down
Ultimadream
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 @ 7:08:00 AM
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4 up, 0 down
Ultimadream
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 @ 8:32:21 AM
0 up, 1 down
CrusaderForever
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 @ 8:12:43 AM
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Gatling Gears
Syphon Filter 1, 2 and 3
Grand Slam Tennis 2 demo
Oh yeah, FFXIII, the cutscene when they....
SPOILER ALERT
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Leave Gran Pulse and come back to Cocoon was EPIC!!! I had goose bumps! I have really grown attached to the characters.
Uhhhggg, the decision to get either FFXIII-2 or Kingdoms of Amalur Reckoning is tough one. I mean, I will be buying both D1P, but which to play and sink 50 hours into first?
Once I finish FFXIII which will hopefully be today or tomorrow I will give the FFXIII-2 demo a try and then have a better understanding. Since I just sank over 50 hours into FFXIII I will probably go with Kingdoms of Amalur Reckoning.
0 up, 0 down
JLB1
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 @ 8:35:28 AM
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0 up, 0 down
Underdog15
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 @ 8:51:20 AM
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Based on what folks here are saying, however, I am encouraged that strategy is much more important in this title. It definitely sounds better.
A little sad about the lack of playable characters, but that might be ok. FFX-2 only had 3 playable characters (although a whole lot of classes and customizability) and I thought it was the best battle system in the entire FF series.
Still though, diversity has always been important in the FF series, and the best FF titles out there have lots of different characters.
Looking forward to testing it out tonight.
0 up, 0 down
Highlander
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 @ 10:35:52 AM
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Sad that SE have got to the point now where I really do not look forward to their games because of the near ritual complaints that they are no longer FF games or that they are action games with RPG elements or whatever else. The truth is that they ceased to be FF games, perhaps with FFXIII, perhaps earlier. Whether they are good in their own right or not doesn't bother me, they are not FF and they sure as hell are not full blooded RPGs any more. What they actually are is something for someone else to decide, for me they are a game by a company that was once highly regarded by RPG players and that is about it.
3 up, 4 down
Warrior Poet
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 @ 1:58:06 PM
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2 up, 0 down
homura
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 @ 3:57:32 PM
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0 up, 1 down
Highlander
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 @ 5:15:47 PM
1 up, 2 down
homura
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 @ 3:58:01 PM
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0 up, 0 down
homura
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 @ 3:59:30 PM
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0 up, 0 down
homura
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 @ 6:03:49 PM
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0 up, 1 down
Highlander
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 @ 11:16:58 PM
And, no, FFXIII and FFXIII-2 are not JRPGs by any definition unless you believe in completely revising the definition to make it fit. I do not.
1 up, 2 down
homura
Thursday, January 12, 2012 @ 3:40:11 AM
Reply
1 up, 1 down
Highlander
Thursday, January 12, 2012 @ 3:50:00 AM
For traditional turn based, you could always go for the Atelier series - which I like.
1 up, 0 down
homura
Thursday, January 12, 2012 @ 4:16:18 AM
0 up, 1 down
homura
Thursday, January 12, 2012 @ 5:35:12 AM
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0 up, 0 down
sdragon001
Thursday, January 12, 2012 @ 8:56:55 PM
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I dont know if anyone has said this yet but if you read the info section when you get character or monster info in the main menu it tells you that the new wounded system you need to use (wounded cures) to bring back your max hp in battle you can buy those from the choco girl travel merch....
Last edited by sdragon001 on 1/12/2012 8:58:21 PM
0 up, 0 down
Underdog15
Friday, January 13, 2012 @ 1:59:54 PM
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I think a lot of whether or not I'll like it a little or a lot will depend on the characters. I always love the one or two FF characters that talk like floozies, but the main characters need to be real. Couldn't see that in the demo, obviously, so I can't say one way or the other.
I didn't like stopping for a cutscene in the middle of a boss battle that offered little more to the experience than Serah yelling out Noel's name, so hopefully that doesn't happen too much. I'd hate to see pointlessly trying to keep me eternally engaged through cutscenes. Just let me flesh out my strategy on the boss and beat him up.
I'm also looking forward to learning many more abilities. Auto-battle is still freakin' stupid.
1 up, 0 down
DeathOfChaos
Friday, January 13, 2012 @ 11:45:12 PM
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0 up, 0 down
Marckon
Reply
Tuesday, January 10, 2012 @ 10:08:54 PM