Finally got round to reviewing the second game in the Final Fantasy XIII series. Thought I'd say that there will be no screenshots in this and for anime reviews because it is harder to find then for films and TV shows. SPOILERS
Final Fantasy XIII - 2 takes place three years after the fall of Cocoon and the crystal pillar still supports the artificial world. The residents of Cocoon and Gran Pulse now co - exist with each other with many of Cocoon citizens moving down to Gran Pulse. However all is not well because Serah Farron, younger sister of Lightning, believes her sister to still be alive even though everyone remembers her giving up her life along with Fang and Vanille to form the crystal pillar. She is right however as Lightning is guardian of the Goddess Etro in a world called Valhalla and is constantly defending it from a powerful man named Ciaus Ballad. One day a mysterious youth named Noel Kriess enters the world of Valhalla and Lightning tasks him with finding Serah and saving the world from Valhalla. Their journey will take them across many different times in history as Ciaus does not wish to just destroy the world but time itself.
In my previous review I said that XIII strong point was that it has such a compelling story that I can still play it over and over again despite it being mostly walking in a straight line. With its sequel however I find that to not be the case, don't get me wrong it is enjoyable but I don't find the idea of time travelling as good as Fal'Cie Gods in XIII. I didn't find the whole story of Yuel, the Guardians, Chaos and Time Paradoxes to have been as well thought out. Also despite there being a whole overarching story it feels overshadowed by events in each timeline that don't feel relevant to it. For example in one time you have to stop a giant flan and in another one spot an out of control A.I., they try to weave it into the main story but it feels poorly done. Also the game feels a lot shorter as well because take away all the side quests and optional time periods then it won't take anyone too long to finish it.
As for the settings and environment it is all nicely done however despite the maps being a lot more flexible and big it still does feel like you are moving in a straight line. When you enter another time period it really is just one big area and it never really feels all that big once you reveal the whole map. Another thing is that even though all of the areas do look really beautiful and it is interesting to travel throughout all of them they reuse a lot of the same areas in different time periods. For example the very first new time period you enter is three years in to the future to face a boss called Atlas however that exact same area is re - used three different time in later time periods and all they did was change the weather to snowy or covered in more trees.
With the characters in this game I have no issues with them because most are returning from the previous game and I really liked them, it was one of XIII strong points. The first playable character in this game is Serah and it was interesting seeing them turn a side character, who was really only in the previous game in flashbacks, become the main protagonist. Its good seeing her start off with constantly worrying about her sister in the beginning and trying to find her but no over time she comes to realize that she can't be that selfish and wishes to create a better future for Noel. Noel is the second playable character and he was born at the end of days; in his time, 700 years in the future, Cocoon has fallen and when it did the world went to hell pretty fast. Noel and Serah make a great duo because of how they constantly help each other in the game with Noel surprisingly being the optimist and cheers Serah up a lot despite being born on a dying world. Last we have Mog who is a Moogle who guides them through the portals and is also Serah's main weapon, I like Mog because its always good to see Moogles in Final Fantasy.
Now to go one about the side characters a bit and first we have Lightning and she is a bit underused in the game because you only control her in the prologue but she's supposed to be this badass guardian now and you kind of wish it changed to her more often. Next we have Ciaus as the main antagonist and I really like him because, apart from a badass design, you kind of understand why he is doing the things he does. He does it so Yuel never has to die and be reincarnated again and again but is will to destroy everything to get it however like I said you do understand more because his more relatable than Gods from the previous game. Lastly we also have all the main characters from the previous game being used but like Lightning they feel a bit underused like Snow and Sazh and I kind of felt that Hope takes up way to much of plot.
As for gameplay it is a real strong factor in this game because once again they bring back the Paradigm Shift system of changing between roles in combat. I think I mentioned in my previous review that changing roles in battle is one of my favourite Final Fantasy combat systems, this is why the Dress Sphere Change in FFX - 2 is probably my one of my favourites, and it kind of makes me wish they can also change costume in this game. Combat is a lot more fast paced in this one and you can switch between Noel and Serah anytime you want so when one gets KO the battle still continues. An interesting feature is that you can capture monsters and use them in battle, increase their stats and they even have their own strengths and special moves. This is one of the best features in the game because I would spend a long time hunting down specifics monsters for my party and using different ones in each play through. However overall I never found the game to be all that challenging because I think you gain CP points a little bit too much and easily from enemies and side quests so you can level up really fast.
Something I really have to praise the game for is its outstanding visuals and music, even if a lot of the areas are reused they are a treat for the eyes. Some of my favourite places to visit is Noel's time (when the red sky vanishes and we get the beautiful morning) and Sunleth Waterscape. Also the music, like all Final Fantasy games, is a real strong point because I don't think there is a single one I disliked. Whether it is New Bodham, Noel's world, Ciaus's battle music or New World (my favourite) you can just listen to it again and again.
Before I finish I just want to say that the ending was something that I never really expected; the bad guy won in the end. Serah actually died, time itself was destroyed and those who got the special ending, like I have, will see that Ciaus is still alive and "free" of his curse. I do have to praise this ending because like I said Serah dies and I really thought she would find a way for her powers not to kill her and it happened when you didn't even expect it to.
Overall while this XIII -2 is not as strong story wise to XIII it makes up for it with a strong combat system and it's visuals and music being just as good.
SCORE 7/10
Highlights: Combat
Visuals/Music
Characters
Let - Downs: Reused areas for new time periods
Not a better story than XIII
Is easier to complete overall because they don't restrict stat growth this time
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