FFXIII-2

[Nevex]

i think that adds to my point as well. playing a video game is a lot different from watching it - i think the only thing thats the same is the cutscenes you get (but with the ability to choose which path you take, it differs). fact of the matter is that most people watching the streams don't know a single word of japanese.

ever watched a french movie not knowing any french and decided that you were qualified to pass judgment on its script? the visual information may be there, but if you don't know the context, its as good as not knowing at all - these people end up judging based on an incomplete experience which they knowingly place themselves in.

I played every FF from 8 onwards in Japanese before playing it in English. Initially my Japanese was terrible, but as it gradually got better i actually knew what the story was talking about when I played it. But even now, I cannot confidently say I fully understand the games when I play them because there are so many technicalities which you need a very high level of understanding of the language to get - same goes for English version really.

Games are no longer perfectly within the knowledge of a 12 year old's vocabulary or abstract knowledge. There are words, terms and concepts used that even I don't get from time to time. Call it being bombastic, but if you're even remotely familiar with your traditional English fantasy novel, that kind of stuff is to be expected.
And if you can't even get it in your own language, i don't think it'd make sense for one to believe you can do it in Japanese.

Agree. Sadly modern games are disadvantaged when it comes to sense of mystery/discovery/self-accomplishment because the internet takes a lot of those elements away. This is perhaps the greatest advantage old FFs have to the new ones.

[Spira]

ah yes.. i remember the good old days when i could sit with friends and discuss to no end about some game or what i think is the next likely route of action or what could happen to so and so, etc.

its just too easy to spoil yourself nowadays.. and also because most people would like to do everything right in 1 run, instead of play it over again and again...

[Hyan]

its just too easy to spoil yourself nowadays.. and also because most people would like to do everything right in 1 run, instead of play it over again and again...

That's why I think its good that this game doesn't punish you for making choices. I know I won't care the first time I play the game because I know I can go back to directly change the outcome later.

[Appie]

Well, I'll be pissed if it's paid for DLC, but if it turns into another game that's even better than XIII-2 as it is to XIII I'd be pretty happy. Despite being totally different to XIII I quite like the story too and if they brought back some of the old characters for a third game it would be pretty awesome.

While the ending is pretty conclusive and ended where I wanted, this game leaves room for a sequel, moreso than XIII did, even without the TBC slammed in your face. It has potential for a full game (or they squeeze it in 10-20 hours of DLC, pending how thorough they want to be), but SE will probably decide on that after seeing western sales of XIII-2. I actually wouldn't mind if it ended here, fits the mythology too after reading it again. I actually expect DLC to expand on some of the minor plotholes in the story (though maybe I could fix some by finishing more areas, not sure), but there are some there that simply don't get solved.

@your spoiler

Spoiler: show

Hope brought Sazh to the future with the time capsule, which slows down/freezes time. How he brought him here while he's stuck in the future? Maybe through one of the Prophecy books? Or he told Sazh that he had to take a second capsule after Alyssa and him. Maybe the Sazh DLC will expand on it.

thats a moot point really..
when you pick up a game, an RPG for example.. , do you get to play the ending first and decide whether you like it based on that? no. Similarly when you buy a book to read, do you base your experience of the book by STARTING the book on the last chapter and then reading the rest? neither.

most people play a game for the game, and not for the ending.. so its pretty fair to say that assuming we know the ending sucks, the game can still be good.

Considering I have only played FF's in the past for the story (never really liked the battle system like I did with 13), the ending plays a huge part in wether I like a FF or not. That said, FFXIII-2 has alot more room for me to be shitty on the story since it is fun to play. Good thing it didn't fuck up on the story though.

[Charismatic]

Good thing it didn't fuck up on the story though.

lolololol

[Appie]

Care to elaborate? In spoilers if you have to, what did they fuck up then?

[Spira]

dont think he's even played the game.

[Ratatapa]

Care to elaborate? In spoilers if you have to, what did they fuck up then?

Spoiler: show

Pretty sure he means that Lightning turning evil/become etro is fucking with the story for him or making so much emphasis on Lightning on the cover that you see her 15min in game and etc

[vadre]

Spoiler: show

Pretty sure he means that Lightning turning evil/become etro is fucking with the story for him or making so much emphasis on Lightning on the cover that you see her 15min in game and etc

Eh? I think I missed that part, when did she turn evil?

[Insanecyclone]

Spoiler: show

Eh? I think I missed that part, when did she turn evil?

Spoiler: show

Implied as she's completed her focus and crystallized in etro's seat.

[Alkar]

Most people are acting like SE is going to charge 50$ for an ending cutscene. Castlevania did the same with 2 DLC episodes taking place after the ending of the game and explaining a few things and I don't think that was horrible at all.
And there's always the possibility of them releasing new story episodes for free. Like it or not if people know that there's more coming they'll likely hold onto their copy instead of trading it in which results in less used copies available and more new ones sold.
I just hope they don't stop releasing DLC all of a sudden like they did with Duodecim... it's really a shame that some characters never got a DLC alt at all and never will. At least all games got a music pack.

[Lonely]

Seriously, last few pages have just been people whining about DLC and crap.

On the bright side the game gets western release in 3 weeks with a demo coming out this week.

[Burningthought]

Spoiler: show

Eh? I think I missed that part, when did she turn evil?

Spoiler: show

She never turned evil or any of that, when Caius suicided, it killed the part of Etros inside of him thus killing her. Light turns to stone, in other words she becomes petrified, callused, this is much different from the crystal stasis that is rewarded when you complete a focus. The evil bullshit came from retarded viewers who watched the stream.

[Nevex]

I just hope they don't stop releasing DLC all of a sudden like they did with Duodecim... it's really a shame that some characters never got a DLC alt at all and never will. At least all games got a music pack.

I can see why they did that, though. PSP is an almost dead gaming system and both the game and DLC got pirated very easily. So why bother?

[Appie]

Spoiler: show

She never turned evil or any of that, when Caius suicided, it killed the part of Etros inside of him thus killing her. Light turns to stone, in other words she becomes petrified, callused, this is much different from the crystal stasis that is rewarded when you complete a focus. The evil bullshit came from retarded viewers who watched the stream.

This is what I thought. Insanecyclone made me watch the ending again, thinking I missed something lol.

[Insanecyclone]

I was just over thinking it. I forgot about the Caius part.

[Jeryhn]

I think I'm having trouble reconciling some things about this sequel brought upon by the mythos given to us in the first game:

Spoiler: show

Magic. It's an ability that comes from being the cursed l'Cie that empowers them to complete their Focus. But we see Serah and Noel playing with it at the very beginning of this game, when presumably you need to be cursed by fal'Cie to be able to wield it. What causes Serah and Noel to be able to wield magic if they aren't l'Cie, and if they are l'Cie, how the fuck were they cursed and are they driven by a Focus other than "find Lightning"?

Also, Lightning. She spends the entire first game asserting how she will not be controlled by any one or anything other than herself. Then at the beginning of FFXIII-2, she's taken by Etro, and Lightning serves the goddess entirely faithfully? Sounds like a complete 180 to me when it comes to her personality. Is this explained to us in any way or did SE simply retcon her once she lost her mortality? Or is she considered a l'Cie or fal'Cie or something else?

As for Caius, is he some kind of l'Cie that beat his fate similarly to how the party did in the first game?

One more thing, now that I think about it. Caius's sword is called Ragnarok. But, Ragnarok is supposed to be the beast a l'Cie becomes in order to kill a fal'Cie... what the fuck?

[Skai]

Torrent for OST (and other stuff as well)
http://www.gamemp3s.net/2011/12/23/run/

Edit: Fuck this soundtrack is amazing.

[Burningthought]

I think I'm having trouble reconciling some things about this sequel brought upon by the mythos given to us in the first game:

Spoiler: show

Magic. It's an ability that comes from being the cursed l'Cie that empowers them to complete their Focus. But we see Serah and Noel playing with it at the very beginning of this game, when presumably you need to be cursed by fal'Cie to be able to wield it. What causes Serah and Noel to be able to wield magic if they aren't l'Cie, and if they are l'Cie, how the fuck were they cursed and are they driven by a Focus other than "find Lightning"?

Also, Lightning. She spends the entire first game asserting how she will not be controlled by any one or anything other than herself. Then at the beginning of FFXIII-2, she's taken by Etro, and Lightning serves the goddess entirely faithfully? Sounds like a complete 180 to me when it comes to her personality. Is this explained to us in any way or did SE simply retcon her once she lost her mortality? Or is she considered a l'Cie or fal'Cie or something else?

As for Caius, is he some kind of l'Cie that beat his fate similarly to how the party did in the first game?

One more thing, now that I think about it. Caius's sword is called Ragnarok. But, Ragnarok is supposed to be the beast a l'Cie becomes in order to kill a fal'Cie... what the fuck?

Spoiler: show

They explain magic in FFXIII-2, the people of Pulse were able to natively use magic, and once the people of Cocoon started to migrate back to Pulse some of they regained the ability to use magic without a brand. Lightning isn't exactly the same Lightning in XIII. She was pulled in by Chaos into Valhalla where Etros decided to use her as a Avatar. Lightning is being used to protect Etro's Throne. Also I wanted to add that Lightning isn't a Fal'cie, L'cie or Goddess, she's just a tool that Etro is using to keep balance in the universe. Which was the task that Muin gave her shortly before she succumbed to Chaos.

As for Caius, he is the keeper of time (last I recall, I could be wrong). He's the only person who can see the correct history and future of the historia crux and he has the powers to do course correction when necessary. Okay I was going to explain more about Caius, but there's not a whole lot of solid info from some of the translations I've read, and i'm not entirely sure how accurate that info is, so i'm going to hold my tongue on this one even though I know a lot more about him.

As for his sword, I'm not 100% sure on that one. I'd say wait till the english version comes out later this month. No one ever mentioned his sword in anything I read.

Hoped this answered a few of your questions!

[Appie]

For Jeryhn about Caius since Burningthought said the rest pretty much, this is spoiler heavy

Spoiler: show

Caius, in his original life, was a l'Cie, tasked with the duty to protect Yuel. Yuel too, is a servant of Etro, who granted her the power to look into the future. Serah also develops the same power as Yuel in the game. Caius had to defeat the previous guardian of Yuel to recieve this task. Noel would have been the next if he didn't pussy out and actually killed him, instead of Caius killing himself.

Since Caius lived so long because of his focus to protect the continueously reincarted Yuel and all the feedback from Yuel about the future, he's the one who can see the proper timeline and fix paradoxes. However since looking into the future shortens the lifespan of the person doing it, Yuels didn't live long, all died at the age of 15. Caius wanted this curse to end for Yuel so they could live their life and this was why he set this plan in motion. Yuel's "tragedy" (Caius' words) started when Cocoon didn't actually fall, but was put on a pillar.

However Noel's Yuel (his timeline) didn't mind the reincarnation (it's the one who dies in Academia with a smile on her face, saying something like "we will meet again"). Noel tried to explain this to Caius at the end of the game, and he almost listened but went ahead with his plan and he killed himself instead because he saw no other way out to free Yuel. Every other outcome for the future without kiliing Etro would have meant Yuel's suffering continued, that's how Caius saw it anyway. So yeah, he did pretty much defy Yuel's and his fate as a l'Cie, by going for the one thing Etro didn't anticipate? But the original cast defying their fate is what set Caius' plan in motion, so the timeline was fixed to what it was supposed to be in the first place.

As for his sword being called Ragnarok, don't remember any of that. The only name I remember for it was "Soul Edge" ;p