FFXIII-2: Post Release Discussion

[Bregor]

I started over recently because I wanted a better Crystarium and Chichu build, so I bought the new weapons. Ended up using Catastrophe Blade and Genji Bow, they're pretty useful early on, and Chocolina sells upgraded versions periodically which typically have slightly better stats than their normally available counterparts.

Also got the Summoner's Garb for Serah because I was tired of her being a whore.

I like Hold'em so I thought I would like Serendipity Poker, but the interface is terrible, you can only open with a minimum bet and raise 4x that, and the AI is pretty bad. I don't think Chronobind is all that fun either, but it's much easier to win coins that way.

[miokomioko]

DLC arena fights are best to be purchased before you max your shit out. They end up being something you keep testing yourself with and working up to. Buying Omega/Lightning/Jihl/etc. after you're Lv.99 everything with a max'd out Chichu is pretty pointless.

Also got the Summoner's Garb for Serah because I was tired of her being a whore.

indeed.

[Nevex]

A month after the release, what's your opinion on the game?

I personally enjoyed it a lot but even with its non-linear nature and amont of extra content it feels surprisingly short. The monster system is great and farming/grinding is a lot less tedious than it was in FFXIII. It's very easy to overgrind though, which can kill the challenge. I realized this early on so I purposely avoided to cap the crystarium at every given opportunity to keep the challenge intact, but I can totally see why many people find the game too easy.
The QTEs don't really annoy me, they're just there. Nothing to say about them.
Most minigames are nothing special, though Chronobind and Labyrinth of Time are actually pretty fun.
As fun as the gameplay is, there are a couple of incredibly frustrating parts though, mainly Brain Blast (who thought random answers were a good idea?) and the Cie'th infestation in Academia 400AF which ruins an otherwise excellent part of the game.

The story seems really weird/confusing at first but as you keep collecting fragments and revisit Live Triggers a lot of doubts are cleared. I liked the chemistry between Noel, Serah and Mog (which gave me the proof that you don't need a large cast in a FF game to like it), as well as the new characters. Speaking of them I think Caius is my new favorite antagonist in the series and the only one I can sympathize with.
I may be in the minority but I actually liked the ending if anything because it's completely unique in the series (and because it makes FFXIII-3 very likely to happen).

I really like the OST and even the "crazy" tracks like Crazy Chocobo and Limit Break don't feel out of place when you listen to them in-game. Other tracks like Noel's theme, Eclipse and the final boss battle themes are your typical FF quality music which speaks for itself.

Looking back I think that while this game is great it doesn't reach its maximum potential because great features from FFXIII were removed (mainly the higher challenge and the more focused plot). If I had to rate it now my score would be roughly 8.5/10.

If FFXIII-3 does happen, I hope they combine the biggest selling points of both games. The result could be amazing if they play their cards well.

[Mugmug]

A month after the release, what's your opinion on the game?

I would give the game a 7.5. It's hard to say if its better than XIII. I'll avoid spoilers as much as possible!

Story: XIII clearly has a better story IMO. The script for XIII-2 is quite bad. XIII-2 was forced and the story suffers because of this. They should have just made it about saving Fang/Vanille or something. Serah is also the worst character in the entire franchise. I can't think of a single character I hate more. Shes annoying, unpleasant to look at, has horrible animations, and is the center of XIII and XIII-2. Blows my mind how she was made the focus of both games.

Soundtrack: XIII wins again. XIII-2 had its moments, and I personally liked Crazy Chocobo, but the vocal tracks just didn't do it for me. The boss theme was just god awful, and I like all kinds of music.

Gameplay: XIII-2 wins, but sadly suffers from a very low difficulty. I didn't grind at all and found the game to be a complete joke. I didn't even find XIII hard, but at least it had its moments.

XIIIs weapon/accessory upgrade system was meh, and the first 20 hours were a chore.
XIII-2 was significantly shorter, I ended up getting every achievement/fragment with ease and in like 60 hours? I didn't even use a guide until the end.

XIII and XIII-2 both get a 7.5 from me.

I just hope The Last Story and Xenoblade Chronicles gives me my RPG fix, because I know this game didn't.

[Cichy]

Personally I'd give it 9.5.
IMO story is vastly superior to XIII. I cant remember last time I had so much fun discussing FF storyline with people as I did with this one.
Besides that everything was improved from XIII. My only complaint is not enough Lightning.

[ArchDizzle]

Not enough lightning, (we all new this coming in but it still sucked) and I wish the difficulty was higher, or at least some mega monsters at end game to challenge you, they could do this in the arena ala X style but I doubt they will. Everything else was vastly better then XIII. About to 100% the game with only bestiary, captain crypto, and 7777 fragments left and will wait impatiently for the Lightning DLC.

[Fievel]

Personally I'd give it 9.5.
IMO story is vastly superior to XIII. I cant remember last time I had so much fun discussing FF storyline with people as I did with this one.
Besides that everything was improved from XIII. My only complaint is not enough Lightning.

On my phone at the moment so I don't feel like doing any long write up on how I felt about the game, but overall I completely agree with this post.

[Ratatapa]

There is a lot of lightning


....

If you play with her dlc



*cough*

[Alkar]

I've really enjoyed this game and I honestly can't wait for XIII-3 as I'm almost positive it's gonna happen. Hopefully with more Lightning.

[Mugmug]

I wouldn't mind XIII-3, but I'm not so sure it would be a success given XIII-2s sales. If they do somehow manage a -3, I will be buying it used. I can't see myself supporting shady business practices. Sadly this is why I did not buy UMvC3 or SFxTekken :/

That said, XIII-3 could be amazing if done right. More Lightning/Sazh/Fang, less Serah/Snow, and make the game more challenging. Actually make me use Sentinels and debuffs. Give me a little more freedom, and don't charge me $3-5 for every semi decent mini game.

I did enjoy XIII-2 for what it was. Really excited to see how the Lightning episode turns out.

[Tyrath]

Lightning episode? Thought they were considering her Coliseum battle to be her episode? lol

[Fievel]

Lightning episode? Thought they were considering her Coliseum battle to be her episode? lol

Nope

[Tyrath]

Oh, well thats good to know. I've been delaying playing because I wanna have more of the DLC stuff to do during the game so hopefully it'll be out sooner rather than later.

[Burningthought]

Jihl fight looks fun, but I think i'm going to pass, I'm a little bit over the whole boss fight dlc. I think the next thing i'll pick up is Lightning's episode.

[Katlan]

looks like a pretty hardcore fight given how easy the rest of the bosses are

[Cichy]

Jihl fight looks fun, but I think i'm going to pass, I'm a little bit over the whole boss fight dlc. I think the next thing i'll pick up is Lightning's episode.

ya I'm getting fed up with this shit. I thought we'd see a tournament package at some point but they being shameless about milking us for 2 bux with crap.

edit,
Well atleast this one is worth it if you're looking for a tough fight. For me the most difficult fight in the game so far.

[Vaspinne]

I finally finished the game myself yesterday. Overall I really enjoyed it a lot. The story wasn't as strong as 13's, but that being said, how it ended leaves a lot of potential for what they can do, should they decide to do so, with a 3rd installment.

The gameplay was stupid easy as others have said. I mean, not to say final fantasy games are hard really, but this one in particular was a bit of a cakewalk. I did try to get as many fragments as possible before beating the final boss the first time, so that would probably explain why they were so easy. Having a capped Silver and Blue chocobo would do that I suppose. But even trying to get the Platinum trophy, by the time I got all 160 fragments and got the secret ending, I had also gotten all but like 4 of the trophies. And getting the last 4 were pretty easy. The hardest being getting 100 "Greats" in a row, but that was just time consuming more than anything.

That being said, I really liked the game. I'll definitely pick up the third game if it gets made. I really liked the dark ending and want to see where it goes. As far as DLC goes though, I don't think I'm going to bother unless down the line they eventually release a combo all in 1 pack.

[Ratatapa]

I semi agree on the DLC, imo the Lightning vs Amodar was the only worth one, but most people kinda did it before beating the game so

[Alkar]

The Jihl fight seems really worth it imo. I haven't purchased it yet (damn you SCEE) but from what I've heard not only is the fight quite challenging but she is also a very unique character capable of keeping the enemies on stunlock if Curse is applied.
Overall it seems like a solid purchase.

[Mugmug]

I can pass on the Jihl fight, but I might cave in and purchase the Ultros DLC when that comes out.

$3 for a single fight is BS though.