Final Fantasy XIII-2

 PlayStation 3
User Score
6.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 848 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 457 out of 848
  2. Mixed: 218 out of 848
  3. Negative: 173 out of 848
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. MrRPG
    Aug 16, 2012
    9
    I'm 12 hours in and still staring at the background scenery,everything about his game is visually and dynamically stunning, I love the strategic combat system, and animal taming..
    This is a vast improvement on it's predecessor..
    I can see myself platinum-ing this title and enjoying the experience.. Picked it up brand new for $30 (AUS), and Played nothing else since (I bought 6 games    I'm 12 hours in and still staring at the background scenery,everything about his game is visually and dynamically stunning, I love the strategic combat system, and animal taming..
    This is a vast improvement on it's predecessor..
    I can see myself platinum-ing this title and enjoying the experience..
    Picked it up brand new for $30 (AUS), and Played nothing else since (I bought 6 games this month)..    … Expand
  2. StaticSpine
    Sep 22, 2013
    9
    A better version of Final Fantasy XIII. The gameplay is not linear anymore (you can travel to every location you have already opened anytime), a lot of stuff to do, a lot of stuff to collect, side-quests. Improved battle-system. The story is decent and somehow twisted, all the thing is about time travelling and "butterfly effects".
  3. ForTheGames
    May 6, 2014
    5
    I have tried multiple times to get into FF13 and it's sequels, but Square Enix is making it hard as hell. The battles are rushed and you get rewarded for beating it as fast as possible. BORING, Final Fantasy is about strategy and good story telling. Neither of those are present in this game. The characters are overly girly and the story is so nonsensical you have to be stupid to enjoy it.I have tried multiple times to get into FF13 and it's sequels, but Square Enix is making it hard as hell. The battles are rushed and you get rewarded for beating it as fast as possible. BORING, Final Fantasy is about strategy and good story telling. Neither of those are present in this game. The characters are overly girly and the story is so nonsensical you have to be stupid to enjoy it. I feel like I should give it a lower score, honestly. What the hell is Square trying to accomplish by releasing 2 terrible sequels on top of a mediocre FF13. If you like pressing auto battle to victory, and dealing with the cheesiest characters in any game. This is for you… Expand
  4. cidgrad01
    Jan 3, 2014
    8
    Let me start by saying that FF13 was pure crap and the worst Final Fantasy game ever made, so no one was more surprised than me by how much fun I had playing 13-2. It is not perfect but a vast improvement over its predecessor & definitely worth getting, especially since used copies currently run about $13 at Gamestop.

    Squeenix fixed a lot of what was wrong with FF13, which gives me some    Let me start by saying that FF13 was pure crap and the worst Final Fantasy game ever made, so no one was more surprised than me by how much fun I had playing 13-2. It is not perfect but a vast improvement over its predecessor & definitely worth getting, especially since used copies currently run about $13 at Gamestop.

    Squeenix fixed a lot of what was wrong with FF13, which gives me some hope for the future of the company. The story, dialogue & main characters are much better, the maps are not brutally linear and actually contain secrets & treasure to hunt down, and there is a ton of optional content.

    In 13-2 you play as Serah, the sister of no-personality Lightning from 13, and Noel, a time traveler from 700 years in the future. These two are your two main party members for the entire game and this is actually a good thing. They are better characters the entire rest of the cast from 13 combined and are superbly voice acted, as well.

    The plot of 13-2 is essentially FF: Doctor Who, which again isn’t really a bad thing. Noel picks up his companion, Serah, and they go gallivanting through time & space together. Where things get interesting is that your actions change future locations & create parallel realities. You can freely visit any area you’ve unlocked and can also “reset” each one to play through story events in a different way to pick up missed items. The narrative stays remarkably cohesive despite all the jumping around in time. I only regret that no romance develops between Noel & Serah b/c they have much better chemistry than Serah does with her fiancée Snow from FF13, who is a giant tool box.

    While the game’s proper ending is, unfortunately, little more than a cliffhanger designed to get you to buy the upcoming FF13-3, there are a bunch of alternate endings you can unlock after beating the game and they are done in a clever way. Instead of creating confusion about which one is the “real” ending, these are all parallel reality endings that generally don’t go so well, showing that the “real” ending is probably the best one.

    Mog the moogle makes a return to the series, too. He’s mostly included for comic relief (as well as inexplicably turning into Serah’s weapon during battle) but feels like part of the group thanks to some good writing. He even has an invaluable and funny use during field exploration where you throw him around to find treasure amidst protesting squeals of “Kupo!” A bit on the cutesy side, but any FF series veteran will appreciate his inclusion.

    The third member to round out your battle party is a monster of your choice, which you can capture and train up with special materials that can be bought or won from battle. Think of this as FF: Pokemon. Not a terribly original idea, but one that Squeenix executes very well. Almost every monster in the game is capable of being captured, which is incredibly cool, and the growth system is quite deep.

    There is even a Gold Saucer-esque area where you can gamble and race chocobos. The system is not as in-depth as the breeding found in FF7, but you can race chocobos you tame in the wild and they will perform better if you level them up the right way. I found the racing to get repetitive, but luckily you don’t have to do it that long to get the best rewards from it.

    There are also a ton of “fragments” to be collected through defeating special bosses, completing quests or simply finding them like treasure in certain areas. Collecting them serves a variety of purposes such as powering up a set of weapons and unlocking special skills.

    The battle system is still one of the game’s negatives, however. It’s built on FF13’s combat engine, which is not a good thing. It’s admittedly better and sports a few improvements but you still feel like more of a spectator than anything else b/c the game feels like it’s playing itself.

    The music is another sticking point. It is terrible almost all the way through; even worse than the music in FF13, which is saying a lot. It swings between wildly inappropriate and teeth-grindingly annoying.

    To end on a high note, the graphics in 13-2 are even more stunning than those in 13. This is a beautiful game. So much so that there are only two FMV scenes and you’ll hardly notice. Everything else is rendered in-game. I bought a couple of the DLC outfits and was blown away by them. They aren’t merely palate swaps on the same skins but totally new & different outfits. I routinely forgot they were wearing the DLC clothes since they are seamlessly integrated into the in-game cutscenes, so it’s a shame that all the new weapons you get during the game are only palate swaps.

    There are even some extra DLC packages and a battle coliseum to play around with, but this review has gone on long enough. Bottom line is that if you hated FF13 like I did but you like Final Fantasy, you will enjoy 13-2. Pick up a used copy and you won’t regret it. Here’s hoping they don’t break the series again when 13-3 is released!    … Expand
  5. TheIrepan8
    Feb 9, 2014
    9
    Very Interesting game. Love the voice acting, battle system, locations but I will say this game will make your head explode with confusion. I recommend playing it. Story isn't confusing but the one minor
    problem I have is the design of the loading screens. I got a bit of motion sickness from it oddly even though I wasn't really moving but it makes the game feel more immersing. It also    Very Interesting game. Love the voice acting, battle system, locations but I will say this game will make your head explode with confusion. I recommend playing it. Story isn't confusing but the one minor
    problem I have is the design of the loading screens. I got a bit of motion sickness from it oddly even though I wasn't really moving but it makes the game feel more immersing. It also builds up to one of the IMO great games coming out this year in the form of Lightning Returns. Anyways XIII-2 is one of the more interesting FF games I've played but my favourite part has got to be how the relationship of Serah and Noel builds through the game.

    Pros
    -Fun Battle System
    -How the relationship of Serah and Noel forms over the game.
    -DLC costumes (Assassins`s Creed!)
    -Unique Locations
    -Futuristic city part reminds me of a futuristic Watch Dogs
    -Time Travel!

    Cons
    -Yet Locations feel bland at times
    -Time Travel Loading Screen can make you feel sick
    -Apart from the two main characters and maybe Sazh, all other characters seem forgettable.
    -Story can feel a big long winded at times.    … Expand
  6. Kai82
    Sep 21, 2014
    6
    An improvement compared to Final Fantasy 13 but still not as good as previous Final Fantasy games. The good things: The graphics are awesome and the soundtrack is fine. They put side quest / side activities in this game (This was a mayor complaint for Final Fantasy 13). You also have some variation at the level up. You can increase some stats more than others and can chose to acquire someAn improvement compared to Final Fantasy 13 but still not as good as previous Final Fantasy games. The good things: The graphics are awesome and the soundtrack is fine. They put side quest / side activities in this game (This was a mayor complaint for Final Fantasy 13). You also have some variation at the level up. You can increase some stats more than others and can chose to acquire some skills earlier. The characters are O.K. Serah and Noel are believable (but made some stupid decisions within the story).
    The bad things: The story still had a decent amount of plot holes and dumb decisions by the main characters. Also it has the least amount of party members for all Final Fantasy games I know. The battle system still lacks direct control. A mayor complaint is the ending. It is so bad that it is only second to Mass Effect 3. I won’t spoil anything here but it makes me feel that I wasted my time. Also you must pay extra money for the real ending (DLC = Downloadable content). This is by far the dumbest thing a publisher can do. Overall this is an O.K game but it will anger many Final Fantasy fans.    … Expand
  7. bigboss1964
    Nov 22, 2015
    4
    Final Fantasy XIII-2

    Game-Play:The formula is the same with the FF-XIII with some little changes that thankfully made the game-play better but still was a poor effort from Square Enix.The game-play should be change but to traditional turn based or change to and action combat system because i think that Square Enix is not good at trying to mix them. Story:The story is still boring    Final Fantasy XIII-2

    Game-Play:The formula is the same with the FF-XIII with some little changes that thankfully made the game-play better but still was a poor effort from Square Enix.The game-play should be change but to traditional turn based or change to and action combat system because i think that Square Enix is not good at trying to mix them.

    Story:The story is still boring fill with uninteresting characters and plot.But at leas this time they made it shorter than the first game but still long it will take you to finish the games story about 25 to 30 hours.

    Graphics:The graphics are a little better than the first game and still impressive.

    Notes:The Final Fantasy XIII-2 is an eyecandy just like the Final Fantasy XIII I do not Like the way Square Enix have turn the game.This is a below average game that i recommend to buy at a huge price drop or just rent it if you want to play that much but really thing that there is no reason to spent your time in this game .    … Expand
  8. sanluis20
    Nov 10, 2014
    5
    Hmm, did not like this game. Don't see why people say it's better than FFXIII, since I think the story was better. I can see if you do not like linearity, but then again I am used to playing JRPG's and many of them tend to be linear. Square Enix changed the series to appeal to a western audience, and while that is cool, I did not like it much. The time paradoxes were weird and notHmm, did not like this game. Don't see why people say it's better than FFXIII, since I think the story was better. I can see if you do not like linearity, but then again I am used to playing JRPG's and many of them tend to be linear. Square Enix changed the series to appeal to a western audience, and while that is cool, I did not like it much. The time paradoxes were weird and not interesting. Plus I did not like having Noel randomly throw in there. Game would have made more sense with Snow and Sarah, or just Sarah and another character from the original. I did not like it, but then again a lot of my friends do so try it yourself to be the judge.… Expand
  9. FantasyCritic71
    May 27, 2015
    7
    I went into this game thinking Lightning would have her own story and Serah would have her own story but oh boy was I wrong. I look at the front of my FFXIII-2 Case and I see Lightning there looking beautiful, sexy & badass but then I play the game and discover that you only use Lightning in the beginning of the game and the rest of game is all about Serah. So why is Lightning in the frontI went into this game thinking Lightning would have her own story and Serah would have her own story but oh boy was I wrong. I look at the front of my FFXIII-2 Case and I see Lightning there looking beautiful, sexy & badass but then I play the game and discover that you only use Lightning in the beginning of the game and the rest of game is all about Serah. So why is Lightning in the front cover of the game? You know what just forget the question lets get on with this review of the 2nd game in the XIII Series.

    ~ Story ~

    A girl by name of Serah Farron wakes up 1 day to a change of clothes, a talking moogle that can change into a bow, monsters attacking her vacation home at Bodhum and a mysterious man named Noel who may or may not be her future boyfriend. Noel tells Serah he knows where her sister is and how to save her so she's like "you do?' and he's like "yeah" and off they go into romance I mean to the Time Portal that will lead them to both past & future from there they eventually meet Hope, Snow, Sazh and our Antagonist Caius who is apparently as strong as Lightning is they also meet the depressed little girl named Yeul.

    Overall - Despite the fact that I loved FFXIII's story alot more than this one I still found this one to be somewhat enjoyable.

    ~ Gameplay ~

    Gameplay has improved Paradigm Shifts are faster, the menus still look gorgeous and now you can catch pokemon I mean digimon I mean monsters.

    Allies - Guess what the only 2 characters you use in this game is Noel & Serah excluding that one part with Lightning & that on part with Snow. So throughout most of the game your partners are your Pokemon I mean monsters they will fill in for all your favorite characters just pretend that Sazh, Fang, Vanille, Hope, Lightning & Snow are your monsters.

    Using Pokeballs[Monster Crystals] - In order to catch Monsters in this game you need to 1st defeat the Monsters and then that Monster will leave behind a Monster Crystal take that Monster Crystal and you will have a new ally or Monster for which you can train and use to defeat the 7 Gym Leaders.

    Pokemon[Monsters] Special Attacks - Your Pokemon[I mean monsters] have special powers called Feral Link Abilities. A Feral Link Gauge fills up and once its full your Monster will go insane and unleash a powerful attack you must press the Square Button to use this powerful attack. Some Feral Link Abilities require you to hit a button combo as well, and the effects will be more devastating the faster you complete the combo.

    Cinematic Action - This is 1 of the things I love about this game. Basically you watch for button icons and input the right button commands in the correct sequence and you'll get to see some amazing Cinematic Action Scenes sometimes they'll let you chose what attacks you want to do on the enemy which in my opinion is freaking awesome. I wish this was in all Boss Battles but its not.

    Temporal Rifts - Yes this game has puzzles most of them are in Oerba and you'll be hearing Mog saying "Try something different Kupo" everytime you fail. Most of the puzzles are easy the last few are always the hard ones so watch out for those.

    Mog Throw & Mog Hunt - Some may find Mog annoying girls may find Mog to be cute but I find him to be useful. When Mog is being annoying just throw him toward Treasure Chests and loot all the gold or items inside when Mog is being useless use Mog Hunt to find hidden chests & other hidden goodies. Or if your just pissed off you can just throw Mog for no reason at all they say it helps relieve stress.

    Historia Crux - Another thing I love about this game is traveling through time it feels so awesome to go to these different places and time periods and I get excited everytime I go to the Historia Crux to go to a new place or Time Period plus I love the menu design and the music. Square Enix you crafty little devils.

    Shops - Brief mention shops aren't in save points anymore now you shop with Chocolina a women with an obsession for Chocobos and the only happy person you'll see in this game. She will brighten your atmosphere because this game is darker than the abyss it'll drag you to.

    Bonus Content - There's alot of stuff you can do in this game Missions, Hunting for Fragments, playing games in Serendipity, participating in Chocobo Races and battling in the coliseum[You'll need to purchase DLC for some of the battles here].

    ~ Sound ~

    The OST is absolutely amazing and so is the voice acting.

    ~ Graphics ~

    I expected this game to look identical to XIII but the graphics were downgraded a bit. Regardless the graphics are pretty good.

    ~ Overall ~

    This is an okay game its passable the gameplay has improved but the story has not. And this game is not as linear as FFXIII was you now have more freedom to move around and stuff which I liked about this game. FFXIII-2 was not bad but not my favorite game. I wish there was more places and time periods to explore and also more characters but there's not.    … Expand
  10. HTGamer
    Nov 23, 2016
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Final Fantasy XIII-2 is a sequel to Final Fantasy XIII. Following complaints about the original, Square Enix released an anti-FFXIII. And as such, the game is uninspired and hopelessly tries to do things differently from its predecessor, but not necessarily much better.

    In contrast to FFXIII, FFXIII-2 offers you more freedom. Gone are the hallways and the linearity, instead being replaced by open maps and freedom of traversal. There are towns to explore, NPCs to talk to, side-quests to undertake, dialogue choices to make, fast travel. There are even collectibles, and your actions can affect the timeline and change the maps (which can be visited in different years and centuries).

    Gameplay is also revised. Now you control a 3-member party consisting of the 2 protagonists (Serah and Noel) and you can add a captured moster to fight by your side. When defeating enemies you will likely catch them (like Pokemon) and recruit them, then you can mix them to produce a better monster. The ATB system returns almost as is from FFXIII.

    Do these changes to the FFXIII formula make the sequel better? Not much. The story is about time travel and paradoxes that have to be resolved, Serah's sister Lightning gives her the task to restore the timeline because she has to personally defend the goddess Etro by an attacker named Caius who in turn wants to destroy Time because he loves a priestess named Yeul. Yeah, reasons. The maps are "meh" despite being open, and graphics are somewhat worse than those of FFXIII. Soundtrack is still great, but voice overs are "meh". Again.

    All in all, Final Fantasy XIII-2 is just an antithesis to FF XIII and nothing more. You can do more things than before, you have freedom, but it still isn't a great JRPG. There isn't a great story, there are no great characters, the combat system is both good and bad. I somewhat liked my time with the game, more than with its predecessor, but I wasn't fully convinced. I won't bother with Lightning Returns, the 3rd FFXIII game. I just hope FF XV will restore the series' reputation.    … Expand
  11. Sitheral
    Jun 14, 2020
    6
    The sequel to 13 fixes some of its problems, it makes paradigm shifts animations quick and introduces non linearty to the story and gameplay. But for everything it does well, its worse in something else. Story is all over the place and really doesnt feel like a good one, you only have two characters to play (well, you can have a sort of pokemon experience here and add one of the monstersThe sequel to 13 fixes some of its problems, it makes paradigm shifts animations quick and introduces non linearty to the story and gameplay. But for everything it does well, its worse in something else. Story is all over the place and really doesnt feel like a good one, you only have two characters to play (well, you can have a sort of pokemon experience here and add one of the monsters to the party), things just too often feel goofy or, even worse, generic, much like in 10-2.… Expand
  12. TheLastOfRich
    Mar 10, 2022
    10
    People who say that it isn’t like a classic Final Fantasy game are not clever. Because not every game has to be like the prequel. Evolve and adapt! I am giving this Game a 10 to put a positive weight on the other side. (In reality this game is a 8-9).
  13. Saix7
    Feb 7, 2012
    10
    Fantastic entry to the Final Fantasy series.
    Gameplay = Combat retains it's faced paced action from the original and adding a few extra tweaks to make it interesting. The new puzzles may be a little brick in the road, but at least it takes the ease away.
    Environment = Beautiful once again throughout the game, less linearity, more opportunities to explore and amazing art designs. Replay    Fantastic entry to the Final Fantasy series.
    Gameplay = Combat retains it's faced paced action from the original and adding a few extra tweaks to make it interesting. The new puzzles may be a little brick in the road, but at least it takes the ease away.

    Environment = Beautiful once again throughout the game, less linearity, more opportunities to explore and amazing art designs.
    Replay Value = Tons of replay value for those interested in seeing there favourite characters back in action once again or even fighting against one of the more interesting villains, Caius.
    Voice work = The cast is amazing and does an excellent job to keep things entertaining. Liam O'brien does a great job as Caius.

    Overall this game deserves a little more credit, those that are"True" fans of Final Fantasy will love this, no doubt. Those new to the series are even welcome to it a whirl and it may even "capture" the old fans once again.

    9.5/10    … Expand
  14. RingoStarr1991
    Feb 2, 2012
    9
    This game fixed literally everything from the previous installment as well as implement a somewhat coherent story with time travel. The only thing that really hinders me from loving it is the wide open ending.
  15. Duke7312
    Mar 13, 2012
    6
    I really wanted to love this game. I did not play XIII due to the negatives I read about it, and when I heard that many of those were improved in this game I was excited and gave it a try. I have not played a FF game since 9, and my favorite is 3. I am a very old school ff player, as such when done with FFXII-2 I was left wondering what the heck I just played. It was an interesting game,I really wanted to love this game. I did not play XIII due to the negatives I read about it, and when I heard that many of those were improved in this game I was excited and gave it a try. I have not played a FF game since 9, and my favorite is 3. I am a very old school ff player, as such when done with FFXII-2 I was left wondering what the heck I just played. It was an interesting game, with very nice graphics, a bit of a lame storyline, but it was not a Final Fantasy game in it's old school meaning. It had the perception of being a freely travelable world, but I still found it too linear. I found myself missing the old ways of leveling up your characters, and found the new system too basic. I absolutely hated controlling only one character in battle instead of the standard four, and the fact that the easiest thing to do in battle is just keep hitting the auto battle drove me nuts. Overall I felt they had taken the Final Fantasy idea and simplified it to the point where you hardly need any strategy to complete the game. I never had to spend hours leveling to be able to defeat a boss, or collect coins for equipment, and that just doesn't feel right.… Expand
  16. Pecheckler
    Feb 4, 2012
    2
    I stopped playing at 12 hours of game-play, couldn't take it anymore. The game is depressing and everything is emo to the extreme. The story is just bad. The only improvement over ff13 is the combat system, which is than gimped by only having 2 characters!

    There hasn't been a good final fantasy game since the PS1 era. How can a company that creates a masterpiece like FFVII publish this    I stopped playing at 12 hours of game-play, couldn't take it anymore. The game is depressing and everything is emo to the extreme. The story is just bad. The only improvement over ff13 is the combat system, which is than gimped by only having 2 characters!

    There hasn't been a good final fantasy game since the PS1 era. How can a company that creates a masterpiece like FFVII publish this trash? Did they all become twilight fans?    … Expand
  17. GUe1
    Feb 10, 2012
    0
    I firmly believe the turning point for this series was the departure of Matsuno part-way through FF12. If he had stayed and finished the game I think it would be held in the same regard as 6, 7, 8 and 9. It's a shame how the series has gone, it doesn't even seem like they're stuck in the past, they just have the completely wrong idea of what their audience want.
  18. Galandor
    Feb 2, 2012
    8
    I picked up the collector's edition for 79.99. So far I am 10 hours in, and I currently am quite pleased. A few things about the game imo.

    1) The story is simple with a set goal, so simple that at times it may appear to be a bad story. I just reached a stage in the game though where it appears to be picking up, I just got through a shocker moment that adds to the story value, at least    I picked up the collector's edition for 79.99. So far I am 10 hours in, and I currently am quite pleased. A few things about the game imo.

    1) The story is simple with a set goal, so simple that at times it may appear to be a bad story. I just reached a stage in the game though where it appears to be picking up, I just got through a shocker moment that adds to the story value, at least imo.
    2) The battle/game play is much better. No more is the fail game over when the party dies, but this comes at a price. The bosses are now a true pain in the ass with the new wound feature of the game. I just got done with a fight where literally my characters max HP got reduced for 1400 hp max hp, to 400 max hp. 3) The game is extremely open now, you can pretty much do whatever you want in any order you want, the towns are big, there are no stores to buy stuff at, but the merchant lady who sells you the stuff is pretty hilarious if you listen to the things she says. 4) Noel is an interesting character, I like him, but I really prefer Serah, I like her as a character in this game. The monster system is totally awesome lol, I love it lol. Nothing like summoning your Behemoth out to run over a guy in mere seconds. 5) The Crystarium system is awesome now, way better than FF13, you are aloud to build your characters however you wish from an early stage on, you start off with 3 basic roles, but you can unlock all 6 probably within 5 hours or so if you wish.
    6) There is maybe an hour or so of tutorials, then you are free to go nuts. Overall if I was rating it right now I would give it around an 8.0/10, it is good, not the best FF I have ever played, but entertaining and that is all I can hope for these days with the state of RPG's. More info to come the farther I move in the game :P    … Expand
  19. vash1053
    Feb 10, 2012
    2
    A preposterously shallow game in terms of battle and story. The battle system tries to fuse action with more traditional turn-based RPG elements. You know what they say happens when you please everyone? You end up pleasing no one. I won't "spoil" any bits of the story, but I will say that time travel is a terrible plot device even when it is done well. And it wasn't done well inA preposterously shallow game in terms of battle and story. The battle system tries to fuse action with more traditional turn-based RPG elements. You know what they say happens when you please everyone? You end up pleasing no one. I won't "spoil" any bits of the story, but I will say that time travel is a terrible plot device even when it is done well. And it wasn't done well in XIII-2.

    After listening to the music in XIII-2, I wonder how we got to this point from FF4,6,7,8,9,10, and 11. It's like they're not even trying anymore.

    In short: Everything about this game sucks, except the openness of the world and the graphics.    … Expand
  20. BMWatSavALot
    Feb 1, 2012
    10
    I am enjoying this game thoroughly, and would recommend it to any fan of RPGs looking for a new game to play. The combat system is the same but improved with new options to keep you occupied, the new Chrono Trigger-esque style of play is awesome, in my opinion, and while the early game has a lot of cutscenes, it doesn't amount to nearly what had to be endured in FFXIII. I think a lot ofI am enjoying this game thoroughly, and would recommend it to any fan of RPGs looking for a new game to play. The combat system is the same but improved with new options to keep you occupied, the new Chrono Trigger-esque style of play is awesome, in my opinion, and while the early game has a lot of cutscenes, it doesn't amount to nearly what had to be endured in FFXIII. I think a lot of negative reveiws I've seen so far are "I played 30 minutes" or " I didn't play this at all, but Final Fantasy is long dead since 9!!!!!" and those aren't fair reviews or comparisons. If you don't want to pay to rent it, then download the free demo and try it out!

    I enjoy the combat system, which is, to me, an updated version of the Star Ocean battle system, as your allies will fight for you. I would hardly say that it is auto-pilot -- without user interaction and thought even simple encounters would end in a Game Over.

    I also enjoy the new grid sphere-esque system, and encounter system. I will say that the music can grind the gears and can't be turned off without muting everything! This is kind of crappy, but overall a minor complaint.

    Do yourself a favor, play the demo!    … Expand
  21. legmaco
    Feb 3, 2012
    10
    Complex game with a simplistic aproach... Downright fun, reminds me of a blend of ffx ff9 and ff7 which aöso happens to be my favorite games of all time, i liked ffxiii but i LOVE this game, it's FUN and you can go where your mood is whether it's casino or side-quests or chocobo training or main story and so forth...
  22. shammgod
    Feb 9, 2012
    10
    Great game. Don't listen to people that are hating the game only because of the name. The game gives you several options and brings back several elements from the classic FF games. Most fun I have had with FF since X.
  23. MechPlasma
    Sep 7, 2012
    0
    This game is pants. This game is paaants. There's no thought process in battling, the story is pointless and basically filler, there's no feeling of "find the best gear" or anything similar, the enemies are unimaginative and too similar to each other, and the sidequests are nearly always incredibly boring fetch quests and NEVER give any kind of reward - even the secret ending for gettingThis game is pants. This game is paaants. There's no thought process in battling, the story is pointless and basically filler, there's no feeling of "find the best gear" or anything similar, the enemies are unimaginative and too similar to each other, and the sidequests are nearly always incredibly boring fetch quests and NEVER give any kind of reward - even the secret ending for getting all fragments is half a minute long and adds literally nothing to the story. Seriously, can you even imagine a Final Fantasy game where there's no point at all on doing sidequests?… Expand
  24. Velendris
    Jan 31, 2012
    9
    A huge step up from Final Fantasy XIII with more attention to exploration, minigames, and some improvements to combat. The story can get a bit confusing at times so I knocked off a point for clarity, though overall it's a decent improvement. I always dislike people who give games a 0 in ratings, that means it is UNPLAYABLE, such as too many bugs and crashes. If you want to try that type ofA huge step up from Final Fantasy XIII with more attention to exploration, minigames, and some improvements to combat. The story can get a bit confusing at times so I knocked off a point for clarity, though overall it's a decent improvement. I always dislike people who give games a 0 in ratings, that means it is UNPLAYABLE, such as too many bugs and crashes. If you want to try that type of game look at Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim at launch or Fallout 3: New Vegas.… Expand
  25. xxMurdoK
    Jan 31, 2012
    10
    Yep.. It's the real deal this time around! ~Game is VERY good and "feels" like a final fantasy game through and through. ~Combat is extremely fluid, fast, and fun! ~Collecting the enemies you fight to aid subsequent encounters is nothing short of epic! ~Within the first hour of the game your riding Chocobos for crying out lout! Awesome. ~By only having 2 main characters the story this timeYep.. It's the real deal this time around! ~Game is VERY good and "feels" like a final fantasy game through and through. ~Combat is extremely fluid, fast, and fun! ~Collecting the enemies you fight to aid subsequent encounters is nothing short of epic! ~Within the first hour of the game your riding Chocobos for crying out lout! Awesome. ~By only having 2 main characters the story this time around is ALOT more focused albeit a little less dire but still an overall good story that I'm very much enjoying! ~ Time travel mechanic is done in a very accessible way and fun to do instead of being a huge pain in the kiester. Did you like FFX?? BUT THIS GAME! Did you like FF13?? BUY THIS GAME! Did you like FF9?? BUY THIS GAME!… Expand
  26. skottkite
    Feb 1, 2012
    8
    Don't listen to the people who haven't played the game or given it a zero, it actually runs, its a fine game and some interesting concepts. If they complete the story via dlc or expansion that would bump it up to a 9 for me.
  27. EryJgamerPR
    Feb 5, 2012
    10
    I was a little worried when this game was announced, i was mad because this was coming out before Versus xiii, however i was extremely pleased when started playing , everything XIII was, XIII-2 did it better. After getting a bit of course with the first one i can say with confidence SE is on track, hoping versus will be even better
  28. Truth1065
    Aug 24, 2012
    9
    FFXIII was great game. I enjoyed it a lot although it was a bit linear for the most part but the story and battle system were fantastic. FFXIII-2 improves on it's predecessor in almost every way. There is no linearity in site which was the main problem people had with XIII. The game introduces cinematic actions in battle, they are simply quick time events that help you do greater damage toFFXIII was great game. I enjoyed it a lot although it was a bit linear for the most part but the story and battle system were fantastic. FFXIII-2 improves on it's predecessor in almost every way. There is no linearity in site which was the main problem people had with XIII. The game introduces cinematic actions in battle, they are simply quick time events that help you do greater damage to your enemies, it's a nice touch but not necessary. The combat is the same as XIII but it's better. You can now switch to which party member you want to control in battle however you only have two. The third party member space is reserved for your monster or monsters which you can obtain through battles or throughout the world. Monster collecting and upgrading those monsters are fun and addicting. Conversation choices appear throughout the game and it's a good addition. The story lasts about 25-35 hours depending on how you play but there are also side quests to complete and a casino to visit. I like the story but it's not as good as XIII's. Also there is no closure at the end of the story which I have mixed feelings about. Overall FFXIII-2 is a fantastic game and I recommend it to true Final Fantasy and JRPG fans.… Expand
  29. firehawkx
    Feb 13, 2012
    10
    I cant beleive all the hate this has been receiving... I played FF13 (1st one) and got a platinum trophy on it... was it any good? well after i managed to survive the first 20 or so hours... it was decent... still VERY short of any expectation of a Final Fantasy game... 1 mini game... thats it...

    This one now... Sequel that promised to fix all that was wrong... No more linear maps...    I cant beleive all the hate this has been receiving... I played FF13 (1st one) and got a platinum trophy on it... was it any good? well after i managed to survive the first 20 or so hours... it was decent... still VERY short of any expectation of a Final Fantasy game... 1 mini game... thats it...

    This one now... Sequel that promised to fix all that was wrong...

    No more linear maps... Towns... NPC with thousands of incidental dialogues... A few Dozens of minigames.... A casino (somewhat empty)... Chocobo Races... Monster Collection "DQ Style"... ChronoTrigger time traveling... It is still by no mean perfect (FF13-versus will be) hehe... But it is as close as they were able to do in the last 6 to 10 years!

    Compared to the 1st FF13, the story is much more comprehensible... the first was a mess... this one has nice values... and only a few major inconsistencies (for a game that deal with time traveling thats something)

    I am not a huge fan of quicktime events... but it did give some kind of interactivity with lenghty awesome cutscene... video quality was awesome as always... Music at the begining was horrendous and didnt fit the game mood and setting at all... but overall its a very decent job... especially for intense EPIC over the top moments...

    Overall this game deserve anywhere between 8.4 and 9.2... And I am giving a 10 to try and balance things up a bit cause it absolutely deserve more than a 7...    … Expand
  30. gayme3scenes
    Mar 6, 2012
    1
    I......do not.......like......RPGs.... With that being said, I LOVED this game. Nah, just jokin', Its garbage. Disk garbage, box garbage, gameplay garbage, storyline garbage, character voicing garbage, designs garbage, they only NON garbage thing about this ol' hunk'a crap, is that it is breakeable. Done.
Page:

Awards & Rankings

52
#52 Best PS3 Game of 2012
9
#9 Most Discussed PS3 Game of 2012
10
#10 Most Shared PS3 Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 53 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 48 out of 53
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 53
  3. Negative: 0 out of 53
  1. Armchair Empire
    May 4, 2012
    75
    All in all, I enjoyed Final Fantasy XIII-2 – it was a fun RPG game to play, looked spectacular and ate up a significant amount of my free time. It didn't give me everything I wanted out of the experience, but I still had fun.
    Read full review
  2. Worth Playing
    Mar 15, 2012
    88
    FFXIII-2 earns its score with aplomb, and I'd go so far to call it a sleeper hit. It's a genuinely great-playing game with an imperfect story, though to its credit, it eventually engages and justifies the wait. Its greatest battle now is escaping from the shadow and stigma of its big brother, but you should ignore the anti-hype, take a leap of faith and give it a chance.
    Read full review
  3. Playstation Official Magazine Australia
    Mar 4, 2012
    80
    Has made some really solid steps forward in combat but needs a more readily digestible plot to entice newcomers. [March 2012, p68]
See all critic reviews »