User Score
6.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 848 Ratings

User score distribution:
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  1. 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!
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  2. Feb 1, 2012
    10
    awesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesome
  3. Feb 1, 2012
    10
    This game improves on virtually every single aspect from it's predecessor. How it's getting lower reviews, I can't figure out but if you read almost every outlets review you will realize this game is good, not just good, but much better than FFXIII. In fact, I believe this game is how FFXIII should have been in the first place.
  4. Feb 1, 2012
    9
    This game is so much better than 13. It captures what made Final Fantasy great in the first place. People who say the battle system is weak are fools. All you did in games like FF7 was click attack and choose target, with the occasional spell and healing item. It's the same sort of thing. It has a great (different) soundtrack, excellent characters(better than 13 in every way). The storyThis game is so much better than 13. It captures what made Final Fantasy great in the first place. People who say the battle system is weak are fools. All you did in games like FF7 was click attack and choose target, with the occasional spell and healing item. It's the same sort of thing. It has a great (different) soundtrack, excellent characters(better than 13 in every way). The story picks up where 13 left off, and continues it with grace and charm, unexpected in FF sequels. If you are actually a fan of Final Fantasy (not the kids on here who say everything after 8 was bad) then pick it up. It's definitely worth the money. Expand
  5. Feb 1, 2012
    0
    FFXIII-3 doesn't look like a true FF game to me, it just proves that the series is dead. No longer is it Final FANTASY, is just post modern crap that has forgetten its roots. And its made by hack Nomura, one of the biggest reasons why the series has died (taking the series into an anime direction with his artwork that isfar inferior to Amano's).

    The series is dead. It may not be a corpse
    FFXIII-3 doesn't look like a true FF game to me, it just proves that the series is dead. No longer is it Final FANTASY, is just post modern crap that has forgetten its roots. And its made by hack Nomura, one of the biggest reasons why the series has died (taking the series into an anime direction with his artwork that isfar inferior to Amano's).

    The series is dead. It may not be a corpse lying in a grave, but its a zombie that just won't lie down.

    The further the series has gone, the further away from its roots it has gone, the messier and more cliched the storytelling has gotten, the more style over substance it has gotten, and the need to have a more cinematic experience instead of solid gameplay has grown. Never mind the fact that the creator of the series has left after FFX, and now have a bunch of hacks writing and designing the series.
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  6. 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.
  7. Jan 31, 2012
    5
    Is it me, or are the vast majority of the top 10 most helpful reviews written in broken English? I wonder if SE pulled a Bioware and pushed their employees to create accounts for the sake of bringing up the user score. Yes, I'm being ridiculous, but I'm not joking about the poor English. Take a look for yourself.

    As for the game, I couldn't even endure the demo. I've tried to give it a
    Is it me, or are the vast majority of the top 10 most helpful reviews written in broken English? I wonder if SE pulled a Bioware and pushed their employees to create accounts for the sake of bringing up the user score. Yes, I'm being ridiculous, but I'm not joking about the poor English. Take a look for yourself.

    As for the game, I couldn't even endure the demo. I've tried to give it a chance (3 to be exact) but I would always end up quitting, mostly due to boredom. I've tried playing the game with and without auto-battle to see if it made a difference but to no avail. Even if you manually input the actions, with such a limited amount of abilities, you end up performing identical or similar move sets. So it seems like the more time efficient method is to select auto-battle. There's also paradigm shifting, but really, it just hot swaps your class. It doesn't make the game any more interesting, varied, or challenging. My impressions of the story were not positive. I'm not a fan of the two main leads. Having recently found out that these two are the only human (playable) main characters in the game I was immediately turned off. For every terrible FF character in recent games, there were usually a handful of other more decent characters to focus your attention on. This game doesn't offer you that luxury and if it was their intention to have you focus on these two characters, they should have taken better care to ensure that their personalities had more depth. Instead, they are bland as bland can be. Completely forgettable. The story segments I experienced were laughably bad. Pretentious, cryptic dialogue returns to give you a sense that the FF13 universe believes its own depth. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that the game doesn't have a clue what its talking about at times, or that could be an instance of poor translation/writing. Apparently, the story for the full game is not as strong as previous titles so I take it my impressions were not far off the mark.

    What's worse, this game will sell. People will eat this game up because it's Final Fantasy. That's what bothers me. This game would have been acceptable in 2007, when showing off a systems graphical potential was fresh, but this is 2012. Many recent game releases already exhibit amazing graphical capabilities for severely dated consoles. Graphics are no longer a selling point, but a standard. And while this game does look and sound pretty, it doesn't bring anything else new to the table and it barely refines the source material it has to work with. It's a shame, because the artists and sound designers/musicians could be working on much better projects as opposed to being reduced to another 'phoned in' Final Fantasy title.

    Also, the old fans of Final Fantasy will not just 'move on'. We are the reason why the series got as far as it did in the first place. True fans give praise where it is due and critique on things that are either flawed or dated. They don't just say to themselves "WELL HURP DERP! It's Final Fantasy and made by Square Enix. Therefore, whatever they make I'll have to love and treasure without question". That may be why things got as bad as they are now. I don't know for sure. What I do know is that I was a fan of Final Fantasy and I'm not anymore. The series had its ups and downs, but now I only see downs. With every bold step forward (ff12) comes a cautious step back (ff13 and ff14). I really do hope that the fan base starts to take a hard look at the obvious decline in the quality of SE's recent games and take appropriate action. That is, unless you're perfectly content with slop and mediocrity.
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  8. Jan 31, 2012
    0
    Too many ones pushin'up this thing. This game is dull as a rusted dishwater in the center of a living-room. Characters ? Silly, charismatic as a toilet. Gameplay ? Chaotic. For a non English-birth-language ones ergonomy is non-existent cause you're forced to read on the bottom of the screen a lot of things that drive away focus completely from everything. Leveling up ? Just too linear.Too many ones pushin'up this thing. This game is dull as a rusted dishwater in the center of a living-room. Characters ? Silly, charismatic as a toilet. Gameplay ? Chaotic. For a non English-birth-language ones ergonomy is non-existent cause you're forced to read on the bottom of the screen a lot of things that drive away focus completely from everything. Leveling up ? Just too linear. Actions ? Too fast too many times (we are not lab-monkeys) == frustrating. Shops ? That addicted neither-too-sexy thing it's a cheap choice for programmers. Level design ? Built by the machine. Atmosphere ? Zero. Sounds ? Annoying. Musics ? Someone good but out of place and no adrenaline rush. Graphics ? Last chapter was better. The story ? What story ? That mess that someone call a "story" ? Who cares ? ...I'm a bigbetterhuge FF fan, I've always been... but this time is just too much, enough is enough, please FF staff, just go to do HARAKIRI, not FF XIII-3, shame on you, regain "love for the game" instead "love for the money" and money will come again but this time I only wish you to default. Expand
  9. Jan 31, 2012
    3
    I play RPGs primarily for the story, characters, and the cinematic experience, which is why I am so disenchanted by FF13-2. The story literally does not make any sense, and I feel as though the game finds that fact funny and flaunts it very often. The majority of the conversations in the game have nothing to do with relevant characters or events--they're unnatural, nonsensical rantsI play RPGs primarily for the story, characters, and the cinematic experience, which is why I am so disenchanted by FF13-2. The story literally does not make any sense, and I feel as though the game finds that fact funny and flaunts it very often. The majority of the conversations in the game have nothing to do with relevant characters or events--they're unnatural, nonsensical rants about "time" and "paradox", over and over and over and over. It's as if the writers believed that if they repeated those words enough, things would start to make sense. They don't.

    The characters--and there's only two--act as if no one else is there with them. Noel and Serah don't connect at all--they just state things over the course of the game, as if the other isn't there. They go through the entire game without learning much about one another. It's similar to the way, for example, Fang never interacted with anyone but Vanille in FF13. It's very awkward and, to be honest, lonely. But most of the game is lonely; though FF13-2 boasts that towns have returned, they really haven't. Sure, many of the time periods in the game have "towns", but they are just town-looking locations overrun with monsters. Why should I care about saving a town from monsters if the town has no NPCs or interiors of any kind? I don't even know who lives here, or if anyone ever does live here. Sure, you'll see futuristic cars zooming by in the background, but it's a huge disappointment when you realize that you'll never be able to actually talk to anyone from many of the time periods. Don't get excited by the term "time periods"--in 13-2, most of them are just one-level dungeons.

    My other complaint is the way the developers approached "fixing" the game after FF13. Most of the non-linearity is artificial: Maps are now "gridded", but every twist and turn leads to the same goal. There's not actually anything interesting to see off the beaten path, other than a treasure sphere. The minigames of 13-2 are also totally unrelated to what is going on in the story--they're clearly just thrown in to address 13's lack of minigames. And the towns, as I mentioned, continue to be disappointing ghost towns that constantly make me wonder why this world is worth saving at all when no one lives in it.

    For me, the meat of an RPG is the story and characters, and that's why I'm giving this game a 3/10. The 3 represents the great graphics, the above average music, the "cool" factor of the game, the CG, the battle system, and all of the other bells and whistles. If you like Pokemon, or want a grinding game, give 13-2 a shot. If you're after for an epic story experience, look elsewhere.
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  10. Jan 31, 2012
    1
    When I saw all these trailers I gotta say I was confident with this game. But then I heard THAT song, the chocobo song (which is the most aweful music I've heard in a game since Terminator on the Nes, and that sounded bad). But you're thinking one thing right : "This is just music... c'mon!" And yeah, this is just one boring song between a lot of good music.
    First of all, what's the
    When I saw all these trailers I gotta say I was confident with this game. But then I heard THAT song, the chocobo song (which is the most aweful music I've heard in a game since Terminator on the Nes, and that sounded bad). But you're thinking one thing right : "This is just music... c'mon!" And yeah, this is just one boring song between a lot of good music.
    First of all, what's the problem with the name ? They're doing the number thing again. FF X-2 was a bad name and also a bad game. So what about THIS one, is it also a bad name ? Yes. But is it a bad game ? Well... yes again.

    And what about the rest of the game, well... it's kinda like FFXIII "The First".
    The game is short just like the first one and there aren't so much side quests. In one hour of gameplay you will only PLAY for like 20 minutes maximum (yeah too much cutscenes, with bad acting). Also once again we can call this game Final Fantasy Hallway #2.
    This game is sooo frustrating, I've never seen such a game and that's the problem. I really can hardly call this Final Frustration a game. And that's how I'll be talking of the lame fighting system. Which is the same one as before, that I will call "Press the X button". HOT DAMN! You can finish the game with pressing the same button over and over and over and over and over again. It's a good thing if you're playing a beat'em all game (like Streets of Rage or Final Fight). If they wanted to make an action game they should have done it, why Square? WHYYYYYY? But yeah so people like it beacause it looks cool and yeah kinda I guess...

    And here we are, THE ONLY GOOD thing about this game!
    It looks good and when I mean good, it's looking good. On the playstation 3 (and 360) and might one of the finest looking games. It's not the same style as Uncharted for example but Final Fantasy 13.2 is gorgeous.
    You know Final Fantasy always looked good, even the first ones (at least for the time) but looking good is not the most important thing, we need actual gameplay.

    I think Square has killed off one the of their biggest franchise, one of the best J-RPG franchise. Too bad...
    Square sealed the coffin with the last nail and killed Final Fantasy just like Neversoft killed Guitar Hero or like Treyarch killed Call of Duty. We're doomed!
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  11. Jan 31, 2012
    7
    well, i havent played 13-2 yet, and ive only played 13, but this is what i think, lol, the weaknesses in 13 came mostly from the fact that square didnt stay ps3 exclusive, they could have had a game that was twice as big on a single disc, a game like FF needs playstation hardware, plus it would benefit the Playstation cuz exclusive games keep people buying and supporting systems. As farwell, i havent played 13-2 yet, and ive only played 13, but this is what i think, lol, the weaknesses in 13 came mostly from the fact that square didnt stay ps3 exclusive, they could have had a game that was twice as big on a single disc, a game like FF needs playstation hardware, plus it would benefit the Playstation cuz exclusive games keep people buying and supporting systems. As far as XIII-2 my fear is that they still have limited space, so they are just going to try to cram in the things that people compained about without having the feedom to really put there heart into anything. i respect square and think they are doping the best they can, i just think that they should just do what they really want to do in creating a game, just keep it Ps3 exclusive, unless xbox doesnt mind releasing the game on at least 6 discs, lol, but i dont think thats good for munny. if they do this they will make it easier to execute what they want. and remember its their hardcore playstation fanbase that made them so successful, who cares about expanding to xbox, not if its gonna hold back making good games. i will admit though, i think in 13 they did the best thing by at least having great characters and story. btw ff7 rules all other ff, just wanted to throw that out there. Expand
  12. 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
  13. 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
  14. Jan 31, 2012
    10
    What can I say about this wonderfull game? better than the original in almost every single way...better than the original in almost every single way, I wanna XIII-3 now!!!!!!!!!!!
  15. Jan 31, 2012
    10
    Joguei a versao japonesa e posso dizer que foi o melhor jogo da minha vida! Claro que a historia nao se conclui, mas nao vejo mal algum em termos FFXIII-3. Estou ancioso ja para saber o que ocorre em seguida.
  16. Jan 31, 2012
    0
    Outdated Everything. Story doesn't make any sense. Annoying voice acting. Combat still unimaginative, the game plays by itself, just flashy battles. How about some real fighting. Not here. Square Enix is just milking the fanbase. The fanbase of neckbeards that like little girls with pink hair.
  17. Jan 31, 2012
    10
    The CEO Square Enix Yoichi Wada and the CEO of Bic Camera, Hiroyuki Miyajima continued with speeches short. Wada noted that XIII -2 has been enhanced to overcome the XIII in all aspects. Miyajima said the pre-sales for the game were strong in your store, and expressed hope that they sell more copies than anywhere in Japan.
  18. Jan 31, 2012
    10
    As we have reported in recent weeks, the newest RPG from Square Enix, Final Fantasy XIII-2 continues to surprise in pre-sales in the U.S.. Unlike Japan, where sales were not as good as its predecessor, the American territory, the game has surpassed more than 100 000 units Final Fantasy XIII on the same date, and that only the PS3 version, adding about 354 000 copies sold . In the Xbox 360As we have reported in recent weeks, the newest RPG from Square Enix, Final Fantasy XIII-2 continues to surprise in pre-sales in the U.S.. Unlike Japan, where sales were not as good as its predecessor, the American territory, the game has surpassed more than 100 000 units Final Fantasy XIII on the same date, and that only the PS3 version, adding about 354 000 copies sold . In the Xbox 360 version, the game enters the top 10 with 115,000 units. Expand
  19. Jan 31, 2012
    10
    Final Fantasy fans have their real needs and not those that have been, but today only know how to criticize. You are a leading zero to Square Enix! Sorry, but this is the truth. Recalling that the Square already registered the name Final Fantasy XIII-3.
  20. Jan 31, 2012
    10
    While vain haters saying that the series died on 8, at 9, 10, 6 ... in the game celebrates 25 years with much success, having sold until the thirteenth time about 7 million copies, and XIII-2, they lost some public in Japan, making this much success in the U.S., and pre-sales with 150 000 units more than its predecessor.
  21. Jan 31, 2012
    10
    People just need to understand that things change, and as part of the public old leaves, comes a new audience (this includes even lower sales in Japan and higher in the West). Things are new Resident Evil ... went through it, leaving aside the terror and taking action. Final Fantasy follows changing, losing and gaining fans with each new episode, and it is not like those who no longerPeople just need to understand that things change, and as part of the public old leaves, comes a new audience (this includes even lower sales in Japan and higher in the West). Things are new Resident Evil ... went through it, leaving aside the terror and taking action. Final Fantasy follows changing, losing and gaining fans with each new episode, and it is not like those who no longer accept this fact, and at least respect the tastes of others, and as we said, not rate it "junk" as seen by both there. Expand
  22. Jan 31, 2012
    10
    Everyone has the right not to like Final Fantasy CURRENT. But when you call it "garbage" and said the series "Died," the millions of fans today, feel the least offended. Ai comes respect.
  23. Jan 31, 2012
    10
    Where are the masters of these fans of "to be continue" to criticize the decision of Square Enix? They criticize everything the company does, how DLCs. Every game company today make five hundred DLCs and nobody says anything, and when the Square do ...
  24. Jan 31, 2012
    10
    Funny that almost all animes use and abuse of the To Be Continued, FF seems already prohibited from using it. There are chapters and more chapters of Dragon Ball Z for example, that are pure **** surpassing even the novels of Globo and Televisa.
  25. Jan 31, 2012
    10
    What's wrong with a game has a direct sequence (even if it is more a) if it is a wonderful game? What's wrong with the story complete trilogy format, or quatrolgogia or quintologia? A wonderful game can not escape the conclusion to his story ends it in an upcoming episode? Why require a "middle chapter" finish the story of the game?
  26. Jan 31, 2012
    5
    I played this game. i haven't finished it, and i don't intend to. The first 30 minutes of this game are just cut scenes, you can hardly do anything. Heres a list of things i liked: (1)Now you can switch party members(2) The music is ok, not the best FF soundtrack, but better than most games Things I disliked:

    (3)The towns are joke. You can hardly enter any house and theres hardly any NPCs
    I played this game. i haven't finished it, and i don't intend to. The first 30 minutes of this game are just cut scenes, you can hardly do anything. Heres a list of things i liked: (1)Now you can switch party members(2) The music is ok, not the best FF soundtrack, but better than most games Things I disliked:

    (3)The towns are joke. You can hardly enter any house and theres hardly any NPCs in them (4) Dialogue is bad and cheesy (5) The battle system is the same, you can still win most battles using libra and auto battle (6) What FF game only lets you control 2 characters? This game does (7) Still no world map, when willSE add the world map back?

    Conclusion: If you play FF solely because of the gameplay (be warned this game is easy as hell), and side quests, and donâ
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  27. Jan 31, 2012
    9
    This game is a masterpiece like the classic Final Fantasys.
    The gameplay, the music, the characters, the ambience, the graphics, etc
    Everything is awesome.
    If you like good games.
    If you like FFXIII.
    If you like Final Fantasy saga.
    Buy It!
    Buy it right now.
    It's a masterpiece.
  28. Jan 31, 2012
    10
    Wow, this game is truly incredible. After reading so many contrasting things it was hard to know what to expect but all I can say is that this game just has that "FF charm" to it. From the rich battle mechanics (just flip off auto-battle, folks. they DO give you that option), to the underrated emotional subtlety (granted, you won't find it until near the end, but its there) this title isWow, this game is truly incredible. After reading so many contrasting things it was hard to know what to expect but all I can say is that this game just has that "FF charm" to it. From the rich battle mechanics (just flip off auto-battle, folks. they DO give you that option), to the underrated emotional subtlety (granted, you won't find it until near the end, but its there) this title is finally a step back in the right direction for square. If you're unsure about this title just do yourself a favor and make up your OWN mind instead of letting all the little the numbers taint it: just take the plunge and enjoy! Expand
  29. Jan 31, 2012
    10
    Without a doubt this is worthy of a main FF game number. If it had different characters they could have named it FF 15. Do yourself a favor and buy this game, play it, and judge for yourself. I loved XIII very much, however many griped about the linear story line...well part 2 is far from linear. I am glad that SE listened to their fans and made adjustments. Enjoy it and happy playing.
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 53 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 48 out of 53
  2. Negative: 0 out of 53
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  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]