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
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  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.
  31. Nick5414
    Feb 4, 2012
    10
    The new FF is simply great ! Ok,the story is stretched and functional satisfying but the game also improved in many ways.
  32. WEL
    Feb 10, 2012
    0
    FFXIII wasn't a good game and from the 20 something hours that I have played of XIII-2 let me say that the first one was much better. =/

    Mini-games on XII-2 are just as pathetically simple and shallow as the useless NPC's and "towns" where you can't even enter 98% of the buildings. Then we have Serah and Noel talking about paradoxes and coming up with different theories on the spot like    FFXIII wasn't a good game and from the 20 something hours that I have played of XIII-2 let me say that the first one was much better. =/

    Mini-games on XII-2 are just as pathetically simple and shallow as the useless NPC's and "towns" where you can't even enter 98% of the buildings. Then we have Serah and Noel talking about paradoxes and coming up with different theories on the spot like if we were watching a morning cartoon or the movie Goonies (the whole thing is tacky and really cheesy) while the Kupo is just plain annoying. Every time I heard Kuppoppo I felt like strangle the damn thing. Battles were hardly a challenge, I really don't know why the game doesn't have a hard mode. And why are we still controlling just 1 character? Why only Noel, Serah and random Monster on the party? What with Serah's skimpy outfit, couldn't they make it more revealing? And what was the point of the crystarium if the thing was even more linear than in the first game? And let's not even talk about the branching paths, what a joke!

    Once I beat this crap (trophies is the only motivation right now) I'm gonna trade it in for Yakuza 4, Atelier Totori or something. The game sucks man. Specially the Synth Metal songs they used for some of the battle sequences and chocobo. Like seriously, who the fffuuu thought that including such thing in a FF game was a good idea? This is not DMC for god's sake!    … Expand
  33. Shred
    Feb 3, 2012
    8
    ****Remember folks: If you truly are as hardcore FF fans as you say you are, there's no point in whining about the auto-battle system; it's optional! You can still manually choose ALL the abilities you want to use.****

    FFXIII-2 does wonders to the series after the small disappointment that XIII was. Don't get me wrong, XIII was a good game and for the first 30 hours of the game I ate it    ****Remember folks: If you truly are as hardcore FF fans as you say you are, there's no point in whining about the auto-battle system; it's optional! You can still manually choose ALL the abilities you want to use.****

    FFXIII-2 does wonders to the series after the small disappointment that XIII was. Don't get me wrong, XIII was a good game and for the first 30 hours of the game I ate it up like strawberry ice cream on a hot summer day. However after that it got a bit repetitive and in the end when I finished the game it didn't invoke much feeling. However XIII-2 is a different beast. The linearity is gone, the battle system has been made even more fluid and it even offers you to change the default position of the cursor so it's faster to handle battles manually. The music in the game is not the best Final Fantasy has to offer, but you can still expect to hear some tunes that will get you excited or emotional. Writing is cheesy as is usual in Japanese entertainment and Final Fantasy in particular, and this is made even worse by the English voice actors who just quite can't deliver (I can't imagine how annoying it must be to record all these cheesy lines). This wasn't a big problem when the series was text based, but with voices it's a different story. I would prefer to have Japanese voice with English subtitles but since they lip-sync it it becomes difficult. If you want to play the game with Japanese voice and English subtitles you can buy this version in Play-Asia.

    The small additions, like the "cinematic action", real time CGI, monster gathering and leveling and minigames like the paradoxes and side quests really make this game shine.    … Expand
  34. Boyrex
    Feb 4, 2012
    10
    It's a great game, better than FFXIII.
  35. Gaea
    Feb 14, 2012
    2
    Just another Enix title further destroying the multi-million dollar, detail-oriented franchise known as Final Fantasy.
    Also to all the imbeciles constantly talking about how Square went in a different direction, you're misinformed. The Final Fantasy team quit when SquareSoft and Enix merged. That team is now known as Mistwalker (developer of Xbox RPGs now). Enix basically told the FF    Just another Enix title further destroying the multi-million dollar, detail-oriented franchise known as Final Fantasy.
    Also to all the imbeciles constantly talking about how Square went in a different direction, you're misinformed. The Final Fantasy team quit when SquareSoft and Enix merged. That team is now known as Mistwalker (developer of Xbox RPGs now). Enix basically told the FF team that they were going to use the FF characters however they wanted and the FF team left.

    It's humorous to me too, because the Final Fantasy franchise has taken a dive since that happened. It first began with 10 and it's only become worse with the minor intermittent blip that was 12 being decent.

    Thirteen is a monstrosity that should have been aborted and XIII-2 is a blatant followup with profit as the only goal. Game design being the last thing on the list that SquareEnix cares about. Let the sycophants pilot the new era of fad gaming. FF became the new CoD, that being pathetic. I wonder when the DLC for Coach purses will hit for XIII-2.    … Expand
  36. aronshade
    Feb 29, 2012
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. (Ratings are out of 10, where 0 is the worst, 10 is the best)
    - Story:2
    - character rating: 2
    - graphics: 10
    - Sounds: 10
    - Music: 10
    - gameplay:10

    -Where to begin?

    -The good:
    -The graphics are second to none, the sounds are unique, the music is epic, the fighting style is the best i've seen yet.

    -The bad: -No epic weapons like they had from FF13-1, none of the weapons carried over from the previous game, fighting was more of a chore that you had to do over and over, leveling up had no benefit in the game.

    -I liked the idea of puzzles, i really did, however the puzzles they had were boring, not to mention WAY too many.

    -your stuck with 2 characters and a monster when it comes to fighting, I would have preferred a larger HUMAN party, perhaps some of the old cast?

    -The Ugly:
    -They ended the game with the good guys dying!, like what is this, a Korean love story?!?

    -To be continued? you need to download the ending, which means you MIGHT have to pay for it?!? thats like buying a movie from a store, watching it right up till the end, and having to pay to see the ending! ever cheap!

    -ideas for improvement:
    -Remake the 2nd part, cut out the time travel, go along with the fal'cie of pulse being awakened after the death of the coccoon fal'cie, or something! look at FF13-1, it was a really good game (sadly it didn't have HUMAN interaction, a happy reuinion with vanille and her tribe would have made the game perfect) still it had merit.

    -bring back the epic weapon building stuff from FF13-1, bring back puzzles similar to FF-10 where you HAD to use your head and look around, add more groups of people to run into on pulse.

    -If your going to add a second part to a story, re-using the old characters and adding some new ones is generally a good IDEA, it keeps the story fresh and attractive, an example, snow should have been able to follow serah and noel, as well as be usable when fighting. heck why not collect all the old members as you open up time? then have a epic battle at the end and a HAPPY FINISHED ending.

    -There you have it i've said my peace, I hope the dquare Enix dev team read this and learn form it.

    This is Aronshade from Ontario, Canada, Cheers    … Expand
  37. trescharmant
    Mar 11, 2012
    10
    I'm giving this a 10? Why? Because it works. The story was good, the characters were enjoyable and the gameplay was fun. It wasn't perfect and you can tell that this game was rushed, being a sequel and all, but still for a Final Fantasy sequel, it works. Highly enjoyable and highly recommended. Although I do feel cheated about having to buy DLCs just so I could see the complete ending.
  38. NoktemAeternus
    Feb 9, 2012
    9
    Lightning and the gang is back for another installment of Final Fantasy. The gameplay is very similar to 13 so if you really enjoyed the paradigm shifting you'll feel at home. They added a monster as your third member in your party and you can catch and alter your team with whatever monsters you want in your paradigm set. I actually really liked the time travel story line that this gameLightning and the gang is back for another installment of Final Fantasy. The gameplay is very similar to 13 so if you really enjoyed the paradigm shifting you'll feel at home. They added a monster as your third member in your party and you can catch and alter your team with whatever monsters you want in your paradigm set. I actually really liked the time travel story line that this game has, most of the time time travel is really out there but this game manged to be interesting and i understood the storyline by the time the game was over. Overall i had a blast playing this game, some might be disappointed by the odd story but if you want a fun ride, you should pick this up… Expand
  39. AtmaWeapon
    Jul 23, 2012
    5
    Final Fantasy XIII-2 is yet another installment of the Final Fantasy series that does not live up to its predecessors. Square Enix ought to discard this project and start on a clean slate. Being a large fan of the Final Fantasy series, I am once again disappointed in FFXIII-2's shortcomings.
  40. AntaresH
    Feb 11, 2012
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A short Breakdown of the game (Some Spoilers, i guess):

    Gameplay:

    If you've played FF XIII you may be instantly familiar with the battle mechanics, since they are almost identical with those of its predecessor. New additions are a slightly less linear Crystarium (youre able to level up the roles as you see fit almost from the start), some QTEs during major Battles (almost there a quite few of those) and the need to carefully chose your 3. partymember from a wide variety of monster you can capture (since not all abilities you may know from XIII are avaible for your two mainchars Noel / Serah). Therefore, if you were not fan of FF XIII battle mechanics you may want to consider this before buying. My opinion in general on Combat: its still flashy and fun, however lacks a higher degree of tactics (reading: being too eays) especially in the later party of the game, since most battles boild down to buff /debuff enemy--> attack and heal your team up as needed. As for the exploration: Most areas of the world are less linear, however are heavily recylced during your time travels (Almost all areas are exactly the same in their respective, different time periods besides the occasional colour palette swap from green to blue etc.). Some towns where added, altough youre still restricted to one (this time pretty talkative) shop.

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Music:

    Nothing special to say about this one. The soundtracks consists mainly of J-pop with the occasional Final fantasy Main theme which is ever so present, since this tradition was started with "eyes on me" in FF VIII (alltough FF XIII-2's main title may not feel as out of place as Leona Lewis entry in FF XIII, it still has no real connection to the plot at all). Even two heavy Metal tracks made it into the game, which can be heard while riding a particular Chocobo or fighting a certain boss. Although there a some tracks, especially nearing the end, which perfectly fit their respective scenes however most of the soundtrack does very little fuel to the atmosphere and occasionaly feels pretty off.

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Story

    If a good Story makes or breaks a game for you, you may want to skip on this one. The main plot lacks a clear goal for the most part, besides jumping from time gate to time gate untill you EVENTUALLY reach Valhalla. The new Antagonist Caius however is, like most side characters, pretty interesting and much more threatening because of his longer screentime as his "predecessor" Barthandelus from FF XIII. Sadly, the same can not be said about Serah and Noel, which for the most part are as single minded and shallow as for example Snow from FF XIII and often do not contribute much to the somewhat lacking plot overall, besides repeating their ambitions and things which were stated 20 secs before over and over again.

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------

    One more thing you might consider before buying this game:

    If you are not a fan of story related DLC, which is essential to the main plot, do NOT buy this game. FF XIII-2 showcases more than one way how DLC should NOT be implemented into a game. Certain Areas like a Colliseum HAVE to be visited during your main Quest, however unlike in FF X you cannot fight a single monster there, without investing some real money for DLC (I wouldnt mind this as much, if there was a real optional Boss like Yiazmat or Ozma. To be honest, theres no true reason for maxing your characters/monsters besides bragging rights, like in earlier entries). Theres even a greyed out spot on your Timeline map, indicating this missing content.
    (Even one of the games in the somewhat empty casino, is described as "Soon avaible as DLC" when asked about the rules). Far worse however is the announced continuation of the MAIN story line (which simply ends with a "to be continued"). Whereas in Dragon Age 2 or Mass effect story DLC added some sidestories, you are now forced to buy the "real" ending as soon at is avaiable. (Sadly the current "ending" suffers from a very bad case of cliffhanger, which at last makes me NOT want to buy future content). -------------------------------------------------------------------------

    To conclude this review:

    If youre desperate for a new JRPG (which sadly is still pretty rare this gen, if your not from japan that is ^^) you may want to give this one a shot. Just dont expect too much from it, since the short production span clearly shows.    … Expand
  41. Doctor-J
    Nov 4, 2012
    2
    Sad, just sad... What happened with the old final fantasy style, why can't you make a new final fantasy in classic style? Why squaresoft keep making this crap. What the hell has happened with square? Why can't you produce a single final fantasy to ps3 in old style? Why? It doesn't need to have the best graphics of all, just the classic gameplay we all love! oh my god! WHATS WRONG WITH YOUSad, just sad... What happened with the old final fantasy style, why can't you make a new final fantasy in classic style? Why squaresoft keep making this crap. What the hell has happened with square? Why can't you produce a single final fantasy to ps3 in old style? Why? It doesn't need to have the best graphics of all, just the classic gameplay we all love! oh my god! WHATS WRONG WITH YOU SQUARE??!! I HOPE YOU GO BANKRUPT, SO THEN SOMEONE MAY BUY YOU AND DO BETTER!… Expand
  42. mateusapresenta
    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!!!!!!!!!!!
  43. Lopez_Show2
    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
  44. LEDPLLCD
    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.
  45. Hutchhead
    Feb 2, 2012
    9
    I have played all the final fantasy games and FF13-2 is definitely just as great as all the games before it. I have played 3 hours into it and I can't find a flaw yet. The combat is excellent and is fast paced just like 13 and u have to actually think on the harder battles. FF7 is so old school now and outdated I don't why people like it so much I thought it was average and nothing specialI have played all the final fantasy games and FF13-2 is definitely just as great as all the games before it. I have played 3 hours into it and I can't find a flaw yet. The combat is excellent and is fast paced just like 13 and u have to actually think on the harder battles. FF7 is so old school now and outdated I don't why people like it so much I thought it was average and nothing special I don't no why people bother comparing to any final fantasy games. If u want a good final fantasy game that has good replay value and a great follow up story get FF13-2, if u want a be a hater and live in the past and complain about **** instead of being a final fantasy fan ignore this game.… Expand
  46. pecteilis
    Feb 6, 2012
    10
    No matter you like it or not.You still can't miss it.This game worth to spend time playing.surely ,you could enjoy the view ,the music,the drama ,the new battle system.However the system is not smooth enough.but it still a classical game.
  47. gaToGas
    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.
  48. IcarusLives
    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
  49. Connor_Monteith
    Jan 4, 2013
    8
    This game may not be the best in the series, but it is still a great game. The story was interesting and immersive, and the game offers many new concepts, and the high amount of quests and activities will keep you going for over 30 hours.
  50. skeith
    Feb 4, 2012
    10
    This game might not be a masterpiece for some people, but it will never be a game that get a zero. I admit, the music in this game is less amazing compare to the original and it is obvious the budget of the making this game is much lower compare to the original, but the game is still great. I enjoy this game very much and i actually enjoy this much more than the original. It's worth yourThis game might not be a masterpiece for some people, but it will never be a game that get a zero. I admit, the music in this game is less amazing compare to the original and it is obvious the budget of the making this game is much lower compare to the original, but the game is still great. I enjoy this game very much and i actually enjoy this much more than the original. It's worth your money, definitely.… Expand
  51. hliirani
    Feb 9, 2012
    10
    This game is as open as any RPG fan could've hoped for it to be. With plenty of backtracking options, epic tasks, enemies, and weapons to go and hunt down, it does everything I look for in a game of this kind, right. You'd really be doing yourself a disservice if you own either console this game is on, and don't give it a shot. It's beautiful, its gameplay is remarkably satisfying, it'sThis game is as open as any RPG fan could've hoped for it to be. With plenty of backtracking options, epic tasks, enemies, and weapons to go and hunt down, it does everything I look for in a game of this kind, right. You'd really be doing yourself a disservice if you own either console this game is on, and don't give it a shot. It's beautiful, its gameplay is remarkably satisfying, it's accessible to those who don't care to put forth as much effortâ… Expand
  52. TJ_Kragt
    Aug 3, 2012
    10
    This game exceeds is predecessor in every way. The battle system is largely the same but it did not need much changing in the first place. Combat has also been brought to life through cinematic action sequences, much like reaction commands from Kingdom Hearts. Every trace of linearity is practically gone and the soundtrack is even an upgrade. The story does not quite have as much focus asThis game exceeds is predecessor in every way. The battle system is largely the same but it did not need much changing in the first place. Combat has also been brought to life through cinematic action sequences, much like reaction commands from Kingdom Hearts. Every trace of linearity is practically gone and the soundtrack is even an upgrade. The story does not quite have as much focus as Final Fantasy XIII, but it is a heart-felt tale nonetheless. Even for those who might not see the narrative as incredibly interesting, they will find the villain Caius note-worthy. The game has plenty of post story content for the player to immerse him/herself in so they can squeeze every last bit out of this game. I would recomend this game to any of my friends… Expand
  53. Cell1e
    Mar 31, 2013
    6
    I think this game is an improvement on ff 13. I liked the monsters and levelling them up, there was more elements of exploration and Serah and Noel are simply adorable together. Again a very pretty game, I love the hair blowing in the wind and the movements of the characters. The story had potential but the endings sucked big time, Im not a fan of miserable endings.
    I also hated the    I think this game is an improvement on ff 13. I liked the monsters and levelling them up, there was more elements of exploration and Serah and Noel are simply adorable together. Again a very pretty game, I love the hair blowing in the wind and the movements of the characters. The story had potential but the endings sucked big time, Im not a fan of miserable endings.
    I also hated the ridiculously difficult clock puzzles, what normal person can figure them out? Luckily google saved the day. I hated with a passion the last few end areas especially the Acadamia platforms, playing on normal the monsters there were really challenging as if the whole moving platforms and crap wasnt bad enough. Just a huge time waster if you ask me.
    So for the terrible and pointless endings and awfullly frustrating puzzles and end game boss fights (that went on and on forever) and also those awful grindy battles, man this game is all about the grind! I have to score this game about a 6. Still better than ff13 tho.    … Expand
  54. Kirisoul
    Aug 26, 2013
    8
    I'm really kind of conflicted about XIII-2. I came into the game thinking all the flaws of XIII were to be fixed, and the game certainly didn't disappoint in that regard. I was shocked to find problems of a whole different caliber take their place. One aspect of the game I disliked in particular was that the Cerberus-X paradigm essentially beat 99% of random encounters for you. BecauseI'm really kind of conflicted about XIII-2. I came into the game thinking all the flaws of XIII were to be fixed, and the game certainly didn't disappoint in that regard. I was shocked to find problems of a whole different caliber take their place. One aspect of the game I disliked in particular was that the Cerberus-X paradigm essentially beat 99% of random encounters for you. Because Square enix made the game more open, there are a lot more random encounters in the game, making a more streamlined combat system that doesn't focus as much on staggering necessary. But this makes most of the encounters just a flashy X button mashing fest. It also hurt that the story seemed to lose focus as the game wore on, becoming convoluted and confusing, sans a few touching moments.

    Why do I still give the game an 8 then? Well, the game still has its share of assets, the most prominent being presentation. The worlds of XIII-2 and absolutely astounding, especially now that they are completely open for exploration. The music in the game is also one of the best soundtracks in the series, with an unusual amount of interesting vocal arrangements for key tracks. Serah, Noel, and the rest of the cast are strong, and help mitigate the confusing story. The game's open structure can definitely attract those not as concerned with advancing the story, although completing sidequests will make the game even easier than it already is. '

    Ultimately, it's still a strong game, but with its fair share of flaws. Should you give it a shot? Yes, I think you should. Just realize that it's a very different sort of game than its predecessor, and whether that's for the better is up to you.    … Expand
  55. mingi_nuss
    Mar 2, 2015
    0
    An awful game, never buy it, steal it if you must. never thought that i would see final fantasy turning into a pokemon game, starring mog as pikatchu. other monsters that you catch just stay in your pocket.
  56. Tubie
    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.
  57. dragonmaster
    Feb 2, 2012
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Time travel? Chocobos? Moogles? Chocobo races? Amazing interactive combat system? Interactive cutscenes? Dialogue options? Excellent graphics? A fun story? Do you like these things? Then you'll like Final Fantasy XIII-2. They throw in everything you love about the Final Fantasy games and have made it sharper, cleaner, and better. Want to tame monsters and make them a part of your party? Do it! This game is amazing and well worth anyone's time! Even if you've never played a Final Fantasy game before. It even gives you a recap if you don't want to play FFXIII first. You might miss out on some story, but it gives you enough to let you get what's going on!… Expand
  58. Cela
    Mar 11, 2012
    10
    I absolutely loved this sequel, and I really want Final Fantasy XIII-3. I can not stop listening to the wonderful soundtrack.
    The game has been improved in several respects, and I was glad for the square-enix listen to the fans,
  59. stitchmouth
    Mar 16, 2013
    5
    I will admit that I'm part of the reason the Final Fantasy series sucks. I keep buying them even knowing they're going down hill, so I admit fault there.

    As this is running the same engine as XII, you'll find the same boring auto-combat system in place as you did in its predecessor. Thankfully, the characters are slightly less annoying, though there are very few of them. You will    I will admit that I'm part of the reason the Final Fantasy series sucks. I keep buying them even knowing they're going down hill, so I admit fault there.

    As this is running the same engine as XII, you'll find the same boring auto-combat system in place as you did in its predecessor. Thankfully, the characters are slightly less annoying, though there are very few of them. You will essentially only have 2 playable characters throughout the entire game. That, combined with the auto-combat and very few item or weapon upgrades, may make those who like to hunt for items in game feel very left out in the cold. It also means a complete lack of variety for most of the game.

    The story isn't abjectly terrible, as you'll find some interesting interactions as you jump to different times and places. Sadly, the story is punctuated with a fairly crap ending.

    Overall, the game has some slightly fun exploration to do, an amazing metal rendition of the chocobo theme, but it doesn't take you the places you want a game to.

    Square has openly admitted the series hasn't been what they wanted of it lately, so we can only hold out hope they do something amazing with the next generation.    … Expand
  60. Dynel
    Mar 27, 2014
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. FF 13 ended perfectly without any hole left to fill. So... why is there a sequel?

    because squeenix wants more money and lightning was popular, that's why.

    Lengthy intro, story is filler upon filler and the ending of the first game was out the window at the start... so... AVOID.    … Expand
  61. rawrnerozero
    Mar 3, 2012
    4
    This is just ridiculous how people rate this either 0 or 10. But obviously we all know that most of the old school final fantasy fans would be disappointed by this **** grubbing garbage Square Enix try to feed us as they try milking out every bit of cash and hope for this ongoing masterpiece. When i'm playing a J-RPG(and I know most of you old schools will agree with me) is that I want aThis is just ridiculous how people rate this either 0 or 10. But obviously we all know that most of the old school final fantasy fans would be disappointed by this **** grubbing garbage Square Enix try to feed us as they try milking out every bit of cash and hope for this ongoing masterpiece. When i'm playing a J-RPG(and I know most of you old schools will agree with me) is that I want a main character with a personality that everyone can burn to their memories which SE didn't do for this game, instead they just made me want to hate every single character because of how crappy they developed throughout the story; Also the game should have a storyline that can engage them like the previous Final Fantasy titles have done which makes them yearn for more, but instead they mostly put out an eyesore of ****ty cutscenes just to show off their retarded ass high res graphics(which is what SE is aiming for now...) which cuts down a lot of the gameplay... not only that the music is so god damn bull**** that it doesn't have the magic feel that everyone can enjoy. This genre is not even considered to be a J-RPG anymore and not only that it's probably is that "Final" Fantasy...… Expand
  62. plunderer
    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!    … Expand
  63. elchrisso
    Feb 1, 2012
    10
    awesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesomeawesome
  64. SweatShopBot
    Feb 2, 2012
    10
    The Game Sucks but I'm a SweatShopBot payed by Squenix so I ma rate it a glowing 10er ;)

    enjoy the Finalfantasy so much better than 7, for real exploration true colour hair so pink, most Toriyama wish I also have. Together we can difference these Fans don't know the true Final Fantsies in my heart will never forget. So much fun. After hanging around with Cloud Strife helping the village    The Game Sucks but I'm a SweatShopBot payed by Squenix so I ma rate it a glowing 10er ;)

    enjoy the Finalfantasy so much better than 7, for real exploration true colour hair so pink, most Toriyama wish I also have. Together we can difference these Fans don't know the true Final Fantsies in my heart will never forget. So much fun. After hanging around with Cloud Strife helping the village Chocobo this music never left me with XIII-2 I overly satisfied.
    Can anyone blame so good game?

    :P    … Expand
  65. Rukishou
    Feb 1, 2012
    7
    Much like only a biased hater would give Final Fantasy XIII-2 a 0 rating, only a fanboy would give it a perfect 10. Let's be honest, it is not a bad game and you can definitely enjoy it - if you let yourself - but it's certainly not the highlight of the Final Fantasy franchise.

    Most issues with the first game have been fixed in some way or another and even though, if you look for them,    Much like only a biased hater would give Final Fantasy XIII-2 a 0 rating, only a fanboy would give it a perfect 10. Let's be honest, it is not a bad game and you can definitely enjoy it - if you let yourself - but it's certainly not the highlight of the Final Fantasy franchise.

    Most issues with the first game have been fixed in some way or another and even though, if you look for them, you will find a few new problems, there's nothing game-breaking. I could go through a list but really, all you need to remember is that you cannot trust reviews and that the only way to truly know if a game was worth your time is to play it yourself.

    If you have enjoyed previous installations to the Final Fantasy series, you don't owe it to yourself, but you should definitely give yourself the opportunity to find out if you can't enjoy this one too.    … Expand
  66. ryuzaki57
    Feb 9, 2012
    9
    Final Fantasy XIII-2 brings new things to the series. First, the Cinematic Action : there are actually not that many of them, and then they donâ
  67. LukeM
    Feb 17, 2012
    9
    8.5 would be my score if it was available here, it isn't so I generously bumped it up amidst the underwhelming scores given somewhat harshly on this site. I honestly don't have much to say in the way of negative things to attribute to this sequel. Perhaps the story isn't quite as captivating as XIII's was and there is frequent slow down in visiting new areas, but the combat system,8.5 would be my score if it was available here, it isn't so I generously bumped it up amidst the underwhelming scores given somewhat harshly on this site. I honestly don't have much to say in the way of negative things to attribute to this sequel. Perhaps the story isn't quite as captivating as XIII's was and there is frequent slow down in visiting new areas, but the combat system, soundtrack, voice acting, and the sheer amount of fun to be had here make this another top JRPG from Square Enix. It's simple if you didn't like XIII then don't buy this. If you liked, or even loved, XIII then you will very much enjoy this despite the fact that it is a little shorter in overall length.… Expand
  68. LeGeNd7
    Apr 2, 2014
    8
    I think it's a great game. Genius how SE lets you shape how long the story will be by making things optional for you to do. You also can shoot for multiple endings. Battle are WAYYY too easy. The characters can easily develop too fast. You talk to lots of people plus the soundtrack and graphics are nice in my humble opinion. The story is to and fro from time to time, but I think I stillI think it's a great game. Genius how SE lets you shape how long the story will be by making things optional for you to do. You also can shoot for multiple endings. Battle are WAYYY too easy. The characters can easily develop too fast. You talk to lots of people plus the soundtrack and graphics are nice in my humble opinion. The story is to and fro from time to time, but I think I still rather enjoyed the game. The gameplay was nice if anything else(besides the great music, beautiful graphics.) Points off for the ending, though. Overall, I was entertained. Would be between a 7 and 8 for me.… Expand
  69. FlareZero
    Mar 3, 2012
    9
    Final fantasy it's back, maybe it's not like the old Final fantasy, but it's very better than FFXIII and FFXII, and Caius it's e real bad-ass!!, not bad, not bad att all!
  70. syaryel
    Mar 10, 2012
    9
    Plat FF13-2 already and spent more than 120hrs into the game and here's my view

    Pro(s): - Love the freedom of shaping your character growth and monster customization - Personally love the battle system and game speed - Appreciate the option of harder version of boss fight - like the costume change feature Con(s): - I wish character given the option to reset growth development rather than    Plat FF13-2 already and spent more than 120hrs into the game and here's my view

    Pro(s):
    - Love the freedom of shaping your character growth and monster customization
    - Personally love the battle system and game speed
    - Appreciate the option of harder version of boss fight
    - like the costume change feature

    Con(s):
    - I wish character given the option to reset growth development rather than had to play the game from zero all over again
    - would be great if world map return to ff series - Sadly, SAB, SEN and SYN not so useful in this installment ~ Dig the story telling especially during Noel and Serah dream scene, love the final boss marathon (wish had hard version of it)..had no issue with the ending (for me that is)    … Expand
  71. Shechu
    Apr 2, 2012
    8
    Good game and good continuation of his predecessor. It repairs in the defects of the previous one but without being a perfect game. It neglects some elements.
  72. Neko2k12
    Jun 15, 2012
    3
    This is just a copy paste game that adds nothing to the previous game.
    An annoying female protagonist, a boring story that makes no sense whatsoever, a lame antagonist, a terrible battle system wherein you just have to hit autobattle with a team of 3 Commandos, a confusing gameplay. How this game improved the faults of its predecessor is beyond me.
    Final Fantasy is dead.
  73. APOLLO_SOL
    Nov 20, 2012
    10
    While FF7 and FFX continue to be the best ones I've ever played this game is the closest they've been to reaching that great pinnacle they once had. The story is pretty amazing, The graphics are just simply stunning, the music is pure emotion in the form of sound organized in time, and the level of time that it takes to complete this game leaves me fulfilled. The only downfall is the DLCWhile FF7 and FFX continue to be the best ones I've ever played this game is the closest they've been to reaching that great pinnacle they once had. The story is pretty amazing, The graphics are just simply stunning, the music is pure emotion in the form of sound organized in time, and the level of time that it takes to complete this game leaves me fulfilled. The only downfall is the DLC for storyline attachments but the overall quality of this game allows me to look past that and find myself thoroughly entertained. I've beaten it already and I still keep it to show my friends what a true game should be!… Expand
  74. Vandral007
    Nov 27, 2012
    7
    Ah Final Fantasy! Easily my favourite game series of all time. Now, I'm not one of the rabid fan boys who has to wipe drool from my mouth whenever Sephiroth's name is mentioned, but I can say I'm a pretty stout defender of the series. I'd go on record to say the Final Fantasy XIII is a very good game. However, after Hironobu Sakaguchi left SquareEnix and the Final Fantasy series, it'sAh Final Fantasy! Easily my favourite game series of all time. Now, I'm not one of the rabid fan boys who has to wipe drool from my mouth whenever Sephiroth's name is mentioned, but I can say I'm a pretty stout defender of the series. I'd go on record to say the Final Fantasy XIII is a very good game. However, after Hironobu Sakaguchi left SquareEnix and the Final Fantasy series, it's hard to deny that the series has lost some of it's magic. Final Fantasy XIII-2 is an admiriable sequel to FFXIII, but there are a lot of issues that nagged at me as I played through the game. Graphically, the game is decent, but am I crazy for thinking the graphics were better in XIII? The music is sorta meh. It's not bad, it's just not particularily mememorable. The biggest problem I have is with the characters. I never grew attatched to Sarah or Noel. Honestly, I hated Sarah until about 3 quarters through the game. Her constant whining and insistence that she needs Lightning or Snow to protect her (after she fights waves of enemies big and small) grates on my nerves. I like Moogles, but I wanted to turn the moogle in this game into a stuffed animal for my daughter. Lastly, the story is serviceable, but not what I've come to expect from a Final Fantasy game. The gameplay has been tweaked to the games benefit. I've seen people complaining that there is only two characters, but the addition of trained monsters opens up a ton of variety as far as party dynamics go. The leveling system is also a massive improvement on the lame system from XIII. The open ended mission structure alleviates a lot of the issues most people had with the linearity of the first game. Overall, FFXIII-2 is a servicable game, but a game that is showing the age of my favourite franchise. Hoping for more from Lightning Returns and the inevitable FFXV.… Expand
  75. Bulbotrax
    Jul 27, 2019
    0
    maybe one of the worst game i ever played.

    everything is so bad in this game... graphics, music, gameplay, script.... it's a waste of time, and a huge pile of craps.
  76. bearo
    Feb 21, 2013
    9
    Great Improvement over XIII! There are so much more side quest and things to do. It starts of slow but once it hooks you it doesn't let go. I thought that the monster hunting would be bad but it was pretty good and all caped of with a great story. DO PLAY IF YOU ARE A FF FAN!
  77. terrychelseaxp
    Oct 3, 2012
    6
    FF13-2 is just so-so game with decent graphic, Square-enix put too much effort on graphic design. It rather pay more in story, gameplay, First of all, the story is too complicated i can't fully underrstand. Gameplay is disappointed, you can controlled only 1 out of2 main characters plus a monster, and choose tactic to fight against enemy. And mostly my style of playing is change tactic andFF13-2 is just so-so game with decent graphic, Square-enix put too much effort on graphic design. It rather pay more in story, gameplay, First of all, the story is too complicated i can't fully underrstand. Gameplay is disappointed, you can controlled only 1 out of2 main characters plus a monster, and choose tactic to fight against enemy. And mostly my style of playing is change tactic and then press O O O, again and again. It is no fun, and why don't change it to ARPG while only 1 character you can control. Square-enix is leadership of JRPG, need to bring evolution to rpg gaming. Not just Graphic design, yes i agree that CG is very impressive, so as FF14, but pay more attention to gameplay, and may be online features
    think about you can play with friends through the FF story.    … Expand
  78. logicsense
    Aug 30, 2012
    6
    Decent game but not a some big "no no" for me; 1) The music is not even decent 2) The jumping time system does not make it for me, basically not good enough. 3) Seeing it is the latest console FF game it is barely there in quality (graphics are very good though) when it comes to the game design. I get bored, and I really love the FF series.
  79. alexaxa
    Oct 30, 2012
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. FF13-2 is strictly better than his predecessor. They added town, side quests and a less linear story.
    However, combat are still as boring as FF13 (the addition of monsters in the team is great but the fact that you are forced to use both main characters kills the customization options) and the ending is.... well..... they are making another FF13 game so it says it all...    … Expand
  80. boshi
    Feb 1, 2014
    6
    although it tries hard to be even better than it's predecessor, this game just isn't as good. the graphics are once again beautiful, however the story is pretty confusing, and you'll find yourself questioning the logic this game uses at times, and it's all around pretty boring. the same could be said about the two main characters, Serah and Noel, the former who barely has a personality,although it tries hard to be even better than it's predecessor, this game just isn't as good. the graphics are once again beautiful, however the story is pretty confusing, and you'll find yourself questioning the logic this game uses at times, and it's all around pretty boring. the same could be said about the two main characters, Serah and Noel, the former who barely has a personality, and the latter with a personality you probably won't care about. the gameplay is, once again, very good, and paradigm shifts are faster to pull off than in XIII, which is nice. you can capture monsters in battle, as well as several secret ones hidden in the world. despite this, the music isn't great, which is a letdown. the crystarium which is how you upgraded your characters, has gone from a web-like grid, to a linear upgrade system which is a shame. this game is a bit shorter than the previous one, (i finished it around 20 hours earlier than FFXIII), it instead tries to make up for it with multiple endings. i really wanted to like this game, because i loved XIII, but it's just not as good.… Expand
  81. eimajamie
    Nov 4, 2013
    6
    Although this game is a step in the right direction, FFXIII-2 pales in comparison to the older entries of the series. The graphics in this game are absolutely stunning, environments and character models have wonderful attention to detail. Recruiting monsters to fight alongside you is a very addicting game-play feature, though battles often have you constantly pressing the X button with noAlthough this game is a step in the right direction, FFXIII-2 pales in comparison to the older entries of the series. The graphics in this game are absolutely stunning, environments and character models have wonderful attention to detail. Recruiting monsters to fight alongside you is a very addicting game-play feature, though battles often have you constantly pressing the X button with no real need to do anything different, only occasionally switching team formations when a character is hurt. The soundtrack was hit-and-miss, some tracks really immersed you into the game while others were bland and forgettable. The story was the biggest let down in my opinion, one thing that always attracts me to FF games is the amazing character development, as well as meeting a variety of unique supporting characters along the way; FFXIII-2 however, revolves the story around a very sparse and uninteresting cast. Many occurrences throughout the storyline are simply explained with bland outcomes such as "This monster appeared because of a paradox". I also felt the fact you had to pay to fight the games toughest bosses and to retrieve the best weapons was very unappealing considering these things were already included in every other previous Final Fantasy game. Overall this game is definitely an improvement on FFXIII and can prove to be quite addictive, but it will always leave you wishing it gave you that little bit more.… Expand
  82. militarynewb
    Dec 2, 2013
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Ehh...I am a pretty big final fantasy franchise lover. More from the FF Tactics FF10 Series. FF12 was pretty good as well. FF13..not so much a fan of, but i won't talk too much smack due to the fact that I never finished the game. Now I did finish FF13-2 a couple days ago. FIRST AND FOREMOST...what is the deal with the "to be continued crapp"... at the end of the game....Secondly... I can't explain it but 13 and 13-2 didn't have that certain "flare" that the early FF games had. I think they need to look at what they did for the earlier games and work off of that..maybe even possibly turn it into a no voice acting, dialog game again, idk, something...anything to get that spark back in the industry...Still overall FF13 2 was not "that bad" of a game..… Expand
  83. sefrabu
    Mar 30, 2016
    4
    I have every reason to believe that initially Square wanted to make a Chrono Trigger - Pokemon crossover and after the script was written, they decided to put Final Fantasy XIII characters in it. The whole thing is disjointed, infantile, unispired. At my 4th (sic) go at this game over the past few years nothing has changed - it is still the only Final Fantasy to date that I haven't finished.
  84. Empyrea
    Jul 27, 2018
    3
    I'm at the end of this game and the final boss is so so difficult that I've given up. Plus, you can't save before this battle so you have to fight other final bosses before if you want to level up more your team. I didn't have any troubles in FFX, FXII or FXIII but with this..., it's insane even in easy mode. And I leveled my team for 1-2 hours when I got stuck in the middle of the game soI'm at the end of this game and the final boss is so so difficult that I've given up. Plus, you can't save before this battle so you have to fight other final bosses before if you want to level up more your team. I didn't have any troubles in FFX, FXII or FXIII but with this..., it's insane even in easy mode. And I leveled my team for 1-2 hours when I got stuck in the middle of the game so yes, I quite hate this game because of the final boss. Well done Square Enix! A part from this, this game is more dynamic than the last one and I think it's the first FF where you can jump, although they need to improve the jumping because it looks odd trying to jump from one place to another and see that you can't go in some places and that you have to turn around. About the plot is very different than in FFXIII but you can't expect to play the same game. This game would deserve a 7 but I can't forgive what they have done in the ending. The best of this game like the rest of the FF is its graphics and soundrack and in this case the dynamic gameplay, although sometimes the soundtrack is too loud and you can't hear well the voices. It took me almost 30 hours. I've watch the end on youtube and it's like: ok, why don't you do one game instead of 2. I mean, I knew there was a third game but I didn't expect to see a "to be continued" with such open ending without any explanation.… Expand
  85. Broyax
    Apr 17, 2017
    1
    Ah Final Fantasy ! ses chocobos (prière de ne pas pouffer de rire), ses familiers pokémons, sa Chocolina et sa turbine à chocolat, ses dialogues niais et enfin sa musique d'ascenseur (qu'on ne peut ni couper ni baisser) qu'on utilise comme instrument de torture à Guantanamo. Ce FF XIII-2 est un vrai FF pur jus et perpétue tout ce que la japoniaiserie peut faire de pire en jeu de rôleAh Final Fantasy ! ses chocobos (prière de ne pas pouffer de rire), ses familiers pokémons, sa Chocolina et sa turbine à chocolat, ses dialogues niais et enfin sa musique d'ascenseur (qu'on ne peut ni couper ni baisser) qu'on utilise comme instrument de torture à Guantanamo. Ce FF XIII-2 est un vrai FF pur jus et perpétue tout ce que la japoniaiserie peut faire de pire en jeu de rôle depuis plus de 15 ans.

    La tradition est aussi respectée graphiquement : les FF ont toujours été très beaux, une touche particulière et dépaysante, très agréable à l'oeil à dire vrai, si, si. Le système de combat est resté fidèle à lui-même : un bordel ambulant très confus et qu'on finit par connaître par coeur tant le nombre de combats est ahurissant et la majorité d'entre eux est tout simplement inzappable ! en termes d'abrutissement le MMO coréen n'est pas loin.

    On espérait un mieux sensible grâce à l'intrigue inédite des voyages dans le temps et autres retours vers le futur mais c'est sans compter sur les fragments que l'on doit récupérer pour activer ces satanés portails. Au bout d'un certain temps, impossible de trouver les bons fragments qui ouvrent les bons portails : ce FF vous oblige donc à fouiller et refouiller de long en large, en travers et en diagonale tous les mondes déjà précédemment visités et lorsqu'on ne peut pas avancer de plus d'1,50 m sans tomber sur un combat, on se lasse rapidement (euphémisme).

    La mièvrerie générale du titre finit de vous achever. Un jeu qui pourrait plaire aux enfants et à quelques adolescents attardés ou autres **** mais sans plus.    … Expand
  86. Vanta77
    May 8, 2020
    0
    I was actually super hyped for a sequel of XIII because i actually kinda liked that game, it wasnt a great FF but it was a fun Square game that should've been called Fabula Nova Crystalis or something, anyway i was ready for the sequel because i was hoping for more of the same characters but nope.

    13-2 was probably the worst script/story/game ive ever played, since it takes FF to a low    I was actually super hyped for a sequel of XIII because i actually kinda liked that game, it wasnt a great FF but it was a fun Square game that should've been called Fabula Nova Crystalis or something, anyway i was ready for the sequel because i was hoping for more of the same characters but nope.

    13-2 was probably the worst script/story/game ive ever played, since it takes FF to a low place of crap magnitude of nonsense. And its insanely boring cutscenes, 2 characters, time travel and you have to use math to know whats going on.

    Cool boss though but its probably the only FF i regret playing, both XIII sequels were the boring spray in the bathroom you read the info on, when you have nothing else to read and you ask yourself what the heck you are doing.    … Expand
  87. Kittencandy
    Feb 7, 2012
    7
    Where FFX-2 closed the open ending of FFX, and took you at least 40 hours to finish, FFXIII-2 took an ending that was slightly open just to tell half a story and leave you completely in the dark and frustrated when reading "to be continued..." right before the credits roll, and it took me about 15 hours to finish. So far it's pretty FF-unworthy. I didn't get lost in the game as I usuallyWhere FFX-2 closed the open ending of FFX, and took you at least 40 hours to finish, FFXIII-2 took an ending that was slightly open just to tell half a story and leave you completely in the dark and frustrated when reading "to be continued..." right before the credits roll, and it took me about 15 hours to finish. So far it's pretty FF-unworthy. I didn't get lost in the game as I usually did with final fantasy installments, like 7, 8 or 10, even though I felt like I was going to when I first put the disc in my ps 3. But soon it started to feel like a mixture of Kingdom Hearts and earlier (ps 1) Final Fantasies.,(partially because for the first time they did something Kingdom Heartsy to it. A movie at the start, then the whole game only cutscenes, and a movie at the end.) Other than that, the good looking, but very tiny worlds you'd run around in, the way it's overly based on side-questing, with a very short main storyline, the storyline itself being extremely thin, almost like it's been thought up by one guy whilst being drunk and instead of filling in the blanks and making a coherent story simply left it like that and turned it into a game, making it feel more like episode 1 of FFXIII the season than a complete game. However, I'm not completely without sympathy for this game. Sure, it has some definite flaws, not to mention the ending which was horrible beyond belief.... But still, I had fun playing, despite all the minuses (at least up till the final sequence), a lot more than I had with FF XIII. I didn't really care about the storyline being kinda lame, and the way they just pointlessly added FF XIII characters into part 2 just to have them in the game... It's only now that I finished it that I'm bummed out about it. So if you don't mind an anti-climax, you'll have fun with this while it lasts… Expand
  88. Dezuuu
    May 11, 2012
    8
    Better than XIII in most ways. I like the fact you can explore a lot more, but it has to be done through a cenrtal HUB, which really takes away the feeling of exploration and adventure. The story is lacking, but Caius is a great villian. Combat is pretty much the same as in XIII, but the monster collecting is fun.
    The soundtrack is... different from the rest in the series, but I liked it.
  89. emeraldweapon
    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
  90. Singularity
    Feb 1, 2012
    7
    All of these idiots posting 0's for this game, and most other games these days, are really starting to get on my nerves. A 0 is supposed to represent a game that is utterly unplayable due to mechanics or bugs. Stop reviewing games when you've only played less than 20 minutes of it, and keep your fanboydem to yourself. As for FFXIII-2, it's a decent game. It's definitely not the highlightAll of these idiots posting 0's for this game, and most other games these days, are really starting to get on my nerves. A 0 is supposed to represent a game that is utterly unplayable due to mechanics or bugs. Stop reviewing games when you've only played less than 20 minutes of it, and keep your fanboydem to yourself. As for FFXIII-2, it's a decent game. It's definitely not the highlight of the series, and there are some questionable story choices that Square-Enix made, but it's overall a satisfying game. The good: the presentation is fantastic: clean menus, fantastic art-design, even though the graphics themselves are a bit dated, and decent music. The battles are fast and fun, and the whole collecting monsters mechanic is kind of cool (although I would have personally rather seen a full cast of characters). The game is no longer a straight corridor from cutscene to boss to cutscene, offering many diverging paths, distractions, and even small choices, and the game allows you to go back and redo areas. The not so good: the story. It makes very little sense, and I found myself wondering why all of this was happening. There is good emotion at the end, but it's a shame that the rest was bland. Hopefully the ending will be cleaned up in future DLC. The characters were not as good as others in the series: there are only two of them, and they don't really click well. And where is Lightning? She was such a fantastic character, it's almost an insult to give her such a backseat role.… Expand
  91. dotl
    May 3, 2012
    9
    There is a need to make some things clear. 1. There will not be a FF7 remake and 2. Every Final Fantasy entry shines in its own right. Whatâ
  92. residentevil212
    Oct 11, 2012
    8
    this game is sweet i loved every moment of it dont beleive the idiots saying it sux they r just nerdy **** who dont know wtf they r talking about so if u liked ffxiii then ffxiii 2 is for and if didnt like ffxiii then fk off and dont play this game go play the old **** in ur mothers basement
  93. verun
    Jan 14, 2015
    0
    It's better than FF 13 in many ways, but when you are a perfectionist and want to play a game to it's max capabilities, then you're in for some MMO-style farming, taking not hours but many days of mindless, funless mechanic grinding until you just give up and see the recent games of Square Enix for what they really are: soulless cash cows.

    This is not Final Fantasy anymore. FF died when    It's better than FF 13 in many ways, but when you are a perfectionist and want to play a game to it's max capabilities, then you're in for some MMO-style farming, taking not hours but many days of mindless, funless mechanic grinding until you just give up and see the recent games of Square Enix for what they really are: soulless cash cows.

    This is not Final Fantasy anymore. FF died when Hironobu Sakaguchi left Squaresoft. Took me 13 years to finally accept that.    … Expand
  94. OneMetropolis
    Mar 21, 2012
    9
    This game is great. I you loved XIII, you'll love this game even more. XIII was a masterpiece that had a few flaws here and there. The second addition to the XIII universe remedy this problem greatly. Although the main story is pretty short and leaves you unsatisfied, you can fill the emptiness with dozen of DLC content that has been coming out for the game, which adds to theThis game is great. I you loved XIII, you'll love this game even more. XIII was a masterpiece that had a few flaws here and there. The second addition to the XIII universe remedy this problem greatly. Although the main story is pretty short and leaves you unsatisfied, you can fill the emptiness with dozen of DLC content that has been coming out for the game, which adds to the experience and fun of this stylish game.… Expand
  95. Egrimm
    Jun 14, 2012
    7
    I was sceptic about this game at the beginning, but it's a good one. I like the idea of time travel and the separation of the game in old-style "level" and the story is nice. The gameplay is the same of FF13 but with only 2 character and a bunch of monsters to party with. Unfortunatly some secret objective are really hard to find and you probably need a guide to reach the 100% completationI was sceptic about this game at the beginning, but it's a good one. I like the idea of time travel and the separation of the game in old-style "level" and the story is nice. The gameplay is the same of FF13 but with only 2 character and a bunch of monsters to party with. Unfortunatly some secret objective are really hard to find and you probably need a guide to reach the 100% completation of this game.… Expand
  96. Jedibassist
    Mar 19, 2012
    9
    Let me begin by admitting I am a big fan of all Final Fantasy games. That being said, I would have given this a 10 were it not for Square Enix giving in to the inevitable - DLC. Now, I will say that I do not mind some DLC - the weapons and extra battles are just fine - but from what I understand they will be adding actual game content as well (they already have, actually, with the "Sazh:Let me begin by admitting I am a big fan of all Final Fantasy games. That being said, I would have given this a 10 were it not for Square Enix giving in to the inevitable - DLC. Now, I will say that I do not mind some DLC - the weapons and extra battles are just fine - but from what I understand they will be adding actual game content as well (they already have, actually, with the "Sazh: Heads or Tails?" pack). That does not sit well with me. If I am buying the game on launch day for $60, you had better give me 100% of the game. Don't shark me another $10 or $20 for actual content that should have been there in the first place.

    Since that is out of the way, I would like to praise what this game does very well - everything else. The graphics are gorgeous, that battle system is very well done, and the recruiting and monster-building that you are tasked with to flesh out a well rounded party is a really cool feature. Serendipity is fine to kill some time and have fun with your Chocobos (although that damn slot machine is rigged, in my opinion) - and there are plenty of high-level enemies for you to track down and face off with once you have beaten the main story line.

    I will recommend to everyone reading this: Buy the guide!!! There are so many well hidden items and side quests that you would probably never find them without some sort of guide to help you through. Some may scoff at the idea, but I have found that buying the guide to go with the game has become part of the experience for me.    … Expand
  97. Markkykung17
    May 8, 2016
    10
    Final Fantasy XIII has worse story. Same in XIII-2. But this game is enjoyable for me. The combat system can change leader. The monster system was great. Serah have a great personality. She know about if she change the future. She'll die. but she can accept that. This world cannot know how much i love this game. it was very excited for me.
  98. GrumpyReviewer
    Feb 26, 2012
    7
    I hear people saying this game is so much better than the original 13. But, is it? It makes something different, that's for sure and "improves" on what people criticized in the past. But, if this game is good is because it picked up on what a PHENOMENAL game stopped. XIII-2 is good, fact. But, for me, XIII was way better. It had a more cohesive story, epic, compelling. We actuallyI hear people saying this game is so much better than the original 13. But, is it? It makes something different, that's for sure and "improves" on what people criticized in the past. But, if this game is good is because it picked up on what a PHENOMENAL game stopped. XIII-2 is good, fact. But, for me, XIII was way better. It had a more cohesive story, epic, compelling. We actually understood what was going on. With XIII-2 we have Serah (who is very vanilla) and Noel (who is a better character) and a confusing story that appears not to be going anywhere. I enjoyed XIII-2. But it only made me miss XIII and who good it actually was back in the day.… Expand
  99. Figomor
    Mar 10, 2022
    6
    Just as its predecessor, only slightly above average. Not so linear as FFXIII, but still same boring battles and most importantly I did not care about the characters at all. Graphically it looks amazing for ps3 era,
    but the gameplay is shallow and the story pathetic. I cannot recommend this game to longtime FF fans.
    I am sorry, Square Enix, please, go back to your roots.
  100. Bunny
    Jan 29, 2013
    7
    I enjoyed FF XIII, despite its issues. FF XIII-2 is also an enjoyable game, but I don't think it surpasses its predecessor. I thought Noel was a good character and I enjoyed the mystery of what happened to Lightning. The graphics were colourful and stunning. I also really liked the idea of having tameable monsters in your party. I had some issues with the game however. I was disappointedI enjoyed FF XIII, despite its issues. FF XIII-2 is also an enjoyable game, but I don't think it surpasses its predecessor. I thought Noel was a good character and I enjoyed the mystery of what happened to Lightning. The graphics were colourful and stunning. I also really liked the idea of having tameable monsters in your party. I had some issues with the game however. I was disappointed that there were only two playable characters throughout the game. The biggest disappointment was that there were hardly any exciting or challenging battles in the game - moving forward was heavily related to running around to find fragments while jumping through timelines and solving annoying, repetitive puzzles. Many of the missions are tedious - they require no skill, just time consuming wandering and searching. It's difficult and frustrating to get through the game without a guide. The music was lacklustre (and sometimes downright bad - a nu-metal Chocobo theme? really??). The time travel idea is cool, but honestly, I think it was done as well or better back when "Chrono Trigger" came out.

    That being said, I enjoyed a lot of the game, and exploring the different worlds that are rendered so beautifully. I still enjoy the paradigm shifts in battle. Have fun with it for what it is, but don't expect it to kick XIII's butt.    … Expand
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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.
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  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.
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  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]
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