Final Fantasy XIII-2

 Xbox 360
User Score
6.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 313 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 158 out of 313
  2. Mixed: 64 out of 313
  3. Negative: 91 out of 313
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  1. muzziklover
    Feb 9, 2012
    6
    This game is better than XIII but the damage has been done. Final Fantasy XIII is one of my most hated games ever and in my opinion, the worst FF game ever. This sequel is what XIII should have been but the problem is that this game should have been XIII when XIII was released and instead we got the same horrible taste with salt and flavourings added to it for slight improvement. First,This game is better than XIII but the damage has been done. Final Fantasy XIII is one of my most hated games ever and in my opinion, the worst FF game ever. This sequel is what XIII should have been but the problem is that this game should have been XIII when XIII was released and instead we got the same horrible taste with salt and flavourings added to it for slight improvement. First, the good stuff. The battle system is more involving and intuitive, there is more emphasis on exploration and random encounters are tactical. Overall, it completely improves on the gameplay from XIII. Now for the bad stuff and it's a very major one: the story. It is so contrived, so depressing and so poorly written and the time travelling aspect actually makes it worse and yes, the writing is as bad as XIII. Most of characters from XIII are back and are annoying as ever but at least we only have to follow Lightning's sister, Serah, who I thought was the most boring character out of the cast but it is sort of an improvement. Did XIII-2 redeem XIII and the whole franchise? Hell no. Even though it is better than XIII, it isn't enough to save the Final Fantasy franchise because it is still hanging on XIII's shadow and that's not good but it is one small step in the right direction at least.… Expand
  2. mako_psy
    Feb 8, 2012
    5
    I have to be honest, I'm a little disappointed I spent hard earned money on this game. It's too short, the voice acting is terrible and half of the time it feels like some lame anime made for children. Characters are far too cliche (especially Caius), soundtrack is awful and not memorable in the slightest, battles can be won with the auto-battle feature as long as you switch paradigmsI have to be honest, I'm a little disappointed I spent hard earned money on this game. It's too short, the voice acting is terrible and half of the time it feels like some lame anime made for children. Characters are far too cliche (especially Caius), soundtrack is awful and not memorable in the slightest, battles can be won with the auto-battle feature as long as you switch paradigms every so often and the story isn't that entertaining. Needless to say, if you liked the older Final Fantasy's, you'll be disappointed like I was. I'm giving it a 5 because it wasn't so mind numbing that I had to stop playing, but the introduction of quick time events, jumping and optional conversation replies are what all games should have now anyway so that doesn't score it points. Just seems like an RPG made to entertain perverted old men who like to look at half naked pixel women and of course new-to-the-franchise fanboys who have yet to play the old favourites.… Expand
  3. dumrotten
    Feb 6, 2012
    6
    If you're going into FFXIII-2 thinking SE learned from the complaints about the last game and created a rich, explorable world for this one, you're going to be disappointed. The world of FFXIII-2 is made up of a small handful of areas with nothing really connecting them to each other (think Kingdom Hearts). The ridiculous time travel storyline gives the developers a convenient excuse toIf you're going into FFXIII-2 thinking SE learned from the complaints about the last game and created a rich, explorable world for this one, you're going to be disappointed. The world of FFXIII-2 is made up of a small handful of areas with nothing really connecting them to each other (think Kingdom Hearts). The ridiculous time travel storyline gives the developers a convenient excuse to recycle areas with different lighting/weather effects and pass them off as new areas. I have to give them a pass on this, because to my understanding, this game is largely an attempt to make use of the large amount of unused assets created for FFXIII. I think your feelings on FFXIII's battle system will largely determine whether or not you enjoy this game as it is essentially the same aside from the monster collecting. The game still looks and sounds great even if a few of the new musical tracks are truly cringe-worthy (the heavy metal chocobo theme, for example). The music was one of the best things about FFXIII and luckily, all of the most familiar themes from that game make appearances here. They made some rather unfortunate additions to the gameplay, like QTEs and a lot of truly awful puzzle rooms that look like they came straight out of a PS2 game circa 2002. Other than that, this 20-hour sequel if pretty enjoyable. I wouldn't recommend paying full price for it though.… Expand
  4. DnDcHick
    Feb 13, 2012
    7
    The Final Fantasy series has been on a slow, steady decline since FFIX almost brought Square back to the elements that made the franchise great to begin with. The pinnacle being VII, everything after has been a slog, as more and more time and energy has been pumped into graphics, while the freedom, gameplay and most of all, STORY has taken a backseat. XIII-2 is only the second numberedThe Final Fantasy series has been on a slow, steady decline since FFIX almost brought Square back to the elements that made the franchise great to begin with. The pinnacle being VII, everything after has been a slog, as more and more time and energy has been pumped into graphics, while the freedom, gameplay and most of all, STORY has taken a backseat. XIII-2 is only the second numbered sequel, and while I certainly don't think it is a great game, by any means, it at least shows that someone, somewhere inside SE is listening and trying to get the series back on track. I would suggest anyone who has an interest in this series give this one a go, if for no other reason than to give incentives for more risk taking in future installments.… Expand
  5. YipManSays
    Feb 13, 2012
    6
    For a franchise that prides itself on story I have to say this game is one of the poorer entries in the series. Possibly the worst. The story is very bland and uninspiring. Also it doesn't make a whole lot of sense and is not easy to follow even if you're a fanboy. I will say that the graphics for this game are very good but that was already established by the previous game. Combat againFor a franchise that prides itself on story I have to say this game is one of the poorer entries in the series. Possibly the worst. The story is very bland and uninspiring. Also it doesn't make a whole lot of sense and is not easy to follow even if you're a fanboy. I will say that the graphics for this game are very good but that was already established by the previous game. Combat again is largely the same and I found myself using the same combination of Paradigms and moves over and over again making the experience very bland. They did add quicktime event which didn't add much for me and I also feel are outdated to begin with. Overall this was a very poor game showing that Square Enix is running out of innovative ideas.… Expand
  6. DANDEIN
    Feb 2, 2012
    5
    The good: Great cinematic scenes.

    The bad: Same bad experience from FF-XIII. all of this includes annoying background music, silly and childish characters, stupid dialogues and same boring combat system from FFXIII. In sum if you didn't like the original FFXIII you won't be pleased with this one either. I'm still waiting for a FF game that truly incorporates the great things from the    The good: Great cinematic scenes.

    The bad: Same bad experience from FF-XIII. all of this includes annoying background music, silly and childish characters, stupid dialogues and same boring combat system from FFXIII. In sum if you didn't like the original FFXIII you won't be pleased with this one either. I'm still waiting for a FF game that truly incorporates the great things from the classic FF games (hopefully FFXIV).This FFXIII saga feels more like an semi-adult version of a Kingdom Hearts game but without any Disney's charm. On the positive side this could be an OK game for those under 12 year old gamers diving into RPG games for the first time.    … Expand
  7. DuckHuntPro
    Jan 31, 2012
    5
    Unlike the rest of my colleagues who just auto ranked the game based on being a fanboy, I'm actually going to save my judgement until I get the game later today. From what I can tell and the videos I've seen, THIS is what FFXIII should have been. However, when you cater to the easy crowd you will alienate your fanbase and thats what happened. Graphics look good but thats not why I buyUnlike the rest of my colleagues who just auto ranked the game based on being a fanboy, I'm actually going to save my judgement until I get the game later today. From what I can tell and the videos I've seen, THIS is what FFXIII should have been. However, when you cater to the easy crowd you will alienate your fanbase and thats what happened. Graphics look good but thats not why I buy RPG's. If a pretty girl on the screen is enough for me to buy a game, I'd stick to Playboy. I buy RPG's for the STORY and FFXIII was completely bonkers on that department. Not even a fantastic musical score, simplified gameplay, nor graphics could have saved that game.

    FFXIII-2 looks to have repaired that damage, but its not what I wanted for the series. FFXIII was a giant step backwards in the progress of FF games, but FFXIII-2 was only skip forward. According to users and critics alike, the gameplay is just on the short side of 30hrs for main storyline. BUT the sidequests are a plenty and the monster collection screams competionist for ALL hardcore pokemon fans out there. You know who you are.... =P

    Sadly, according to what I read and the videos I've seen, the story less fragmented and convoluted than FFXIII, but its still up there. When you incorporate time travel as a mechanic, I'm thinking Chrono Trigger. The story is LINEAR, but the choices are not. XIII-2 doesn't justify a good enough reason for time travelling, but I'll know real soon when I pick up the game.

    Overall, I will enjoy this game more than XIII. I followed SE since it was Squaresoft back when I played FF for the NES. Like all companies, it has slipped and fallen on hard times, but all companies will release a few duds in their time, its the GREAT companies that learn from their mistakes and LISTEN to their fans to make BETTER GAMES.

    I count Square Enix as my FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM. There are times where I am exasperrated (FFXIV, Front Mission, Nier, Dungeon Siege 3) where I am pulling out my hair and cussing at them for their bad plays. But there are also times when I go "Booya! They nailed it!) and I think/hope that its the case with FFXIII-2. If your an SE zealot, then you'll like the game regardless of what I say or what critics say. If your an old jaded fan, rent the game... try it out, maybe SE will win back your trust a little. If you pay $60 bucks for a game, you should have zero loyalties to a company if the game does not live up to your expectation. I'm hoping SE will live up to mine.    … Expand
  8. dz9
    Feb 6, 2012
    7
    If you have read my review of FF13, it is blatantly obvious that I despised the very fabric of Final Fantasy 13, it took away everything that is loved and that is expected out of Final Fantasy. The countless joyful hours I spent in FF6, 7, 9, 10, and 12 is the sole reason why I even considered giving 13-2 a shot. I read a review before I played it and learned about time traveling aspectsIf you have read my review of FF13, it is blatantly obvious that I despised the very fabric of Final Fantasy 13, it took away everything that is loved and that is expected out of Final Fantasy. The countless joyful hours I spent in FF6, 7, 9, 10, and 12 is the sole reason why I even considered giving 13-2 a shot. I read a review before I played it and learned about time traveling aspects in the game and the first thing I thought of was "omg, there going to add a confusing aspect like time traveling to an already confusing, con deluded, and to put it lightly screwed up story?" And this brings me to my first point, in its essence it is a bad thing, but considering how bad the story in 13 was, it is a good thing. They nearly completely threw out all the bad points in 13 and acted as if they never happened and just expanded on the few good concepts. This game also expands on the beautiful graphics, and it shows how much better the gameplay in 13 could have been if they simply had just let you control more than one character in combat!!! This game returns towns (but not in the traditional sense) side quests, replay ability, and side adventuring. 13 treasure hunting was too basic, due to the linearity of the title, every treasure was either in the path, or in the little alcove 10 feet from your path. 13-2 liberates the gamer from the hellish linearity from the first, which greatly improves the treasure hunting. Now... treasures are scattered and hidden nicely and some are invisible which you will have to utilize your moogle in fun and inventive ways to find them. The level up system has way more freedom, however very simplified but i still found it enjoyable. Also, the beast master was a good addition however I thought not completely fleshed but it was still fun and what more can you ask for. However... this game does suffer from some of the flaws from the first title, the characters that make a reappearance (including Lightning) are however a little more fleshed out, but I didn't care about them anymore than I did in the first (except for Hope). This is only a spoiler if you didn't beat the original but one of the main objectives in this title is to revitalize Fang and Vanille, but they were literally some of the worst characters in video game history and I found myself not wanting to do good in this game just to not have to hear Vanille's annoying voice again!! The dialogue in this ranges polar opposite, being very touching or flat out corny and ridiculous, but more so ridiculous. More so Serah, but I found that the two main characters were uninteresting and bland (but still better than the characters in the first). And still, the basic premise of this game is just as confusing as the story in the first... but over great periods of time in this title, you may begin to understand it. And that's another thing this game has wrong, the pacing. The first 8 hours I spent playing it, nothing progressed story wise past the first 20 minutes of the game, the gamer will find themselves maybe completely not caring about the story, but if you can luster up the strength to venture on, it does get better. The Good: Gameplay upgraded, level up system, graphics, exploring, story upgraded, beast master fits right in, and an awesome villain. The Bad: Accessories seem irrelevant, bland main characters, pacing, and suffers from its predecessor. In the End: This game gets carried by its flash, its gameplay, its main villain, and your nostalgia. I feel like Square did an absolute horrible job with the story development because all the "twists" were just so obvious that the game spits in the face of the gamer by presuming your somehow not smart enough to understand. This game is still not a genuine FF title, it just BARELY earns its name... its enjoyable and fun, but don't expect a total thrill ride or story driven experience because once you get past the flash, theres not a terrible amount going for it...… Expand
  9. Xabong
    Feb 3, 2012
    7
    If you thought Final Fantasy XIII-2 was going to be a massive apology to western gamers disappointed with Final Fantasy XIII, well... that's not what this. It does feel like an apology, but one aimed more to the series' Japanese fanbase. Less Lightning and Sazh, more fashionable teens with impossibly beautiful hair and milky-white skin, more j-pop, more melodrama, and now with monsterIf you thought Final Fantasy XIII-2 was going to be a massive apology to western gamers disappointed with Final Fantasy XIII, well... that's not what this. It does feel like an apology, but one aimed more to the series' Japanese fanbase. Less Lightning and Sazh, more fashionable teens with impossibly beautiful hair and milky-white skin, more j-pop, more melodrama, and now with monster collecting and an adorable mascot character. The time-travel storyline is an utterly incoherent mess. It's not that it's convoluted, as time travel stories tend to be, it's completely devoid of any logic or reasoning, and characters use the words paradox and "artefact" as if they were proper nouns. Yep. This is definitely a Japanese game. All that said, the game is much more fun to play this time around. Square Enix heard the fans and this time around, the game does not slowly give you control of every single aspect of it's battle and character progression systems to you over the course of the entire freaking game. The single corridor that made up Final Fantasy XIII's entire journey has been replaced by a series of areas that are no longer quite so hallway-shaped and contain actual town-like areas and npcs (including possibly the worst Final Fantasy character ever in the form of the game's one merchant npc). The graphics have taken a hit, but the game still looks absolutely beautiful. The sense of place and a bigger world, however, still isn't there because there is no world map and areas are separated by both space and time. You just click on the level you want to go to from the area select screen. Slightly disappointing, but given the game's fast turn around time, it is to be expected. MOST jrpgs this generation have had a really hard time with world-crafting. Another issue, the storyline of the game progresses in a strictly linear fashion, but you are occasionally given access to more than one area at a time... this half-assed attempt at non-linearity means that characters will talk about events that haven't happened yet or wonder where characters they've already located are. All of it's many problems aside, Final Fantasy XIII-2 is a much richer and liberated gameplay experience than the original was. If you can turn off your brain to the ridiculous story and Nomura's character designs, there is a quite excellent, addicting experience to be had here. Just accept that this series is now firmly "niche" in the west.… Expand
  10. rotku
    May 13, 2012
    7
    I loved the concept of time travel and paradox elements, the feature of having a "monster" act as a member of your squad and being able to devleop these team members at your preference was good however these good elements were off set by the Kupo character and the poor main character delevopment sphere system.
    Overall the game is sure to appeal to fans of the series and will keep them    I loved the concept of time travel and paradox elements, the feature of having a "monster" act as a member of your squad and being able to devleop these team members at your preference was good however these good elements were off set by the Kupo character and the poor main character delevopment sphere system.
    Overall the game is sure to appeal to fans of the series and will keep them ticking over uptil the next episode.    … Expand
  11. QuiterRaga
    Mar 8, 2012
    7
    A small improvement over FF 13 but that's not saying much...I think it's my dislike for the battle system but i admit i did have fun with the game.The time travel mechanics really confuse the story even more to what ws already a hard to follow one.
  12. everlong24
    Feb 7, 2012
    7
    The combat is fun, but this is not the Final Fantasy that I grew up with. I knew that going in from beating XIII, but I was hoping for a little bit more exploration. Though the game isn't as linear as XIII, it still doesn't seem completely open with the sections being separated by time periods. I'm an older gamer, and I can't stand the characters. It's a little too melodramatic for myThe combat is fun, but this is not the Final Fantasy that I grew up with. I knew that going in from beating XIII, but I was hoping for a little bit more exploration. Though the game isn't as linear as XIII, it still doesn't seem completely open with the sections being separated by time periods. I'm an older gamer, and I can't stand the characters. It's a little too melodramatic for my taste. Here's to hoping the next Final Fantasy will have a more mature/darker cast. It gets a lot right but in the end..it's nothing special.… Expand
  13. BrianPK80
    Feb 9, 2012
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This was a very bizarre installment in the series. It had echoes of the awful FFX-2 but wasn't nearly as abysmal. As some have mentioned, the story is all over the map and doesn't make much sense. The characters are cliched and not as strong as the cast of the original. That said, Noel and Serah are likeable. Caius and Yeul are embarrassing formulaic attempts at dark & enigmatic. Given the long pedigree of the series and the fact that the average age of the loyal fanbase must be well into its 30's, one would think the protagonists would be a bit more age appropriate. I liked playing Cloud, Squall, and Tidus when I was around that age but at this point, I wish FF would move on from the teen angst melodrama. We've outgrown it. Western developers seem to understand this intrinsically. Linearity isn't too much of a problem for me personally. I liked FF13 a lot. FF13-2 is less linear on a cosmetic level, so much that the fragmented time-periods seem like a defiant exaggeration of being non-linear/non-chronological. The concept was interesting, but would have been better suited to a world and cast I could care about more. Graphics are beautiful; battle system is fun. I was disappointed that what looked to be a map w. 32 different "levels" recycled so many places so many times. Did we really need 4 Yaschas Massif's (a watered down version of an already recycled place in FF13, where it was done better)? I thought at some point, a real party would form with a cast of characters, but it wasn't in store. For its flaws, FF13 had much more vision to it and better integration. Much of FF13-2 is just throwing things at the wall to see what sticks; while some of the components are interesting or well-done individually (level design, monsters), they're not necessarily contributing to a specific vision or "feel," like the Okinawa theme of FFX or FF7's steampunk/anti-corporatism. It's more random. The Mog has an obnoxious voice. "Kupo" is much better written as text than performed by what sounds to be an entitled 5th grade girl. Finally, there are no summons (aeons, eidolons, guardians, etc.). It's not very epic in length making this feel more like a novella.… Expand
  14. OmegaZero
    Dec 10, 2012
    7
    As a fan of JRPG, I have to say, this is certainly an improvement from FF-XIII. The ending is what really let me down. And despite its improvement, I only rented it, and spent it on other well-deserved games like Darksiders 2. Sorry, Lightning, but Death is FAR better than you in terms of character charisma. Plus, the RPG elements in DS 2 is better than XIII-2. An improvement, yes, but DSAs a fan of JRPG, I have to say, this is certainly an improvement from FF-XIII. The ending is what really let me down. And despite its improvement, I only rented it, and spent it on other well-deserved games like Darksiders 2. Sorry, Lightning, but Death is FAR better than you in terms of character charisma. Plus, the RPG elements in DS 2 is better than XIII-2. An improvement, yes, but DS 2 proved to be a BETTER improvement.… Expand
  15. infinityqs
    Mar 19, 2012
    7
    Final fantasy 13 was one of my favorite ff games (respect me, cause a lot of people hates 13 and i'm the few who liked it) I liked for it's gameplay (don't judge me) the graphics and the soundtrack but 13-2 had potential but it couldn't keep up unlike it's predecessor 13-2 had a horrible soundtrack and the graphics went back to the good side unlike 13 which was in the best. The plot wasFinal fantasy 13 was one of my favorite ff games (respect me, cause a lot of people hates 13 and i'm the few who liked it) I liked for it's gameplay (don't judge me) the graphics and the soundtrack but 13-2 had potential but it couldn't keep up unlike it's predecessor 13-2 had a horrible soundtrack and the graphics went back to the good side unlike 13 which was in the best. The plot was good until the ending. I guess it ruined it for me and other ff fans that Lightning died and it offered no closure what so ever. I guess sqenix wants another ff13 game. Well there's nothing wrong with that just as long as sqenix never makes another ff14 game.… Expand
  16. RexReqz
    Mar 10, 2012
    7
    Was fine but I'm tired of playing as weak minded, self-doubting characters. The look like jap-pop stars. Give gamers the opportunity to play as a badass and not a Barrett look alike but a cold calculating character with the apparel to back it up. This game isn't as much fun as I wanted it to be. There isn't any fight that feels as if though you're up against unsurmountable odds. It'sWas fine but I'm tired of playing as weak minded, self-doubting characters. The look like jap-pop stars. Give gamers the opportunity to play as a badass and not a Barrett look alike but a cold calculating character with the apparel to back it up. This game isn't as much fun as I wanted it to be. There isn't any fight that feels as if though you're up against unsurmountable odds. It's fine but that's about it. The monster catching system is just something to kill time. Yes, the series is moving in a different direction than what was once Final Fantasy whether or not that's going to be a good thing is still up to debate. I know that Square Enix knows that they're losing fans with the release of later titles. For those that have known the series for a long time have to accept the fact that the series they once knew is no longer going to be what they enjoyed. If you have such a strong attachment to something you should voice your opinions and let the developers know but so far they haven't listened. Let the new fans enjoy Final Fantasy from now on. There are developers out there who still make good jrpgs you just have to look.… Expand
  17. yayihaveanemail
    Feb 10, 2012
    6
    Not what I expected... in a bad way. I'm writing this review assuming that the reader has played the original to an extent. The game starts out well, but eventually turns into an overall mess as you get farther into the story. The original was so fun to me because of the long engaging story, great characters, and fast and difficult combat. All of these are pretty much missing in the secondNot what I expected... in a bad way. I'm writing this review assuming that the reader has played the original to an extent. The game starts out well, but eventually turns into an overall mess as you get farther into the story. The original was so fun to me because of the long engaging story, great characters, and fast and difficult combat. All of these are pretty much missing in the second series. The story is pretty much a huge failure and didn't hold my interest for a second. I won't give any specific details on what the story is, but let's just say it is not the kind of story I expect from Square Enix. There's a problem that threatens the world, and the characters travel from place to place trying to fix it. That is about all there is to the story. I suppose that's what happens when you try to incorporate an open ended world into an RPG. The characters were so bland that it makes me depressed just watching them talk. If they were only going to give us two characters, at least make them somewhat interesting! One character just goes along with the flow while the other character tries to take the lead but is dumb as a rock. The way the game flows does not satisfy me either. It feels almost tedious to play through the game. I feel like there is no way to do the sidequests without a walkthrough because the quest objectives are so vague, and most of them don't show you where the objective is, leaving you to explore the map over and over again only to find that what you were looking for was in the corner that you accidentally skipped over. There is no way to gauge the difficulty of the side quest you are doing, so sometimes you will end up having side quests that are designed for extremely high leveled characters, while you are only a couple hours into the game. I don't know how many hours I've wasted trying to kill unbeatable monsters. Even part of the main story frustrates me. Having to travel back to all the places I've been before just to pick up an invisible item that takes forever to find is not good game design. I really do appreciate the fact that there are side quests to go to unlike in the original, but it feels like everything I do is a side quest, and I really don't like that feeling. I am at the moment struggling to find motivation to continue with the main story, even though I am on the second to last chapter. All this wouldn't be so bad though if the combat and leveling was fun. Unfortunately though, this game falls short on that aspect too. The leveling system makes it very hard to switch from one playstyle to another if you want to change up your party. Thus, you will probably be using one set of paradigms throughout the whole game, which isn't fun. Raising monsters seemed like a neat idea at first, but I really wish they just put another character in the monster's slot instead. It suffers the same problem as leveling your characters, as it takes a ludicrous amount of resources and grinding to make a monster powerful. The combat is pretty much exactly the same as in the original, but the enemy designs and the way character development pans out pretty much ruins everything. One of the reasons FFXIII was fun was because it was necessary to use every advantage you can possibly gain to defeat your current enemy. It was fun to attempt fitting in synergist buffs with the intense damage that your medic has to heal through, while also trying to keep the enemy chain gauge up. It was fun to adjust to different situations, and having to adjust your entire playstyle for different fights. FFXIII-2 absolutely destroys this. There is no longer a need to adjust to a situation, or to rush to stagger an enemy. There is only a need to have high damage and survive burst damage, which involves a lot of switching to sentinel. The chain gauge can wait. Wound damage would have been a new interesting mechanic, which involves lowering your maximum HP as a fight wears on over time from tougher enemies, but the game provides wound potions for a fairly cheap price, which makes me wonder why they put in wound damage in at all. The game ranges from way too hard to way too easy. There is not an in between. If you try to proceed through the main story without any sidequests at all, you will end up getting your monkey spanked until bananas come out of your ears, but if you do just a couple sidequests, you will end up facerolling any enemies that come your way for all eternity, due to the fact that the game relies so much on just surviving a set amount of burst damage. Overall, I'm pretty much utterly disappointed with this game, but the community kind of brought it on themselves. They whined and whined for a more open world, and Square Enix indeed delivered. Unfortunately, the game just didn't end up being as fun as I thought it would be. It's not an absolutely terrible game though. It's just absolutely terrible for what Square Enix is capable of. I cannot recommend buying this game for it's full price.… Expand
  18. Glogglies
    Mar 13, 2012
    7
    Final Fantasy 13-2 is everything that is wrong with Final Fantasy today, and yet I sunk 40+ hours into it, rarely finding myself bored. The storyline is something that just turns out being incoherent and lack luster, the characters are melodramatic and outlandishly silly, the dialogue is poorly written; but Final Fantasy 13-2 displays Square's willingness to answer the complaints of fansFinal Fantasy 13-2 is everything that is wrong with Final Fantasy today, and yet I sunk 40+ hours into it, rarely finding myself bored. The storyline is something that just turns out being incoherent and lack luster, the characters are melodramatic and outlandishly silly, the dialogue is poorly written; but Final Fantasy 13-2 displays Square's willingness to answer the complaints of fans and to evolve the series into something fresh and interesting. This game's selling point for me is the mere fact that Square clearly cares about this franchise. I absolutely loved the monster collecting, was engrossed by the rare monster hunts, found the levels to be insanely varied and interesting, I was taken aback by most of the music, and this is one of the best looking games you'll find today. One other point, the end boss is my favorite since Ultimecia. Without any spoilers, it's one of Final Fantasy's coolest end foes and it's challenging to boot. I can't really sell you on the story: People travel through time to find a character who I don't really care about. I can't say Square has fully learned how to write a believable character: These characters spew one liners like a B movie. I can't tell you that this is much different than FF13: it's a new story with the same skin. But I had a blast with this game. Great boss battles, beautiful graphics, a stellar soundtrack (similar to Nier's), and a monster collection system that will stump any completionist, this ones a pretty good ride.… Expand
  19. S_Jake
    May 4, 2012
    6
    This is very much a modern, streamlined Final Fantasy game, but IX and XII apart, it's probably the best one I've played in the series since VII. Needless to say it looks great, the soundtrack is amazing, the battles are fast and fun and the character progression system potentially provides a nice level of depth. However, this game is not without it's faults, most notably a severe lack ofThis is very much a modern, streamlined Final Fantasy game, but IX and XII apart, it's probably the best one I've played in the series since VII. Needless to say it looks great, the soundtrack is amazing, the battles are fast and fun and the character progression system potentially provides a nice level of depth. However, this game is not without it's faults, most notably a severe lack of challenge for anybody who is not an RPG newbie (which rather squanders the depth of the character progression).

    That said, I would have been happy to score this as an eight as I found this to be a rather refreshing entry in an increasingly moribund series, but the rip-off DLC left me with a rather bitter taste in the mouth (for example, areas in the game that are redundant until said DLC is purchased, etc).    … Expand
  20. iKen
    Apr 13, 2020
    7
    Played on XBOX 360.
    Gameplay: GOOD.
    Story: GOOD.
    Graphic: GOOD.
    Music/Sound: GOOD.
    Dialogue/Voice Acting: GOOD.
  21. Rox22
    Sep 11, 2013
    6
    While FF 13.2 does everything it can to not be as linear as its predecessor, that is also it's downfall.

    The story is decent but the time travel aspect just turn it into a chaotic mess that can be very hard to follow. Combat is fun, but the monster system makes this game feel like it is trying to mimic what made Pokemon or Shin Megami Tensei series successful. Serah is a good    While FF 13.2 does everything it can to not be as linear as its predecessor, that is also it's downfall.

    The story is decent but the time travel aspect just turn it into a chaotic mess that can be very hard to follow. Combat is fun, but the monster system makes this game feel like it is trying to mimic what made Pokemon or Shin Megami Tensei series successful.

    Serah is a good protagonist and you really do get to like her. Noel, on the other hand, looks, sounds and feels like a rejected Kingdom Hearts character (Sora's loser brother.) I utterly detest him and feel the game would have been far better off without him, or at the very least a serious redesign.

    Then comes the ending and DLC. While the ending was a bit of a nice surprise, it also was perhaps a bit too dark when you look at the tone of the rest of the game. I'm aware the later DLC resolved this, but this brings the much anticipated argument why pay for the ending that we should have gotten in the first place?!

    Overall:
    FF XIII-2 was a noble attempt to correct the "wrongs" of FF XIII, but ultimately it just made a mess. It is a fun mess that is really enjoyable at times, but there are far too many things wrong when compare to what is right.    … Expand
  22. Skals
    Jan 8, 2013
    7
    FF XIII-2 was quite disappointing not in the way of gameplay or story, but instead in it's repetitiveness. When I play a FF game, I love to do everything in it, and I mean everything. This game was no different, I put time into getting every achievement.
    The main point of this game is that you travel through time and space, and you return to familiar areas quite often but in different    FF XIII-2 was quite disappointing not in the way of gameplay or story, but instead in it's repetitiveness. When I play a FF game, I love to do everything in it, and I mean everything. This game was no different, I put time into getting every achievement.
    The main point of this game is that you travel through time and space, and you return to familiar areas quite often but in different time lines / parallel universes. This sounds good and all, but the level design is so lazy at times, that all they do is change a few textures, and slightly edit a few models rather than put real effort into the games and make the levels look different. Being a level designer myself I'm quite disappointed by the level design in this game. The story was enjoyable, but not the best.    … Expand
  23. JenJen387
    Jun 13, 2013
    7
    Shamefully this is the first Final Fantasy game I've ever played. It gave me a decent impression. I think they focused too much on the graphics, but I must admit, they're beautiful. The characters can be kinda irritating and the quotes aren't very convincing.. Unfortunately, players can't talk to non-playable characters, probably due to the scenario of being a l'cie and all. The game lacksShamefully this is the first Final Fantasy game I've ever played. It gave me a decent impression. I think they focused too much on the graphics, but I must admit, they're beautiful. The characters can be kinda irritating and the quotes aren't very convincing.. Unfortunately, players can't talk to non-playable characters, probably due to the scenario of being a l'cie and all. The game lacks decent transportation considering the unnecessarily huge settings. There are too many cutscenes and the story goes on forever making it repelling to finish the game. And after you actually do finish the game, theres not much of a reason to continue on. Though I can tell a lot of effort was put into this game. This game has not failed to impress me on the soundtrack. It's greatly composed and currently in my music lists.… Expand
  24. mr_dad
    Aug 30, 2015
    6
    Did anyone actually want this?

    FF13-2 is the sequel that absolutely no one asked for. And yet, it's a sequel that almost made me forget how pointless it's existence is....almost. While improving every aspect of the actual game has been vastly improved over XIII, the story and characters are arguably even worse. The time travel mechanic is cool, and the open areas are a thankful change    Did anyone actually want this?

    FF13-2 is the sequel that absolutely no one asked for. And yet, it's a sequel that almost made me forget how pointless it's existence is....almost. While improving every aspect of the actual game has been vastly improved over XIII, the story and characters are arguably even worse. The time travel mechanic is cool, and the open areas are a thankful change from the linearity of the first game, but this also makes it a bit to easy to get completely lost and unsure how to progress. In short, for every step forward, there was an equal step back.

    THE GOOD
    + Combat/Leveling is vastly improved with the focus on efficiency father than complex tactics.
    + Caius Ballad is one of the best Final Fantasy villains. Period.

    THE MIXED
    +/- While monster collect is fun, it's also pointless. A full party would have been preferred.
    +/- While the open-ended nature is welcome, it also gets you lost and confused a lot.

    THE BAD
    - Retcons the rather satisfying ending of Final Fantasy XIII.
    - The plot is far too needlessly convoluted, and has one of the worst endings in the series.
    - Aside from Caius (and arguably Noel), the characters are as flat as they come.    … Expand
  25. CloudStrife05
    Aug 16, 2021
    6
    Like its predecessor, XIII-2 is just ok.
    The Good: Hope is not annoying at all here and the introduction on Noel as a character was good.
    The Bad: For me the main one is, you do not get to play as Lightning which sucked. The fact that she is on the cover of the game made this even worse as it seems Square new the only way to draw anyone in was to have people think she was the main    Like its predecessor, XIII-2 is just ok.
    The Good: Hope is not annoying at all here and the introduction on Noel as a character was good.
    The Bad: For me the main one is, you do not get to play as Lightning which sucked. The fact that she is on the cover of the game made this even worse as it seems Square new the only way to draw anyone in was to have people think she was the main antagonist which she is not. That honor goes to her sister Serah, who is an ok character but not the bada$$ Lightning is.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

65
#65 Best Xbox 360 Game of 2012
28
#28 Most Discussed Xbox 360 Game of 2012
79
#79 Most Shared Xbox 360 Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 50 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 40 out of 50
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 50
  3. Negative: 1 out of 50
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Mar 22, 2012
    70
    Stand-alone expansion pack you will not want to play for of the story, but only for its battles. [March 2012]
  2. GameFocus
    Mar 18, 2012
    81
    If you take XIII-2 and grade it on its own merits, it stands out as a fantastic game. But, if you walk in looking for some semblance of what made the series a household name in the RPG world, you'll be sorely disappointed.
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  3. XboxAddict
    Mar 2, 2012
    91
    With numerous endings, extremely challenging bonus bosses, and a pokemon-like addictiveness of trying to catch them all, Final Fantasy XIII-2 definitely surpassed my expectations and I'm glad that many of the shortcomings of XIII have been addressed and fixed. If you were let down with XIII, give XIII-2 a shot, you might be impressed with all the improvements and changes.
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