The Sky Is Glowing.
Mar. 5th, 2012 11:31 amI have now finished Final Fantasy XIII-2! I've been making notes here and there as I play, so this entry contains bits and pieces from Augusta Tower to the ending cutscene.
( Final Fantasy XIII-2: thoughts up to the end. )
In conclusion: from a gameplay perspective, Final Fantasy XIII-2 is probably better than XIII. I certainly enjoyed all the exploration.
One negative gameplay point: the lack of any sort of cap in Final Fantasy XIII-2 makes me realise that the Crystarium caps in Final Fantasy XIII, although they may have frustrated me at the time, were actually a really good idea. It forced the player to be strategic. In XIII-2, I overlevelled to the point at which I could use the 'HIT THE THING' strategy with almost invariable success. I didn't even need to bother staggering most enemies. Still, as your characters don't level up automatically, I suppose it's possible to hold back on spending your Crystarium Points if you prefer a challenge.
I feel that XIII-2 is considerably weaker than XIII in terms of character and slightly weaker in terms of plot. It suffers, I believe, from having only two central characters. One of my favourite parts of the game was the Sunleth Waterscape 300 AF, when there was a third party member for Noel and Serah to play off; I felt I got to know Noel much better when I saw him clashing with someone.
Although I don't think Serah and Noel are as interesting as the central cast of this game's predecessor, I do really like that they're a boy and a girl travelling together, becoming close friends, with absolutely no romantic implications. Not something we see often enough, I feel!
Overall, I've enjoyed XIII-2, but I don't love it in the way I love XIII due to my weird 'character is more important than gameplay, I don't care if this is supposed to be a game' priorities. This is one hundred per cent my personal opinion. I don't think it's objectively worse than XIII; I think it depends on what you value.
( Final Fantasy XIII-2: thoughts up to the end. )In conclusion: from a gameplay perspective, Final Fantasy XIII-2 is probably better than XIII. I certainly enjoyed all the exploration.
One negative gameplay point: the lack of any sort of cap in Final Fantasy XIII-2 makes me realise that the Crystarium caps in Final Fantasy XIII, although they may have frustrated me at the time, were actually a really good idea. It forced the player to be strategic. In XIII-2, I overlevelled to the point at which I could use the 'HIT THE THING' strategy with almost invariable success. I didn't even need to bother staggering most enemies. Still, as your characters don't level up automatically, I suppose it's possible to hold back on spending your Crystarium Points if you prefer a challenge.
I feel that XIII-2 is considerably weaker than XIII in terms of character and slightly weaker in terms of plot. It suffers, I believe, from having only two central characters. One of my favourite parts of the game was the Sunleth Waterscape 300 AF, when there was a third party member for Noel and Serah to play off; I felt I got to know Noel much better when I saw him clashing with someone.
Although I don't think Serah and Noel are as interesting as the central cast of this game's predecessor, I do really like that they're a boy and a girl travelling together, becoming close friends, with absolutely no romantic implications. Not something we see often enough, I feel!
Overall, I've enjoyed XIII-2, but I don't love it in the way I love XIII due to my weird 'character is more important than gameplay, I don't care if this is supposed to be a game' priorities. This is one hundred per cent my personal opinion. I don't think it's objectively worse than XIII; I think it depends on what you value.
