Final Fantasy XIII-2 Early Impressions
Spoiler warning for up through Episode 3 Part 2 (I'm in the middle of this section)
I like the idea of them taking the only female character who wasn't badass in the first game and... making her badass. Serah makes a pretty great heroine, which I wasn't expecting. Also glad that we still have a female protagonist.
I actually like Noel a lot! I know some people hate him, but he's nowhere near as annoying as I thought he would be. It really feels like he and Serah are a team, not like he's the big hero leading her around and she's just there to look pretty (my worst-case-scenario when I first started hearing about this game).
Now I know why Snow kept his hair covered in the first game. He has a ridiculously awful hairstyle. And even though I really don't like Snow at all? I was happy that he didn't try to stop Serah from fighting (at least, not so far as I've played). He seemed a little surprised, yeah, and made a comment like "Serah, you've toughened up!" but seemed to be impressed rather than horrified. I just hope that remains true for the rest of the episode (and game). Since he tends to be protective of her, I was waiting for him to tell her to go wait at home for him or start interrogating her on who Noel is and why she's hanging around some other guy. But so far he seems to trust her judgment and respect her decisions, so maybe Snow/Serah isn't such a horrible pairing after all (I prefer Noel/Serah or Single!Serah though).
Biggest shock: OMG when did Hope get so hot? Anyone who remembers my posts about FFXIII will know that I did not like Hope at all. I defiantly used Vanille as my primary mage instead of him (even though battles were generally quicker and simpler with him) just because I found him dull at best and annoying at worst. But now he's all grown up and, frankly, looking totally fine. I had seen pictures of adult Hope before I started the game, and I could only think, "Okay. He looks like Vaan in a suit with a crappy color scheme." But actually seeing him in the game, in movement, seeing his more mature personality... wow. I admit I'm smitten and keep wanting to go back to that area to visit and talk to him.
Speaking of Hope, I was amused by the fact that he seemed to be moving in on Serah. Makes me wonder if he still carries a grudge against Snow after all ("I'll stop trying to kill you, but instead I'll get hot and awesome and steal your girlfriend!"). I have a theory that he's actually in love with Lightning, and having gone all those years without seeing her (or Serah), the similarities between the two sisters kinda overwhelmed him for a moment. But... I kinda ship Hope/Alyssa. I know she's kinda dorky and is a rare example of a video game female who is cute but not supermodel gorgeous (her face is actually interesting and unique instead of being the typical doll-like beautiful face that most of the other females have, which I personally find refreshing), but she seems to have a crush on Hope and I can't help but root for her.
Love the music. Sort of regret not springing for the special edition to get the soundtrack, but oh well.
The gameplay is fabulous. I enjoyed the battle system in XIII and this keeps enough of the original to be familiar while adding enough new stuff to keep us on our toes. I think I liked the character growth system better in the first game (even if this one adds a lot more customization), just because it was simpler and easier to follow. I like the recruitable monsters thing (reminds me of Enchanted Arms) and I ADORE the Mog Clock (I very rarely start a battle without a preemptive strike, something I struggled with in the first game).
To be honest, I had no issue with the first game being so linear. I like my JRPG's linear. But I can appreciate some freedom to roam around and do more exploring (and having an actual reason to explore beyond looking at pretty graphics or grabbing a mostly worthless item). I also understand that the linearity of the first game was one of the chief complaints people had, and the developers had to fix it.
One of the chief complaints I had about the first game was the lack of a clearly defined, interesting villain. It seems like a serious attempt has been made to fix that issue too. While I can't say I find him particularly interesting so far (for some reason his facial expressions bug me; they remind me of some real life person that I can't exactly identify, but whom I am also bugged by), he is definitely clearly defined. I like his outfit though. XD
I despise the Crystal Bonds puzzles. I despise even more that they are mostly mandatory for progressing through the story. Something so annoying should be a voluntary mini-game. Like Blitzball. I suck at timed puzzles, okay?
And I guess that's it. I'm now on the lookout for some sexy adult Hope icons. :D
I like the idea of them taking the only female character who wasn't badass in the first game and... making her badass. Serah makes a pretty great heroine, which I wasn't expecting. Also glad that we still have a female protagonist.
I actually like Noel a lot! I know some people hate him, but he's nowhere near as annoying as I thought he would be. It really feels like he and Serah are a team, not like he's the big hero leading her around and she's just there to look pretty (my worst-case-scenario when I first started hearing about this game).
Now I know why Snow kept his hair covered in the first game. He has a ridiculously awful hairstyle. And even though I really don't like Snow at all? I was happy that he didn't try to stop Serah from fighting (at least, not so far as I've played). He seemed a little surprised, yeah, and made a comment like "Serah, you've toughened up!" but seemed to be impressed rather than horrified. I just hope that remains true for the rest of the episode (and game). Since he tends to be protective of her, I was waiting for him to tell her to go wait at home for him or start interrogating her on who Noel is and why she's hanging around some other guy. But so far he seems to trust her judgment and respect her decisions, so maybe Snow/Serah isn't such a horrible pairing after all (I prefer Noel/Serah or Single!Serah though).
Biggest shock: OMG when did Hope get so hot? Anyone who remembers my posts about FFXIII will know that I did not like Hope at all. I defiantly used Vanille as my primary mage instead of him (even though battles were generally quicker and simpler with him) just because I found him dull at best and annoying at worst. But now he's all grown up and, frankly, looking totally fine. I had seen pictures of adult Hope before I started the game, and I could only think, "Okay. He looks like Vaan in a suit with a crappy color scheme." But actually seeing him in the game, in movement, seeing his more mature personality... wow. I admit I'm smitten and keep wanting to go back to that area to visit and talk to him.
Speaking of Hope, I was amused by the fact that he seemed to be moving in on Serah. Makes me wonder if he still carries a grudge against Snow after all ("I'll stop trying to kill you, but instead I'll get hot and awesome and steal your girlfriend!"). I have a theory that he's actually in love with Lightning, and having gone all those years without seeing her (or Serah), the similarities between the two sisters kinda overwhelmed him for a moment. But... I kinda ship Hope/Alyssa. I know she's kinda dorky and is a rare example of a video game female who is cute but not supermodel gorgeous (her face is actually interesting and unique instead of being the typical doll-like beautiful face that most of the other females have, which I personally find refreshing), but she seems to have a crush on Hope and I can't help but root for her.
Love the music. Sort of regret not springing for the special edition to get the soundtrack, but oh well.
The gameplay is fabulous. I enjoyed the battle system in XIII and this keeps enough of the original to be familiar while adding enough new stuff to keep us on our toes. I think I liked the character growth system better in the first game (even if this one adds a lot more customization), just because it was simpler and easier to follow. I like the recruitable monsters thing (reminds me of Enchanted Arms) and I ADORE the Mog Clock (I very rarely start a battle without a preemptive strike, something I struggled with in the first game).
To be honest, I had no issue with the first game being so linear. I like my JRPG's linear. But I can appreciate some freedom to roam around and do more exploring (and having an actual reason to explore beyond looking at pretty graphics or grabbing a mostly worthless item). I also understand that the linearity of the first game was one of the chief complaints people had, and the developers had to fix it.
One of the chief complaints I had about the first game was the lack of a clearly defined, interesting villain. It seems like a serious attempt has been made to fix that issue too. While I can't say I find him particularly interesting so far (for some reason his facial expressions bug me; they remind me of some real life person that I can't exactly identify, but whom I am also bugged by), he is definitely clearly defined. I like his outfit though. XD
I despise the Crystal Bonds puzzles. I despise even more that they are mostly mandatory for progressing through the story. Something so annoying should be a voluntary mini-game. Like Blitzball. I suck at timed puzzles, okay?
And I guess that's it. I'm now on the lookout for some sexy adult Hope icons. :D