My Current thoughts on Final Fantasy XIII-2
I thought since i've had this Livejournal for well over a year & i pay for a premium account, that i may as well use it for blogging!
So here we go!
Currently i've been obsessed with the latest instalment to one of my favourite franchises of all time: Final Fantasy XIII-2
Now i did like Final Fantasy XIII, but something about it left a stale taste in my mouth, the best thing for me was the battle system & the characters, everything else however, fell on its arse
When they announced FFXIII-2 i wasn't really hyped for it, due to my thoughts on FFXIII, i pre-orderd it at the very last minute a couple of days before release my thoughts in the end were "It's still a Final Fantasy, i have to give it a try" I got the Standard Collector's edition, i was far too late to get the Crystal Edition =<
This Version here:
All the things included as always are real nice quality, I'm glad with the Clam-shell packaging, which is similar to the Dissidia Collector's Edition, It's awesome and sturdy, much better than the flimsy box that came with the FFXIII Collector's Edition..
Now when i started the game i instantly got sucked back into the familiarity with the Characters. The Opening battle on Odin with Lighting felt fresh, but also reminded me of how much i love Lightning's Character, The opening cinematic summed up the basic outline pretty well, Introducing Noel & Caius within it.
Once i got control of Serah and played the actual game i was instantly hooked on the basics of the game engine, the lush character models, the gorgeous sets & the simply amazing music, made it feel like Final Fantasy. The basics of the Battle system hasn't changed! which made me extremely happy, it flows fast and Paradigms instantly put you back into the action that gripped me in FFXIII, but one thing i noticed that i didn't flee from any enemies throughout the ENTIRE game, i battled everything, while in FFXIII, i found myself fleeing due to being under levelled in certain roles or not having the party members i was used to, to get a quick win. While in XIII-2 you basically have the roles set out for you for each part of the game, unlocking the more advanced ones later.
I've now finished the main storyline & gotten all Paradox endings, i must say i enjoyed nearly every minute of the game, THIS game is what FFXIII should have been, to me it exceeds it in every single way. The Storyline, even though it's filled with the typical JRPG Melodrama & dialogue that would never be said in real life, it still makes a very enjoyable tale that you want to see unfold! The Canon ending was also a shock and i really hope there's some kind of solid conclusion to it!
Another thing that made it great was the soundtrack, my absolute favourite thing in the original XIII was the soundtrack, "Blinded by light" has got to be my favourite battle theme ever! The new battle theme in XIII-2 isn't as catchy, but it's still great (& Blinded by light does make itself noticed later in the game) The main title theme "Wish" is simply amazing.. it suits the game and the story perfectly!
Square Enix are making DLC for this game too! I recently Downloaded "Sazh - Heads or Tails" It was a tad lacklustre for a DLC "Episode" since it was mainly playing in the Serendipity mini games =/ so i'm hoping some bigger story driven battles are used in future DLC, for me DLC outfits & weapons don't cut it, i need some decent story to get into!
That's me all done running on for now, I'd hope people would like to comment or whatever, but i guess it's just a place for me to post my thoughts!
So here we go!
Currently i've been obsessed with the latest instalment to one of my favourite franchises of all time: Final Fantasy XIII-2
Now i did like Final Fantasy XIII, but something about it left a stale taste in my mouth, the best thing for me was the battle system & the characters, everything else however, fell on its arse
When they announced FFXIII-2 i wasn't really hyped for it, due to my thoughts on FFXIII, i pre-orderd it at the very last minute a couple of days before release my thoughts in the end were "It's still a Final Fantasy, i have to give it a try" I got the Standard Collector's edition, i was far too late to get the Crystal Edition =<
This Version here:
All the things included as always are real nice quality, I'm glad with the Clam-shell packaging, which is similar to the Dissidia Collector's Edition, It's awesome and sturdy, much better than the flimsy box that came with the FFXIII Collector's Edition..
Now when i started the game i instantly got sucked back into the familiarity with the Characters. The Opening battle on Odin with Lighting felt fresh, but also reminded me of how much i love Lightning's Character, The opening cinematic summed up the basic outline pretty well, Introducing Noel & Caius within it.
Once i got control of Serah and played the actual game i was instantly hooked on the basics of the game engine, the lush character models, the gorgeous sets & the simply amazing music, made it feel like Final Fantasy. The basics of the Battle system hasn't changed! which made me extremely happy, it flows fast and Paradigms instantly put you back into the action that gripped me in FFXIII, but one thing i noticed that i didn't flee from any enemies throughout the ENTIRE game, i battled everything, while in FFXIII, i found myself fleeing due to being under levelled in certain roles or not having the party members i was used to, to get a quick win. While in XIII-2 you basically have the roles set out for you for each part of the game, unlocking the more advanced ones later.
I've now finished the main storyline & gotten all Paradox endings, i must say i enjoyed nearly every minute of the game, THIS game is what FFXIII should have been, to me it exceeds it in every single way. The Storyline, even though it's filled with the typical JRPG Melodrama & dialogue that would never be said in real life, it still makes a very enjoyable tale that you want to see unfold! The Canon ending was also a shock and i really hope there's some kind of solid conclusion to it!
Another thing that made it great was the soundtrack, my absolute favourite thing in the original XIII was the soundtrack, "Blinded by light" has got to be my favourite battle theme ever! The new battle theme in XIII-2 isn't as catchy, but it's still great (& Blinded by light does make itself noticed later in the game) The main title theme "Wish" is simply amazing.. it suits the game and the story perfectly!
Square Enix are making DLC for this game too! I recently Downloaded "Sazh - Heads or Tails" It was a tad lacklustre for a DLC "Episode" since it was mainly playing in the Serendipity mini games =/ so i'm hoping some bigger story driven battles are used in future DLC, for me DLC outfits & weapons don't cut it, i need some decent story to get into!
That's me all done running on for now, I'd hope people would like to comment or whatever, but i guess it's just a place for me to post my thoughts!