E3: Final Fantasy XIII-2

Sara Brown

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Nov 26, 2008
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E3: Final Fantasy XIII-2



A sequel to the 13th sequel. What could go wrong?

A direct sequel to the critically controversial Final Fantasy XIII, XIII-2 picks up right where we left off. Blending some familiar characters with some new, the first demonstration focused on XIII's Serah (Lightning's little sister), and a new male main character named Noel. These two travel together accompanied by a flying moogle companion.

Your moogle serves multiple purposes, some yet to be revealed. Here's what I do know: If you pay attention to it while exploring, you may notice your moogle change color. When he does, follow him and you'll be led to secret treasures underground that you'd not have seen without him. Also, when approaching an enemy, or enemies, you'll be presented with a "Moogle Clock" which looks like a dial. Stop the hand within the green slice of the dial and you'll receive bonuses in the ensuing battle. Preemptive Strike, for example. The last moogle surprise was a transformation, during battle, from adorable moogle to Serah's weapon. For long range fights he becomes a bow, and in close combat he's your sword. What a helpful little guy, right?

The Noel character is a young, handsome and optimistic fellow, skilled in melee combat. He carries two swords on his back, and brings new Paradigm Shifts to the table. I'm not sure where he comes in, or his connection to Serah, but he's very useful with his blades.

Speaking of combat, it's pretty similar to its predecessor. The Paradigm Shifts are back, as well as the star grading system and the general layout. New to the series, we have Cinematic Action. Think Summoning, but without the Summon. When you pull off a cinematic action you get to watch a cut scene of the attack. However, in an attempt to merge the cut-scenes Square is so famous for with interactive gameplay, they've added quick time events during the cut to make sure you don't go cook dinner while they work on the pretty. If you successfully execute the QTE you get bonus stuff, like paradigms that you can switch up during battle on the fly. Your cutscenes outside of battle are interactive as well. This time, success or failure determines the end of the cinematic. The enemy wreaks havoc on the environment, or he leaves it alone.

Another addition to combat is the recruitment of monsters. As a bonus in battle you can gain a monster crystal that turns your enemy into your assistant, aiding you in future battles, and fighting for your cause. The attacks they used against you in battle remain the same when they join your team, but they're given a Feral ability, which is essentially a super move they use whenever its ready.

I mentioned above that the moogle was helpful during exploration. That means there will actually be exploration. Color me happy. Wide open worlds with NPCs you can interact with. I like XIII just fine, but it was too claustrophobic. I'm excited to be walking around aimlessly through little towns again. You get a map, also, that starts dim and shades in with a brighter grey as you traverse through the different areas. Thank goodness for open space. Guess what else ... you can jump! There's an actual jump button. It blew my mind.

The demo itself was a playthrough of an early chapter of the game in which you're being chased by a very large elemental looking arm, This arm was the first visible representation of a very large, and formidable foe named Atlas. As the level progressed, and he continued stalking, he could pull you randomly into a temporal rift. The demonstrator described these side quests as "palate cleansing puzzles." In these segments you are presented with a red tile walkway. Some of the tiles have crystals on them, and all of the tiles disappeared when you stepped off. The goal was to reach the end of the walkway after having collected each of the crystals. If you fail, you can just start over. When you complete a few stages of this you go back to the main game.

Eventually the party encounters a device that your friend Alyssa explains may help you control Atlas. You're given the option to ignore it and fight him as is, or use the device and possibly subdue him. Another option at this juncture is to ask Alyssa for advice. We did that, and she suggested using the device. So, we did. Atlas changed color and slowed down, we had to fight him anyway, but it made the battle significantly easier. I just wonder whether or not Alyssa is always right ...

An exclusive presentation after the floor demo was completely Lightning's journey. Having reigned supreme over the events of Final Fantasy XIII, she is now dressed as a hero in beautiful intricately detailed armor. The scene shows her riding her trusty steed Odin, while fleeing Chaos Bahamut. The battle that ensued showed off her significantly higher HP and attack power than her little sister, and was grander in both scale and drama. Lightning is not a girl to mess with, and I'm looking forward to battling with her again.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 is supposed to hit shelves in early 2012, for both the Xbox 360, and the Playstation 3.

See all our coverage directly from the show floor. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/conferences/e3_2011 ]


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Onyx Oblivion

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Sep 9, 2008
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Can't wait.

FF13 is my personal favorite...and adding monster recruiting to that combat system will make it a lot more interesting. I say this as a long time fan of DQ Monsters and Pokemon, of course.

That said...QTEs? Really? Fuck.
 

Arkley

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Mar 12, 2009
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Holy shit! Jumping, occasional puzzles and quick time events! SE sure are pushing the bar now!
 

Raeil

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Nov 18, 2009
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I had noticed that the maps looked more open from the few scenes in the trailer with them. Also, cinematic action makes me happy (KHII was fun with them). I actually liked FFXIII, so I planned on getting this already, but the changes they have made are definitely positive (and at the very least, exploration makes sense from a story perspective now).
 

Covarr

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May 29, 2009
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KingWumpus said:
It would really be the sequel to the 12th sequel. Might want to think about rewording it.
No, you're forgetting X-2.

P.S. Thanks
 

Madmanonfire

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This game would have to be 10x as good as FF13 (shouldn't be hard) if I plan on getting it.
These details give me a little hope. Then again, it'd be better if it was Hope-less.
 

Mirrorknight

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Blruf. I couldn't stand XIII for more two hours before I had to quit. Borrowing elements (some meaner people would call it ripping off) from Pokemon and God of War isn't going to fix the fundamental flaws in it. Having QTE is NOT the way to fix the "just mash A" problem! Also, an open world instead of corridor after corridor, and a plot that makes some sort of sense would be nice, thanks.

Hell, the Final Fantasy series has gone so far down the crapper, I might as well ask for a remake of VI while I'm at it, if I'm asking for the impossible.
 

llafnwod

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Covarr said:
KingWumpus said:
It would really be the sequel to the 12th sequel. Might want to think about rewording it.
No, you're forgetting X-2.

P.S. Thanks
By that logic, the OP is also forgetting The After Years, Revenant Wings, and everything else on this list [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Final_Fantasy_spin-offs]. It's pretty clearly a semantic error, which a magazine is responsible for...
 

Bara_no_Hime

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Sara Brown said:
Sounds great! Looking forward to it.

I loved FF 13, but I did enjoy the open-section near the end a lot, so having more of that earlier in the game would be great.

Not sure about QTEs or Jumping, but the combat worked pretty well in FF 13 and it sounds like they didn't mess with it too much. Looking forward to it.
 

CardinalPiggles

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Jun 24, 2010
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Sheesh, after the last game's bitter failure (in most peoples eyes), you would have thought they would give up on this particular instalment.

There seems to be a ray of hope for this game, but I'm still scarred after FF13. I wont be buying it.
 

Thaius

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Mar 5, 2008
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I'm excited to see more. XIII had great characters, and the relational aspects of the story were fantastic (at least in the eyes of someone who understands and enjoys Japanese storytelling), but the meta-narrative was disappointing despite a huge and interesting world. I also loved the battle system and don't demand that all my games be the freaking Elder Scrolls, so I was fine with the linearity. XII did not dethrone any of my top 3 Final Fantasy games (VI, VII, and X), but it was really good, and I look forward to the sequel.
 

airwolfe591

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Dec 11, 2009
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I saw a live demo for XIII-2 and it really interested me and compelled me to say, was XIII just the tutorial for this? Being half serious here, I never finished XIII and will probably go back and beat it now, because this is interesting, and the invisible blue mage.. I mean monster recruiting, is a really interesting gameplay element. I'm keeping my eyes on this.
 

FinalHeart95

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Jun 29, 2009
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I enjoyed FFXIII, personally. Far from the favorite in my series, but it was decent. I'm somewhat optimistic about XIII-2, but not incredibly.

I also don't get the "you just do the same thing over and over!" problem people seem to be having with the combat in this game. From what I remember, spamming attacks is a Final Fantasy pasttime.
 

Fiz_The_Toaster

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Jan 19, 2011
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I'm having a better feeling about this game the more I hear about it, and I can't wait to play it. Plus I can play Lightning again and be a badass!

This has promise.
 

LostNumber

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Jul 17, 2009
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I'm happy to hear they opened up the world a bit more. I thought XIII was pretty good, but seriously lacked in exploration until later in the game. This is a definite buy for me.
 

tehweave

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Apr 5, 2009
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WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

*bawls uncontrollably*
 

yanipheonu

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Can't wait. XD Really if it was just more of the same battle system I would be just happy, but they've really improved things.

The battle system is MUCH faster and I like the "cinematic action" sequences.
Plus the main complaint from people, the linearity (which I didn't even mind) has been solved, the maps already seem much bigger.

It's one to watch!