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I liked it. And this is coming from someone who ultimately liked FF13 a lot, so I wasn't exactly clamoring for huge changes, but the changes they did make were refreshing and seem like they could make for a pretty great game. Honestly, the biggest relief for me was that despite all appearances to the contrary, Noel actually seems like a pretty cool guy, not the insufferable JRPG teen I was afraid we might have to spend the whole game saddled with.

I have died at least 5 times, and can not beat atlas. Not sure what I am doing wrong. I don't survive long enough to get him staggered.

Finally won; just grinded.

Originally Posted by Gamehead I have died at least 5 times, and can not beat atlas. Not sure what I am doing wrong. I don't survive long enough to get him staggered. Finally won; just grinded.

Did you switch to SEN/SEN whenever he readied his big punch attack?

Originally Posted by Gamehead I have died at least 5 times, and can not beat atlas. Not sure what I am doing wrong. I don't survive long enough to get him staggered. Finally won; just grinded.

Did you use the machine Alyssa mentioned to weaken him or did you go after him right away?I think they expected people to use that in the demo so they would get a sample of the puzzles.

Downloading now Can't wait to give it a shot. I was another one in the minority that really enjoyed the first one! Granted, my expectations were really low coming in because of all the hate it got. Either way, I'm sure it will be awesome but I doubt I will get it on release.. Who knows though. It comes out exactly 1 week after my birthday and maybe I will break my rule of not buying games on release date :P

*EDIT*
Well, I played the demo for about an hour and I must say, there is a ton of changes/additions. First of all, the Crystarium. I kind of liked the old one better than this one. It's not as easy to see your upcoming bonuses as it was in the first one. Also, the option it gives once you expand the Crystarium. I guess it's kind of cool in a way that they let you choose what to go for first; whether it be the extra ATB slot off the bat, or the class bonuses.

Secondly, the monsters popping out of no where. Not really sure if that was just this area, but it was kind of annoying in a way. The old one, you could actually see your monsters on the screen/map whereas with this one they just fall out of the sky (time warp, or something?) Also seemed kind of lame that all you have to do to get a pre-emptive strike was strike them immediately instead of sneaking up behind them. I was kind of confused with it at first considering there was no mention of it (I barely skimmed through the data log, might have been a mention in there.)

Third, Monster System. I basically messed around only with the first two monsters they give you. I pretty much had the Zwenburg thing under all my Paradigms. The Cait Sith could be mighty useful as having a Medic on you at all times with two attacking classes. What I don't seem to get though: Are we going to be limited to two characters only with the addition of one monster or what? I have not been researching anything at all about this game. Are Noel and Serah the only two characters you get to play as through the entire game? I guess that's ok since I'm assuming there are a ton of monsters to choose from. They also don't seem too hard to level up.

Fourth, exploration. I guess they really tried to get away from the linearity of the first one because this one seems to have a lot of room for you to explore. Without dissecting the Demo too much, I was given two opportunities for Missions from random people walking around. It's nice having the option there but hopefully they didn't overdue it. The Paradox thing was ok too, I guess. Depending on how often those things pop out, I can see them becoming more of a nuisance than anything.

Fifth, equipment. I noticed you get three Accessory slots off the bat this time around, but the introduction of that point system. Again, I haven't researched much but did they get rid of leveling up your accessories and stuff? I guess putting that point restriction is kinda nice as it makes you think about what accessories you should use. Two mediocre, or one good etc. They also seemed to have drifted away from solid numbers (HP + 100) to strict percentages. I remember abusing Potions and Doctors Code for the a good part of the beginning in the first game and it came to bite me in the ass because I never learned to use my Medic properly, lol.

Also as a tip. You start off with 20 something Phoenix Downs. They sell for 500 a piece. I ended up selling them and getting some money to level up my monsters/buy equipment. I got the Zwenburg to level 20 before he leveled up and seemed to need a different material to gain more levels. I tried going for Atlas without touching the machine, but I was killed instantly on all occasions. I even set my chars to SEN/SEN but they only survived the first blow, before dying to the second. I guess you really have to go for that machine before you can progress. By the way, did anyone else find it really hard to 5 star battles? I barely got any 5 stars, even when getting Pre-Emptive Strike..

Overall, the game looks promising but at the same time a lot different than the first. Obviously, 1 hour on the Demo is not nearly enough for me to adjust to the things but I am sure if I spend more time with it I would get accustomed to it. I went over to ps3trophies.org and checked out their Road Map. Main Story says 20 to 30 hours with another 20 to 30 hours to complete the rest of the achievements (40~60 hours to 100%). The first one was (75 to 100 hours to 100%) Took me about 70. I might just hold off for a sale of $40 at least. But we'll see..

Woops.. guess I rambled on quite a bit more than I thought.. LOL sorry guys

Originally Posted by Ryuukishi Did you switch to SEN/SEN whenever he readied his big punch attack?

It took me a few attempts before I though of switching to Sens. I had not bothered to use the Sen monster, until after I died a couple times.

Originally Posted by elaine_of_shalott Did you use the machine Alyssa mentioned to weaken him or did you go after him right away?I think they expected people to use that in the demo so they would get a sample of the puzzles.

My very first attempt was running straight at him. I went down in one punch.

A huge problem I had was wound damage. I couldn't figure out for the longest, why my heals were not being effective. I played 13 but don't remember much about the system.

If I switch to Sen types right away will I instantly receive the damage reductions?

Originally Posted by bigpimpin24 I went over to ps3trophies.org and checked out their Road Map. Main Story says 20 to 30 hours with another 20 to 30 hours to complete the rest of the achievements (40~60 hours to 100%).

Thanks for the heads up that the roadmap is up. I wanted to be sure I was aware of any missables before I started playing. Thankfully FF13 didn't really have any missable achievements.

Originally Posted by Ryuukishi Thanks for the heads up that the roadmap is up. I wanted to be sure I was aware of any missables before I started playing. Thankfully FF13 didn't really have any missable achievements.

Yeah it doesn't seem to be too bad. Looks like instead of using missions for end game content, they decided to roll with "Fragments" Apparently you must do something unique to acquire these fragments so that's pretty nice. In Final Fantasy 13 the mission system basically was: Find Stone, look for monster, return to stone. While it was very basic, something about it just made it fun. I imagine this will be fun too.

Digital Foundry demo analysis

The 360 port is now running at the same resolution as the PS3 version (yay!), but the framerate is worse (boo!). And though there is far less emphasis on FMV in this game, the PS3 is still going to have the better-looking, less compressed movies.

So the PS3 is still the preferred version, but the gap is much smaller this time. (I'm currently playing FF13 on PS3 after finishing the 360 version, and let me tell you, it is a night-and-day graphical difference.)

Originally Posted by Ryuukishi Digital Foundry demo analysis The 360 port is now running at the same resolution as the PS3 version (yay!), but the framerate is worse (boo!). And though there is far less emphasis on FMV in this game, the PS3 is still going to have the better-looking, less compressed movies. So the PS3 is still the preferred version, but the gap is much smaller this time. (I'm currently playing FF13 on PS3 after finishing the 360 version, and let me tell you, it is a night-and-day graphical difference.)

That's good to know. I bought FF13 for PS3 originally like a month or two after it came out and paid $29 for it.. Welp I never play my PS3 and I still have it sealed. I then snagged a 360 copy during a B2G1 and played through it. I just prefer achievements over trophies. Kinda crazy they got it on one disc though..

Originally Posted by bigpimpin24 Kinda crazy they got it on one disc though..

They ditched all of the FMVs this time around. The nice thing is that Serah and Noel will show their actual equipped costumes and weapons in cutscenes because they're being rendered in real time.

Do any of you guys use the black wired MS controller? I've been using it(for the demo and FF13) and I have a problem when I press up on the analog stick. My character walks rather than runs and it's only when I press up on the analog stick. Any other direction and my character runs that direction flawlessly. The white wireless controller doesn't have this problem. The reason I ask is because I am thinking about getting another black wired MS controller assuming mine is just defective.

If anyone gets the LE of this and doesn't want it anymore, I'll buy the soundtrack off anyone. PM me if interested.

Finally got my 1K yesterday in FFXIII. Now the long 6 day wait till this comes out and takes up all my spare time.

man, that's some dedication. I'm pretty happy with my 450 or so.

anyone get the game yet?
I heard there's a $20 gift card somewhere

Originally Posted by nasum anyone get the game yet? I heard there's a $20 gift card somewhere

I've got it. No gift card anywhere, though I am Canadian... and my copy is the PS3 version... and it's the Collector's Edition... Would like to know where you heard that it comes with a gift card.

Originally Posted by nasum anyone get the game yet? I heard there's a $20 gift card somewhere

Target has a $20 gift card.

Amazon has a $20 credit with it as well

I got it a couple of days ago
it's a pretty cool game
story could be better, but oh well
if anyone has any trouble beating it, here is a good FFXIII-2 Walktrhough