Final Fantasy XIII-2 Review

Very well-written review. I'm greatly enjoying my experience about 10 hours in, but I also was in the minority that really liked FF13 too and finished all but a few of the monster hunts. Is it fair to assume that all of the really hard worlds/times are ones accessed by wild gate keys? I found the first worlds fairly easy, but then I found the 300AF Bresha Ruins and am getting slaughtered.
 
Great review as usual, panzerfaust. I still haven't purchased the game as I decided to wait it out a bit when I found out it was a lot shorter than the first one. Also the fact that they are going to be doing DLC this time around makes me want to wait even more.

I really enjoyed the demo and there seems to be a lot of improvement in this game. I am certain I will love it since I really liked the first one. I'm a little torn that they are doing DLC though. Had it been an extra dungeon or something for fun like some other RPGs have done, then that's fine. I have been reading that they plan to wrap the story up with DLC though. That makes me want to wait until everything is released.
 
I've heard nothing but good things about everything but the end of the game, which is pretty typical anymore. The guy I know that reviewed it felt really ripped off about that particular aspect, but seemed to really enjoy the rest of it.
 
[quote name='panzerfaust']
Exorbitant amounts of experience points simply roll in, especially if a player -- even for a moment -- gives into the temptation of additional monster hunting and sidequests. The Crsyatirum then offers paths for characters to take at each level – a choice to open up a tree for another role (i.e. Sentinel), to add another attack to the time gauge, or to expand accessory capacity – but experienced RPG players will logically step back and see right through the charade. Expanding to more roles early on is flatly unintelligent given that monsters collected can fill the gaps for a missing Saboteur, Synergist, etc… Focusing on 1-2 roles before harnessing all 5 will instead lead to a powerful group early on, and why pursue the increased accessory capacity when the crucial ones don’t appear until the game’s final portions?
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Overall a very good review but I have to disagree with this part. The leveling option you describe will make you overpowered early in the game but at a cost of significant strength late in the game. For optimal power late game you actually have to spread your leveling out across the roles leveling your primary role only on the large nodes. This keeps you an appropriate level on your main path through the story but makes you really powerful when it comes time for the late game monster hunts. It is an example of the depth of options they put into the game. The choice you made is a legitimate one but far from the only logical or intelligent one that an experienced RPG player would choose.
 
[quote name='elaine_of_shalott']Overall a very good review but I have to disagree with this part. The leveling option you describe will make you overpowered early in the game but at a cost of significant strength late in the game. For optimal power late game you actually have to spread your leveling out across the roles leveling your primary role only on the large nodes. This keeps you an appropriate level on your main path through the story but makes you really powerful when it comes time for the late game monster hunts. It is an example of the depth of options they put into the game. The choice you made is a legitimate one but far from the only logical or intelligent one that an experienced RPG player would choose.[/QUOTE]

This is something I'm aware of and I apologize if it seemed like I skipped over it. Jumping between roles at the right moments does make you even more efficient, but the point then still stands. You can blow up your crystarium using fairly common sense as opposed to taking a route of seemingly important choices. If my Noel was ~150 strength short of what he could of been, it doesn't exactly do the game's campaign anymore justice.

And I also didn't mention that leading Serah down the Commando path is a viable and fun alternative. Perhaps a quick edit is in order, but I hope the message in those paragraphs came across cleanly.

Really appreciate the catch, btw.
 
[quote name='panzerfaust']This is something I'm aware of and I apologize if it seemed like I skipped over it. Jumping between roles at the right moments does make you even more efficient, but the point then still stands. You can blow up your crystarium using fairly common sense as opposed to taking a route of seemingly important choices. If my Noel was ~150 strength short of what he could of been, it doesn't exactly do the game's campaign anymore justice.

And I also didn't mention that leading Serah down the Commando path is a viable and fun alternative. Perhaps a quick edit is in order, but I hope the message in those paragraphs came across cleanly.

Really appreciate the catch, btw.[/QUOTE]

I can see your point and I think it is worth a warning but I don't feel it is poor design. This is especially the case since leveling is really optional. Unlike classic final fantasy you can fight all the battles you want and never have your stats increase a single point if you don't choose to apply the points you earned. You say you broke the system by accident but surely at some point you noticed encounters were becoming too easy. If you were finding the combat boring why didn't you just stop applying the CP points into the Crystarium for a little while? That is an idea for a second playthrough, see if I can defeat Atlas the first time without ever leveling up and continue with minimal leveling throughout the game. I could also do a playthrough using the large nodes to make each character as balanced as possible. I could do a playthrough without leveling up any of the monsters or even a playthrough without using the tamed monsters at all. The leveling system allows for a great many options. It is true that one option allows you to make the game too easy but it is only one of many choices. Almost all RPGs have some way for you to become excessively powerful if you grind enough or try to do all the sidequests as soon as they become available. Think how powerful you would end up if you were to grind for the money to buy the Shinra beach house the first time you end up in Costa Del Sol. The benefit of this design is that you don't have to level up if you don't want to even if you take the time to explore.
 
If you were finding the combat boring why didn't you just stop applying the CP points into the Crystarium for a little while?
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I guess I'll just agree to disagree there, because I find that ludicrous. This could apply to nearly every RPG ever made, among many other genres as well. It's like saying it's the player's fault he had a bad time because he used the tools the developers built the game around. Like if someone said Dead Space was boring, and the developer's rebuttal was, "are you kidding? why didn't you just use the plasma cutter the whole time?" Final Fantasy X is an easy game, why not just do the Rikku only challenge and beat the game with just her? Why not wear a blindfold? That sounds interesting.

I'm aware grinding can break many games and that it is indeed optional. But if the fault is the game's pacing and not the player, then it isn't the player's job to invent a new design for the developer to make the game passable. Because even if you did stock all your CP and never use it, you're taking a lot of fun out of the experience because it'll lack the reward of getting new skills, and battles will only satisfy you with challenge and nothing else.
 
This game pissed me off b/c I fought almost all of the enemies in front of me, used the Crystalarium points, and when I got to the boss at the beginning of 3-1, before you meet the head of the Academy, I kept dying and was told I wasn't high enough level.

Like you said, horrible pacing. This game is still leagues better than 13 IMO though.
 
We will agree to disagree then. FF 13 and MW 2 were traded straight up in May 2010 to GS for Alan Wake CE and I'm perfectly happy with that.
 
I loved ff13 and thought ff13-2 was alot better (and easier aswell)..Caius was one of the Best FF villains in years IMO.
 
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