Information for source at bottom of page w/pictures
Hey guys,
I’ve had the chance to sit down and play some FINAL FANTASY XIII-2 recently and I wanted to let you know what I thought of it. Before we jump straight into the Hands-On report, however, here are a few key points I suspect you’ll all be interested in knowing.
While still a deeply story-driven game, FINAL FANTASY XIII-2 has a higher emphasis on giving the player choices to make throughout the game. More branching paths, more hidden secrets, more exploration.
Level design sees you returning to unlocked environments to access hidden areas as the game progresses.
A self-contained story set after the events of FINAL FANTASY XIII. XIII-2’s story will be darker and more mysterious.
All-new playable characters (Serah and Noel), plus the return of fan favourites from FINAL FANTASY XIII.
The return of the much loved Moogle. A treasure hunter at heart, he will seek out hidden chests.
Recruit monsters who will aid you in battle, each with unique abilities.
For those of you who wanted more from FINAL FANTASY XIII, the sequel is the game for you. As a FINAL FANTASY fan I had some specific things in mind that I wanted to see from XIII-2 and the more I see of the game, the more excited I get about it..
As you can see from the list above, XIII-2 has seen improvements and expansions in many areas (and these are just features we’re allowed to talk about right now). The designers of the game have made giving more choice to the player a key focus of theirs. Even in the small demo being shown off at E3, the level design features plenty of forks in the road, leading to hidden chests and lurking monsters, as well as wide open areas.
The developers also want players to have more control over their character and a larger variety of experiences in the game, which explains the inclusion of a jump button (the first in the numbered FINAL FANTASY series’ long history), which can be used to find hidden chests. Abilities will be gained throughout the game which will further allow exploration, making you return to areas you’ve visited before to see if your new skills can give you access to hidden areas and items.
Environments are filled with people, many of whom can be engaged in dialogue. A little speech bubble floating above their head will let you know if they have anything interesting to say. All of this dialogue is fully voiced.
Your objectives won’t always be straight forward. Sometimes you will be given a choice of which direction to go to reach your goal or of which order to perform certain tasks in. The E3 demonstration includes the choice to fight a large golem (we’re talking massive - like 20 storeys) or to investigate a mysterious device which has appeared out of nowhere. Investigating the device will lower the golem’s defences, making him much easier to kill, but if you fancy the challenge you can go straight into battle.
Some battles may include interactive “cinematic action” sequences, which require you to press specific buttons at specific moments. On succesful button inputs, rewards are given, depending on the situation. For example, hitting buttons correctly in the first golem battle in the E3 demo results in your party members receiving temporary stat buffs, making the rest of the battle that little bit easier.
We’re not talking too much about the game’s story right now, but we have said that the game takes place a few years after the events of FINAL FANTASY XIII. Lightning has disappeared, presumed dead, and her sister Serah is trying to find out where she’s gone, with the help of the mysterious Noel. You will not need to have played or completed FINAL FANTASY XIII to understand the story of XIII-2. It will help to know some of the backstory, but it has been designed to be accessible to newcomers.
For those who are fans of the franchise, you may be surprised and delighted to learn that Moogles are making a return. One such creature befriends Serah and has vowed to follow her on her quest to find Lightning. He has a few tricks up his sleeves, such as being able to reveal secret chests and other secret abilities which we will be revealing in time.
Another new addition is the recruitment of monsters. They will join your party and each species of creature will have a unique ability. You will be able to switch them in and out on the fly by changing the party’s Paradigm. Yep, the Paradigm Shift system makes a return, with some improvements and refinements. We’re not going into much detail on all the enhancements yet, but we thought you’d like to know that they exist.
So hopefully this whets your appetite a bit and demonstrates just some of the enhancements and improvements FINAL FANTASY XIII-2 will feature. I’m personally very excited about this game and we’ve got much more to tell you about it in the coming months, so keep an eye out here on the Square Enix Members Blog.
https://member.eu.square-enix.com/en...tails-revealed
I must say, Towns... Moogles..Chocobos...A true FF battle theme..... "Bramching pathways...(thank god no more linear stuff...).. also Weather Effects!
I'm already sold on this game!
New Information on FFXIII-2!
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06-08-2011, 07:58 AMStarlordNew Information on FFXIII-2!
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06-08-2011, 08:04 AMLaughlyn
not even interested, this is a FFXIV forum.
If i wanted to read a review of another game id like to read it somewhere else.
But im sure it's a good review of yours. -
06-08-2011, 08:05 AMStarlordNo need to be rude, I'm being informative if you don't like what you see just move onto another threadQuote:
Originally Posted by Laughlyn
Thank you -
06-08-2011, 08:09 AMviion
I'll give it a shot since I loved 13, the Mobs in your Party seems funky.
Also I am dying to know where Snow is. -
06-08-2011, 08:10 AMLaughlyn
Im sorry, i dont feel i was being rude at all, besides i commented in a polite way.
But i still stand by what i said, if you want to be imformative try being informative
related to the game this forums was intended for.
I like many other like to read new stuff about FFXIV, not FFXIII-2. -
06-08-2011, 08:11 AMElexiaWhy did you post in a thread about something you have no interest in? lol. Clearly you did or you wouldn't have clicked the thread labeled FFXIII-2 unless you wanted to read about another game on the wrong forum.Quote:
Originally Posted by Laughlyn
That's likely what he meant by rude. -
06-08-2011, 08:13 AMLaughlynlol...*sarcasm*, i didnt even read the post, all i saw was FFXIII-2... how is that even relevant to FFXIV?Quote:
Originally Posted by Elexia
Thought i made that clear in my first post or did you miss that? -
06-08-2011, 08:13 AMJoekingI seems like Serah is cheating on Snow she was to young for him anyway.Quote:
Originally Posted by viion
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06-08-2011, 08:13 AMStarlordMe too, what's getting me is this person said: " You don't need to play FFXIII to get the story" He's saying FFXIII is considered a backstory.... in which he's saying FFXIII-2 is the main game in general... weird... in anyrate im excited for the game overall, mainly because it doesn't have linear stuff lol and there's alot of branched off paths they saidQuote:
Originally Posted by viion
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06-08-2011, 09:29 AMTaruna-Aeon
I'm so excited for this game!! I believe it will be much better than the first one! ^___^
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06-08-2011, 09:38 AMHolland
Loved the first one. This one seems to be awesome as well. This is a sure pre order like XIII
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06-08-2011, 09:54 AMStarlordExactly, I know very well this is the FFXIV forums, Just like people talk about random things thats not related to FFXIV at all. and Besides its Final Fantasy weather it be XIV or XIII-2 its still Final Fantasy never the less. And theirs alot of new exciting things being in the game already, and that probably not even the half of it. Apparently they need to make up for what they did in XIII ( personally I loved the game despite the Linear stuff), but now from the looks of the Demo on the first Map, it looks like Towns are back, as well as Moogles!Quote:
Originally Posted by Elexia
I also noticed when you defeat a mob you get Gil this time around, and mobs aren't visible till a " Random battle kicks in" then mobs appear and you have to time it right to get an Preemptive strike, or if your too slow The enemy has the advantage over you ( which I think is a great touch of added difficulty!)
OTE ( Quick Time Events) Are just a nice added touch to your battle to make it that much more appealing and pleasurable during your battle. to me thats a good thing, it spices up the game, makes it feel more... alive, adds difficulty instead of always pressing X or A all the time like in FFXIII.
About this Auto-battle complaints people have: You don't have to use that at all "Auto-attack" is for Casual Gamers usually, then there's a Tab right under it called "Abilities" In which you can select your basic attack or other things like spells Items things like that. ( Just think some people were to lazy to find the Hardcore section of it but meh lol)
Areas that Branch off instead of a straight line (Linear): Thank you SE for fixing a Must needed problem in the game and also the series ( if you planed to keep it that way for upcoming FF games) because thats what turned off alot of the Gamers and now they have Doubt of FFXIII-2. ( I'm hoping you can backtrack through the game if so, this game will succeed knowing just that.)
Recruiting Monsters to Join your Aid in battle: This is a new system it seems rather interesting, it sounds like they added a touch of Beastmaster into this game, I think its a very nice touch ( though it will be weird fighting with a Monster on a console game but I'll get use to it :D)
Overall Presentation from E3:
Gameplay: 8/10 Love the Para. System certain things im unsure about like QTEs Im loving the Live interaction though ( more immersion)
Graphics: 10/10 Of course SE is known for the Graphics
Storyline so far: 9/10 1 point off mainly because I'm confused on where Lightening comes in all this ( I'm sure my score will change once game goes Retail
Dialog: 9/10 @ the Camp/town whatever its called there theres Alot of interaction with the NPCs there and they actually talk louder and have a message box telling you what they said there was a few handfuls of NPCs there that talked
Music: 10/10 Music always superb top/notch Only thing this time it really had that FF feel to it.
Overall Score: 9/10 "score may change due to Retail Version"
I'm looking forward into playing FFXIII-2 at Launch! -
06-08-2011, 09:56 AMHikozaemon
cant shine a turd lol.
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06-08-2011, 09:57 AMAlexis_Arteme
Game provided as a fanservice to Lightning
You don't play as Lightning
Really Square? -
06-08-2011, 09:57 AMAlexiaKiddWell as there is hardly any news about FFXIV so I will take what I can get on other games in the franchise for now >.>Quote:
Originally Posted by Laughlyn
Thanks Starlord for posting this, does sound as if SE took all the criticism from FFXIII and are acting on it which is great. I am looking forward to FFXIII-2 even more now sounds like it is shaping up nicely. -
06-08-2011, 09:58 AMFiron
You can i seen it on the teaser on the jp 13 vid.....
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06-08-2011, 10:00 AMElexiaSephiroth was deemed dead but you still even played as him in a flash back :|Quote:
Originally Posted by Alexis_Arteme
World of Ruin in VI people were thought of as dead/lost but you all got back together :|
Pretty sure the fact you even see lightning kind of shows it may take a MGS2 Raiden/Snake route. -
06-08-2011, 10:01 AMStarlordYour Welcome they are taking all the Criticism and apply it to this game, Perhaps SE has finally realized We need towns and a world Map :DQuote:
Originally Posted by AlexiaKidd
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06-08-2011, 10:16 AMAlexiaKiddTo be honest I don't think they are just taking the criticism from FFXIII and using that to make a better game, I think SE have realised they are not the AAA publisher of old and have taken a lot of flack with their latests offerings and are now doing their best to reclaim their thrown. That is why I am not too worried about FFXIV I know they will do everything they can to make this better, yes it is taking time but they will get there in the end.Quote:
Originally Posted by Starlord
Just looking at some of SE's other games, though not directly made by them but still they are looking fantastic and shows that SE are serious about putting out quality titles. Look at the new Tomb Raider it looks amazing, Deus Ex also looks great and now FFXIII-2. SE are stepping up their game, they know they messed up thinking people would buy anything they put out no matter how bad it was and now they are trying to rebuild their reputation. -
06-08-2011, 10:21 AMStarlordIf FFXIII didn't have all that Linear crap, The game would have done fine for a lot of the people. I didn't like it but the Storyline kept me playing because they are always good. but that doesn't excuse their faults in the game. Me as a FF fan was kinda disappointed. However, everyone makes mistakes, and now they are going back to their roots on how a Final Fantasy Game should be.Quote:
Originally Posted by AlexiaKidd
1 thing I left out, someone mentioned that you still get Game Over if your Main-Character dies. I'm "ok" with it but I don't particular like it. As long as I can play as any character thats within my roster that I want, I will let that slide -
06-08-2011, 10:23 AMTezz_Xivectro
Link: https://member.eu.square-enix.com/en...tails-revealed
Oh boy, new threads are going to start up again.Quote:
The developers also want players to have more control over their character and a larger variety of experiences in the game, which explains the inclusion of a jump button (the first in the numbered FINAL FANTASY series’ long history), which can be used to find hidden chests. Abilities will be gained throughout the game which will further allow exploration, making you return to areas you’ve visited before to see if your new skills can give you access to hidden areas and items.
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06-08-2011, 10:25 AMElexiaWhile ignoring the fact it has a use in that game compared to this game with no use for such :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Tezz_Xivectro
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06-08-2011, 10:25 AMStarlordHow did I miss that.. * scrambles through notes* hehe.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tezz_Xivectro
I didn't put it on here because I knew people will spazz over Jump and now.. things will just get worse in the FFXIV Field lol.
Actually Jump looked really cool in XIII-2 -
06-08-2011, 10:27 AMJoeking
That boy reminds me of Fang, a male version of fang perhaps I wonder who his Vanille is...
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06-08-2011, 10:36 AMRadaghastJumping over pebbles or getting into bed so I can stop sleeping on the ground would be nice.Quote:
Originally Posted by Elexia
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06-08-2011, 10:47 AMRog226
Hurray! FF13-2. I'm happy to hear that the exploration of the maps won't be so linear. Kinda funny though how they're using the same "is the hero really dead" theme like they did when advertising FF10-2. I remember me and my friends watching a 10-2 trailer where Yuna gets shot. We were all like NUUuuuu....
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06-08-2011, 10:49 AMMalakhim
Not allowing you to play as Lightning when they're trying to make her into SE's first lady would be pretty stupid. We've already seen gameplay footage of Lightning in action as well, so there's that.