Last month, IGN’s Ryan Clements reviewed Final Fantasy XIII-2 and awarded it an 8.0. Editors during IGN and 1UP have had a event to spend some time with a diversion given afterwards and have a far-reaching operation of opinions. Here are their thoughts on Final Fantasy XIII-2′s positives, negatives and all in between.

While we unequivocally like Final Fantasy XIII-2, we wish to adore it. I’ve spent copiousness of time with a diversion — scarcely 85 hours with 159/160 fragments collected (because Monster Professor is a pain in a ass) — and we generally conclude all about a conflict complement and visible style. That said, Final Fantasy XIII-2 never unequivocally reaches a full potential. While a Historia Crux is a good nonlinear approach to benefaction a categorical story, any side query involves roving behind and onward by time to perform fetch quests, that gets unbelievably tedious. The beast complement is a good approach to brew adult conflict paradigms, though we eventually stranded with a same 3 or 4 monsters for a whole game.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 is simply among a shortest numbered Final Fantasy games, and a story is unequivocally lacking any kind of cohesive vision. There are some good story beats, though a diversion is all over a map; we mostly mislaid steer of accurately what my ultimate idea was, and felt unequivocally “meh” about a lack of closure in a end.

XIII-2 is distant some-more permitted than XIII was, and I’ve enjoyed all of my time with it. Still, it’s frustrating that it could have been so many more.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 appearance for me when we got Cait Sith like an hour into a game. Once a newness of that wore off we couldn’t get over how definitely terrible a essay was. “One some-more thing. Don’t only distortion down… and wait to die!” What a ruin are we articulate about, dude? It’s a shame, too given we unequivocally like a conflict complement and Crystarium used for leveling adult my characters. It’s one of those games we wish to go behind and finish, though know I’ll substantially never indeed get around to it.

I’ve said utterly a bit about Final Fantasy XIII-2 already, and my feelings on a diversion haven’t altered many given we reviewed it for 1UP. On one hand, we consider XIII-2 demonstrates an excellent eagerness by a creators to respond to critique and emanate something that’s some-more in line with what complicated gamers wish from Final Fantasy and games in general. On a other hand, a perplexed altogether pattern of a thing tells me that they need to work on their methods a little. XIII-2 feels like a developers went by a checklist of complaints about FFXIII and said, “OK, let’s do a opposite!” though many courtesy for how all those pieces fit together.

They’d be many improved served by holding some-more of a step backward, looking during a things people are enjoying in other games, and deliberation ways to confederate those complicated trends into their subsequent diversion in a some-more cohesive and “Final Fantasy” way. XIII-2 is a step in a right direction… though it’s merely a leg of a journey, not a end itself. Next leg? Taking some simple story combination lessons and training how to erect a awake narrative.

First thing’s first: Final Fantasy XIII-2 is one of a many pleasing games I’ve played in a prolonged time. The impression models and environments are simply stunning. And if we like Kaskade, Late Night Alumnai or Todd Edwards, you’ll puncture a vivid techno beats of a soundtrack. More importantly however is that a gameplay is phenomenal. XIII’s Paradigm System returns, with a acquire further of monsters that we collect on a terrain and sight to quarrel by your side. (These critters infer to be distant some-more useful than a Eidolons in a strange XIII.) The diversion is also many reduction linear, permitting we to openly burst by time and do things in roughly any sequence we wish (almost).

Yet for all these improvements, a diversion still has vital issues. Namely, a script. It’s bad. Not laughably bad, only bad. It’s a genuine covenant to voice actors Laura Bailey and Jason Marsden that they managed to spin what would have been CRINGINGLY bad discourse into something likable.

Worse, a story eventually creates no sense, with a combined disappointment of Serah and Noel miraculously bargain things and places they’ve never formerly encountered anywhere during any time. Add to that nonessential QTEs during Boss Fights, and we have to consternation what a group during S/E was thinking.

So do we hatred Final Fantasy XIII-2? No, in fact I’m utterly enjoying it. It’s many improved than XIII or X-2. It’s only a contrition that impression growth (of that there is roughly none) and a essential storyline got shoved out of a approach in preference of QTEs and a weirdly involved try to equivocate linearity.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 is a con; a beautiful and oftentimes interesting one, though an apparition nonetheless. The celebration stems mostly from a impeccably parsimonious conflict complement that Square Enix stretched on from FFXIII with a inclusion of collectible creatures who offer as your third celebration member. The pacing, challenge, and cinematic restraint are honestly outstanding, and they make any confront something a actor looks brazen to.

Sadly, a thread starts to uncover a impulse we leave a battlefield. The open-ended time transport pride that a diversion is built on presents itself with a guarantee of freedom, and nonetheless too mostly treats a actor as a pawn, forcing we to transport down a linear trail that a diversion wants we to. Had FFXIII-2 treated a showy judgment of time as a player’s personal toy, a diversion might have been something truly special. So when a screen lifted after a many discussed cliffhanger ending, we was left feeling nothing. The story we had only gifted was told with a miss of certainty that only never utterly authorised me to rivet with a universe over a extraneous level.

Final Fantasy Xiii-2 can be a tough tablet to swallow, generally when it seems so precisely targeted during a Lightning cosplay demographic. But once we pull by a contentment of pink, purple, and feathers, there’s a honestly rewarding diversion to be had. XIII-2 fixes many of a gameplay flaws of a predecessor. Environments are many incomparable and reduction linear and a conflict complement is entirely open from a beginning. Similarly, a some-more streamlined account leads to a stronger romantic climax. Say what we will about any time-travel inconsistencies, we many cite this to all that fal’Cie/L’Cie nonsense.

What we found many beguiling about XIII-2 is that, like a likewise disposed X-2, it approaches array gameplay conventions with a clarity of investigation and whimsy. The Hystoria Crux interface provides a fun turn on normal scrutiny with seamless jumps into a timeline and a ability to rewind time. Additions like beast raising, playhouse battles, and a accumulation of uses for your moogle yield copiousness of calm for those wishing to unequivocally puncture in. Also, a CG cutscenes are still positively stunning. This is tip category animation, either articulate cinema or games. It’s a shame, then, that Final Fantasy XIII-2 never unequivocally comes together as a sum of these parts.

If we enjoyed Final Fantasy XIII even somewhat, we merit to give XIII-2 a go. For those who left XIII with a sour ambience in their mouths, this could still be that many indispensable taste cleanser. However, for many like me who grew adult with Final Fantasy in a blood, this will expected be another sign that a array isn’t unequivocally geared towards us anymore. However, if it means that a new assembly gets to learn a gameplay and anticipation that bending us years ago, afterwards maybe that’s okay.

What did we consider of Final Fantasy XIII-2? Let us know in a comments below.