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og:image, Stream Journal, Final Fantasy XIII-2

I am enjoying Final Fantasy XIII-2. There. I said it. The Final Fantasy XIII series thus far has proven to be one of the most convoluted games in the franchises's long history. Final Fantasy XIII was a completely different approach to world design and story progression for the series and for the most part, it didn't work in it's favor. XIII-2 comes across as an obvious attempt to prolong the use of the game's assets while fleshing out the world in some interesting ways and adding a bevy of new features and mechanics.

Going into this broadcast, I was certain that you would all hate me for playing this on the feed. To my surprse, it was met with a fairly positive response by the community. A few dedicated souls even took to trying their best to explain the plot and answer questions posed by others who had played the game and came away confused. It was nice to see that there are still some folks out there who can appreciate the game despite it not living up to the Final Fantasy name.

Having spent a good 12+ hours in the game thus far, I am both impressed and a little confused by the sheer number of features that have been added this time around. The combat and character progression feels refined but largely unaltered while nearly every other aspect of the game has been completely overhauled. The enviornments are more complex (though I still wouldn't describe them as open), NPC's are abundant, and the sheer number of newly introduced systems or mini-games is mind boggling. The result is a game that is far more satisfying to the seasoned RPG fan but realistically... the game suffers from "feature creep." There are so many new features in this game, that it can be hard to keep track. I'm STILL being introduced to new mechanics after more than 10 hours of gameplay.

Of course, that is not necessarily all bad. For those of you joined me for my Sunday night broadcast, you may have noticed that the game is far more varied in its content. I was pleasantly surprised by the game's new monster capturing system that allows you to capture monsters after a battle and level them up independently of your two main characters. These monsters can then be added to your party and used to create paradigms just like in Final Fantasy XIII proper. On top of that, monsters can be fused to boost stats and pass on passive abilities from one creature to another. It's actually quite deep and pefect for someone like me who has not yet shed his addiction to Toko Tokos (That's a Ni No Kuni reference... for those of you who aren't familiar...).  Additionally, Square-Enix has added time travel, parallel dimensions, puzzle rooms (wut...?), moogle throwing, and more to the mix!

Let's back up for a second to the moogle thing. JESUS. Someone give me an axe and let me behead this damn Mog. I can handle the convoluted plot lines, boring side characters, and cringe-inducing dialogue but this voice acted moogle is by far the worst thing about this game. Mogs were cute in previous Final Fantasy games and i'm starting to realize that it must be because we couldn't hear them speak!

Despite being an inferior entry in an otherwise glowing and historic franchise, XIII-2 is doing a pretty good job of redeeming the Final Fantasy XIII series in my eyes. Since I will be reviewing Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, tonight's Nick at Night broadcast (7:00 - 11:00PM CST) will be split between Persona 4 and Final Fantasy XIII-2 in the interest of completing the game in time for the game's release next week. Look for my review of Lightning Returns soon! You can catch my next broadcast tonight on 4pp.tv!

og:image, Watch Nick Play Final Fantasy XIII-2

Comments

  • Unigma Avatar
    Unigma
    10 years, 1 month ago

    Interesting to hear your take on how the game is progressing. I wholeheartedly agree with the moogle being annoying, I dunno if I ended up becoming numb to it, or actually grew to like the moogle over time.

  • Avatar
    pioshfd
    10 years, 1 month ago

    Interesting, I heard everyone hated it so I ignored it. Maybe I'll take a look at it now.

  • Avatar
    ssa316
    10 years, 1 month ago

    Everything about Mog in 13-2 is just stupid and out of place. I don't think it is necessarily the voice acting, although the only thing worse than a bad attempt at a 'mascot' character is a badly voiced one. The way it says "kupo" is esspecially annoying... a dog wouldn't actually say "bark", now would it. I've always imagined "kupo" to be the little noise the moogles in FFIX make whenever you talk to them, which, for the record, is the FF game with the best moogles by far.

  • Avatar
    wing2k12
    10 years, 1 month ago

    As someone who has played and completed XIII-2, it is interesting to read your take on the game.

    I agree with your perspective in regards to the franchise and the series. I played XIII-1 and I hated it. While I didn't like XIII-2, it was vastly much better than XIII-1.

    From what I have read, it sounds like you are thinking of playing and completing XIII-3. Hope you will broadcast that as well.

    I just hope and pray that XIII-3 will be better than XIII-2 and finally put to rest the series that is Final Fantasy XIII.

  • Toast Avatar
    Toast
    10 years, 1 month ago

    But Nick, we love the Kupos Kupo. He's your best pal in any situation Kupo.

    Anyway, glad you're enjoying the game more than I did. At least Lightning looked nice in her Valkyrie armor? That's the only positive I can throw out in my mind at the moment.

  • Liam du Preez Avatar
    Liam du Preez
    10 years, 1 month ago

    From somebody that gave XIII-2 a shot a few years back, you definitely make me want to get up and give it a go again.

    And thanks for agreeing with me with THAT. DAMN. MOOGLE.

  • George Denison Avatar
    George Denison
    10 years, 1 month ago

    That moogle in XIII-2 is easily the most annoying thing in videogames. I'm guessing it was supposed to be XIII-2's answer to Pikachu. Anyway, it's always interesting to hear from people who actually enjoy either of the Final Fantasy XIII games. I'll be curious to hear your thoughts on the game when you hit the 20 hour mark or so- that was the breaking point for me, personally.

  • Big Wazu Avatar
    Big Wazu
    10 years, 1 month ago

    After reading this and watching Nick's broadcasts, I'm kind of a little more interested in this game. I couldn't get into XIII at all but, this could be something I'm into.

  • Nathan Avatar
    Nathan
    10 years, 1 month ago

    Never have been a FF fan, this game certainly hasn't changed a thing. In fact only started playing tactics recently as my first Final fantasy game.

  • Diamond_Eyez Avatar
    Diamond_Eyez
    10 years, 1 month ago

    I got about 2/3 way through XIII 2 and ended up getting sidetracked by other games and not going back to it. It was great getting to see you work your way through it and finishing it. Watching made me feel a little less guilty about not finishing it myself....... (just a little less guilty)