Final Fantasy XIII-2

Final Fantasy XIII never seemed as if it was comfortable under the Final Fantasy banner. It was a conflicted mess that desperately tried to inch JRPGs closer towards their western counterparts. However, instead of bringing smiles to our western faces, it ended up leaving a large proportion of its fanbase fuming. But before you grab a pitchfork, Square Enix has listened to their disgruntled fans, and in turn created Final Fantasy XIII-2 as an olive branch. If you're hoping for a quick summary, let's just say, FFXIII-2 is what FFXIII should have been like (ignoring a few missteps along the way).

Final Fantasy XIII-2 commences a few years after Lightning Faron and her friends ended the reign of the Fal'Cie, and changed the lives of all on Gran Pulse and Cocoon. However all is not as it seems. Our pink-haired heroine is believed to be dead, and only her sister, Serah remembers events as they should be. Serah is left pining for her older sister, and with the help of Noel Kreiss, a mysterious time-traveller from an apocalyptic future, she sets off to find her missing sister. What follows is an enjoyable ride that crosses time and space. There are enough twists and turns that will delight even the most cynical of gamer (or even the most hardened of Final Fantasy fan). Final Fantasy veterans may find themselves inching closer towards their pitchforks on learning that Noel and Serah are the only playable characters, but there's a perfectly good reason for this, which becomes apparent later in the story.

More importantly, FFXIII-2 is a vast improvement over its predecessor. The seemingly endless corridor that devoured nearly 20 to 25 hours of your life in FFXIII has thankfully been discarded. FFXIII-2 turns linearity on its ear, and since time travel features strongly in the sequel, freedom from linearity is virtually assured. Serah and Noel will spend their days unravelling the twisted timeline and correcting paradoxes and temporal anomalies. There are also artifacts to collect. These act as keys that open gates to new eras (levels). The various gates are connected through the Historia Crux. It's a seamless and elegant system, that allows you the freedom to travel across the timeline whenever you feel like it. Gates can even be relocked, which means you can replay specific levels at your leisure. This comes in handy when you're hunting alternate paradox endings, or if you think you might have missed something of importance during an earlier era. It's enough to get your mind reeling at the temporal possibilities. Time travel also allows FFXIII-2 to dazzle you with all the stunning and beautiful environments. It has futuristic cities, gorgeous jungles and even a luscious grassland plain. The individual areas are not as huge or expansive as I would have liked them to be, but it certainly showcases the wonderful worlds of Cocoon and Gran Pulse.

However, much like its predecessor, FFXIII-2 struggles to condense all the lore in a meaningful way. For some inexplicable reason, all the juicy tidbits are hidden in the menus. If you really want to find out more about the characters, their world and history, you're left reading the walls of text that's provided by unlocked fragments (collectibles). In that sense, it's a real shame that the main narrative (and dialogue) is starved of substance beyond the occasional juvenile jabber between Serah and Noel. It's a bit like being duped into watching a meaty thriller, but finding High School Musical 3 bludgeoning your frontal lobe. That's not to say that Serah and Noel have no intrinsic value, or that their exchanges never transcend "sugary gooey cuteness", but it certainly helps to mentally prepare first. Fortunately, our heroes eventually shed their stereotypical roles as the twisted temporal conundrum unfolds, but I found it really hard to become emotionally attached to them (and, this is from someone who literally shed a tear when Aeris was murdered in FFVII, or when Tidus and Yuna were reunited in FFX-2). The irony is that I found myself longing to play as Caius Ballad. While I don't want to spoil it too much, Caius isn't your typical Final Fantasy baddie. He's not nearly as pernicious as Sephiroth or unlikeable as Kefka Palazzo. His motives are actually reasonable and understandable. Not to mention, his sword reminds me of the Soul Edge from Soul Calibur, and that's an "instant win" in my book.

The Final Fantasy XIII-2's battle system is essentially a modified version of the classic-inspired ATP system (that was reintroduced in FFXIII), but with a few much needed tweaks to how paradigms (class types) function in-game. It's now possible to seamlessly swop between class types (without kicking off an unnecessary and long animation sequence). Do you need to be a saboteur and pummel a monster's defences, or do you need to quickly heal your party, or deal some damage as a ravager (spellcaster) or a commando (warrior)? Just tap the LB button, and melt some faces.

As stunning and exciting as the new battle system looks, I can't say that I'm fan. It still feels like you're merely watching a chaotic fight scene in an episode of your favourite anime (but with you bashing a button every once in a while). This is particularly true in the beginning of both games, where your input really feels meaningless. It's only much later when the paradigm system kicks into full gear that it actually feels as if you're in control. That's not to say that the battles are not hard or that you can't choose actions manually, but the pace is so frantic, that it's far more convenient to just let it run on its own. That's the real issue I have with the new battle system. I'm sure detractors will be keen to point out that the paradigm system lends a strategic twist to proceedings. While I reluctantly agree, much of the complexity and planning during battles have been lost. Since the most adequate spells and attacks are chosen for you, you can't help but wonder what's the point of going the manual route, except for the occasional potion, remedy or phoenix down? Incidentally, what happened to the scan spell/ability? Back in the day, it was essential during battles, but now monster weaknesses, strengths, etc. are handed to you on a silver platter.

And this "accessibility" extends to the leveling system; I must be one of the few who actually enjoyed the convoluted mess that was the levelling system in FFXIII primarily because you had control over your characters. While the simplified Crystarium system of FFXIII-2 might be more intuitive and easier to use (just fill it up with accumulated Crystogen points and unlock abilities), it actually left me frowning in frustration. Sometimes, there's a need to simplify things, but not to the point where choice is actually limited.

Where FFXIII-2 truly shines though is the addition of monster companions. It's almost reminiscent of Pokemon and Monster Hunter. Occasionally after a battle, a monster's crystal will drop, and you can easily add your new companion to your party. You can even use the Crystarium system to level them up and unlock new abilities and skills (provided you have the necessary goodies, of course). While the addition of monsters gets a thumbs up from me, it's also a sore spot. It's the only meaningful place where you can change skills (through merging or infusing one monster's skillset with another) or even make (albeit limited) cosmetic changes. When you dress up your monster by giving him a stylish top hat, it only makes it even more obvious how little control you have over Noel and Serah. Although to their defence, Final Fantasy games never had any sort of need to play dress up, but it's still leaves you raising an eyebrow. On the other hand, the only real reason why we have pet monsters is to pass off the more tedious tasks like being a synergist or a medic on to our new monster friends. "Buff and keep me alive Randomly Named Monster Friend...or there'll be no treats for you".

Where I really have to shake my head is the music selection for the soundtrack. A good soundtrack can elevate even the most mediocre film or game. Who doesn't remember the end sequence where Cloud and his party faced Sephiroth? Or even, the moment Aeris died? What made both instances instantly memorable was Nobuo Uematsu's powerful compositions. FFXIII-2 on the other hand throws in a forgettable mishmash of pop, jazz, rock, rap and an oddly catchy Chocobo-inspired metal track. The problem is that the soundtrack struggles to remain situationally relevant, and for the most part it actually left me confused. At one point in the game, I was actually wondering why a specific area had a jazz soundtrack? Surely the mood has to be grim, since everyone is struggling through a time-threatening paradox? That's like seeing everyone around you smiling as your bus goes over a cliff and it plunges into the sea. The power of music is certainly profound, and a part of me was even wondering whether the general emotional disconnect I experienced with the main characters wasn't partially due to the soundtrack.

Another pet peeve in current games is where specific areas seem tailor-made for DLC. In FFXIII-2 that particular area is the casino, called Serendipity. It's an undeniable source of annoyance when NPCs inform you that certain parts are still unfinished and will "open eventually". You just know it's going to ship as part of DLC, and while it's not crucial to the game, it's still a kick in the teeth. At least the pain is mitigated by the reintroduction of Chocobo racing.

However, all is not grim and dark in the land of FFXIII-2, because for the most part, it remembers its roots. For instance, puzzles in JRPGs have been an intrinsic feature for decades, and I'm happy to inform everyone that a healthy selection of puzzles are featured throughout the game. While some may criticise them for being arbitrary, I actually found them to be very rewarding. There was one series of puzzles towards the end of the game that put a smile on my face, and the last in the series had me dusting off the pen and paper to work out a solution.

At the end of the day, and regardless of any peculiarities, Final Fantasy XIII-2 is a decent and enjoyable JRPG. It's certainly a vast improvement over its precursor, however, it's still a far cry from the brilliance of some of the earlier Final Fantasy games (like VI, VII, VIII and IX). I can't help but feel that Square Enix is facing an uphill battle in their quest to restore a once beloved franchise to its former glory. In that regard, FFXIII-2 is a few shuffles to the side, with a tiny Chocobo hop forward. What this means for a possible FFXIII-3 or even FFXV, I honestly can't say. At least for now, I'll remain content that my purple Chocobo and Giant Cactuar can each wear a stylish hat or a pair of heart-shaped sunglasses...

Now if only we had a farm to breed race-worthy Chocobos, or maybe that will come in future DLC.

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