EDGE: Final Fantasy XIII-2 review

[lestatdark]

A203D said:

lestatdark said:

Nem said:
From the minute that square-enix announced that they would retain the same combat system on FFXIII-2 the game was doomed to failure. The combat system is worse than the classic ones FF1 & 2 had and its what ruined 13 (yay... auto attack all the time and change paradigm once in a while... yeah thats some fun interaction and strategyzing), so there was no reason to believe this would be different. Stupid decisions are usually met with stupid results.

versus XIII has a good chance of making a better impact by the fact that its not using this horrid combat system. 13 Was the perfect example of a series trying so hard to come up with new ideas that they devolve instead of evolving. I just dont see what was so bad about the combat systems of 1-10 that makes them think they need to change it to the worse. Evolve and make the classic formula even better, dont try to reinvent the wheel when you dont know what you're doing.

Actually, it's almost impossible to have a worse system in an JRPG than FFII, mostly because that was a true "westernized" system as it can possibly get. It basically emulated the systems from games like Daggerfell, Ultima VII and EoE, in which you gained stats by "doing", which coupled with the normal turn-based system, meant a dreadful experience that was prolongued far too long if you wanted to have a mere chance of completing it. 

Not only that, it also had some rough D&D mechanics incorporated in it's hit% system and Armour Rating, in which even the crappiest Goblin could crit you for a % of your health (even if your stats were very high) instead of doing 0 - 1 HP as it should. There's a reason why they never used that mechanic again.

I didnt think the battle system of FF13 was that bad, it had its moments. the problem was everything else.

i found that it was fight 10 enemies (exactly the same cycle of 2 enemies) while walking in a straight line. then watch a cutscene. repeat this same process for 25 hours until Gran Pulse. then when you finish the game, you need to beat like 100 Long Guis to platinum the game. it was so boring, you repeat the same battle again and again, if you do it once its fun, but fighting the same enemy again and again using the same strategy is boring, especailly when the environment is continuously linear.

but the biggest problem for me was the dialogue and the story. the story goes no where, its so predictable. "its our focus Serah said said so". this is the aim of the game. its so boring. every cutscene is so repititive. the voice acting is disappointing at times, the character personalities are unrealistic. Lightning sounds like a 40 year old woman going through menopause.

so there was too much weight on the battle system. it was just so reptitive (think Assassin's Creed 1), it felt so dull and boring. there was never anything else to carry the game, so of course the battle system felt weak, when it reality, i dont think it was that bad.

the concept was fine, the FNC mythology is semi-interesting. but the writing, the dialogue and the voice acting are semi-awful. there was no need for 6 hours of cutscenes. with the aim of the cutscenes to present a story that keeps going round in circles, never answering any of our questions. FF has it moments, but these seem to be the same criticisms of FF13-2 from publications like Edge and game-informer.

I both agree and disagre with your bolded statement. The corridor type of scenarios that plagued every chapter of FFXIII, except chapter 11 when you get to Gran Pulse, was probably the worst decision in any FF game, mostly because it literally strips the game of any replayability or differentiation between scenarios other than the context on what they're presented. 

With what I disagree is with the end content (the Long Gui part), mostly because every JRPG uses that same formula when you want to do the super secret bosses or scenarios (or if you're basically trying to get a 100% file), forcing you to over grind to create a party powerful enough to take them on meaning you have to repeat the same battles that give the highest EXP, AP, whatever points per battle. On FFXIII it wasn't any different, except for the fact that repetition really only was required to get the Treasure Hunter trophy (for which, if you were lucky, only had to fight 20 Adamantortoises minimum to get all the Ingots needed for cash).

On the combat system per se, I had no relevant issues with it. Granted it started rather easy and repetitive for the early chapters (especially until chapter 3 it was really only mash X), but then it adds layers of complexity as it goes along, until the game reaches a point where you can no longer rely on auto battle or mashing X, because that will mean your defeat, even at the hand of normal mobs. 
For all the people I've seen bashing on the combat system of FFXIII (from whom their complains are truthful, until a certain point), not a single person has shown me that they've managed to do the entire game using that repetitive method they claim that can be done throughout the entire game. Heck, I haven't yet seen a single Youtube video proving that, and believe me, I've searched hard for them.

Basically, it's the same complaints about the gambit system from FFXII all over again. People use the gambit card like S-E put a gun to their head and forced them to play with the Gambits On all the time. Sadly, people cheat themselves out of a more pure experience and then go and complain against the people that put that system in the game so that a broader group of people can finish the game and not only those "hardened" gamers, just because having that system somehow "taints" the game.