-
Don't get me wrong, it's far from perfect...but so was XIII and I applaud them for trying so hard to rectify XIII's flaws. XIII-2 reads like "okay, a lot of folks didn't like what XIII did so let's just throw everything at a wall and see what sticks." The result is incredibly charming.
WRPG dialogue choices? Sure why not.
Quiz games? You bet.
Pun contests? Unforgettable.
Chrono-style alternate endings? God, I love these and want more games with them.
XIII-2 was a game that did not take itself too seriously but still managed to have genuine emotional moments, mostly everything to do with Noel, Caius, and Yeul. All their VAs were so good.
And oh god the music is some of the best in the franchise - and that's saying something.
Overall, XIII-2 always felt like it followed the same kind of design philosophy as X-2. First we had a very linear, very depressing game focused on a set of characters, and now we have the two most non-liner games in the series with a ton more comedy and featuring monster party members. (where the monsters invariably are way, way WAY fucking stronger than your party members. That annoys me) I just think it works better with XIII-2 because, while I don't hate XIII, I loved X and didn't want a totally different game that time
-
Oh absolutely. I like XIII but I looooooove XIII-2. It's simply a ton of fun to play. I need to play LR again but I didn't really love that one (it felt really low budget compared to the other two... anyone remember the low poly dog? lol, the story allowed no character development from anyone, and the majority of the cast STILL can't afford a costume change...okay that last one is a nitpick).
But yeah XIII-2 is balls to the wall fun and the OST is so bangin.
ID: hjh48v1 -
In my Top 5 FF games.
-
I really, really want the FF13 Trilogy on PS4/5
-
I could probably agree with this, it is close if not.
-
Yes
-
Not only is it my favorite of the trilogy, it’s amongst my favorite final fantasies of all time.
I sank hundreds of hours thoroughly enjoying the game, from beating the paradox bosses to collecting and leveling up monsters for different builds, and I enjoyed exploring because I genuinely enjoyed this games soundtrack.
The ending of the game was such a heart breaking one, and I still listen to Serah’s theme whenever I think of OSTs I love.
Glad you also enjoy the game, glad I’m not the silent minority here 🙂
-
Yes, it’s the only one I liked in the trilogy and I liked more than 8 and 10
-
The battles are better in XIII-2 but the story and characters are better XIII. If there is a remaster of the trilogy, the first one needs to add elements of XIII-2’s battle system like switching between characters during battles.
-
Definitely my favorite of the trilogy. Nice to see a solid platonic friendship between the two opposite sex main characters - I was totally expecting them to pair up romantically by the end, glad they didn’t.
-
XIII-2 has the problem of being a good game, but a bad sequel.
Partially, because it destroys the perfect ending of XIII, changes the tone, and because it does this bait and switch with Lightning.
We start the game with Lightning being badass and then we go on this Doctor Who type romp around time and space. This isn't bad, just, kinda of a let down to what we was given at the start of the game. I went into the game completely blind so doing this sort of bait and switch was like getting flipped off by the devs.
Like when that movie killed Steven Seagal 20 minutes into the movie despite him being a star in all the trailers and promotions (damn, people were maaaaad).
It does a lot of great stuff mechanically but I think my biggest issue is the story. In the end of the day, the story erases itself out of the timeline. Like, that's sort of the point, but it left me feeling like "what's the point".
I think Noel and Serah work well together, though needing to help the old cast again wasn't my style. Like, let Sazh just have his "retirement" you know? No need to drag him through the mud again.
X-2 works as its own game because it gives us flashbacks to X to explain things. It also allows for the original cast to mostly be clean of the machinations (ha) of what's going on in the main plot. X-2 has the flaw of Yuna and Leblanc having the exact same motivations (sphere hunt, find their man, save the world) but they're distinctly two different people and I wish their rivalry was put together more in the story. X-2 gave us badass Yuna at the start and we stayed with her the entire way, I really liked that about the game, Yuna being Yuna.
-
I’ve played XIII-2 more times than any of the others in the series and have platinumed it with all DLCs.
I think it’s just far more accessible. Plus the alternate costumes make rewatching cutscenes fun
-
Personally for me, it's the only good game in the trilogy.
-
Yes, loved it. Noelle / Sarah were a fun pairing. Caius was great too.
-
Caius is one of the best villains of the entire FF franchise.
-
That scene was cute
Serah : My boyfriend is awesome. Have big muscles is handsome. Is reliable, cute blah blah blah.
Noelle: yeah... Sure.
3 min later she finds Snow
Serah: oh we are gonna get married right..
Snow: Yeah .. Just let me go a pick a cigarrete box. And I'll be back.
Serah. Ahhh so cute' Im gonna wait you honey.
Snow: hahaha that was so easy. I am a free man
-
XIII-2 got the best balance for me.
Individual aspects of the other two might have been better, but XIII was very linear, and I feel LR went too far the other way.
XIII-2 had towns, NPCs, sidequests, etc, but also had some focus and you could take it at your own pace rather than having to worry about time limits.
-
Personally, I enjoyed the gameplay, I just hated the game.
It just seemed to hate Serah. First, Snow essentially abandons her and becomes a l’Cie again, despite knowing that it could mean never seeing her again, and when he DOES see her again, he treats her like a child, and her suddenly ACTING like a clingy teen at that point out of nowhere doesn’t help
And then the ending. You do everything correctly, Serah dies. You 100% everything, and she still dies and Caius gloats about how nothing you did mattered.
I found XIII… fine. I like it well enough and I’d play it again if they remastered it, but XIII-2 just felt like a big technical improvement that hated its own narrative. Plus it retconned the ending of XIII to fit itself in, which is… a weird move for a sequel.
X-2 has a different tone from X for sure, but the shift in Yuna’s character was believable in as much as she’s a teenage girl suddenly out from under an oppressive system that has controlled her entire life and she… doesn’t really know what to do with that. XIII-2 just felt to me like it didn’t want to be there, and it definitely didn’t want Serah to be there either.
ID: hjgq1s0unpopular (?) opinion: Snow and Serah are not good together. He treats her like a helpless victim who always needs to be saved, and as a result she doubts her own capability and strength. Or, perhaps she is insecure to start with and he inadvertently reinforces it by taking care of her instead of encouraging and supporting her in becoming more secure in herself… I don’t think either of them are necessarily bad characters, just awful together.
ID: hjgzazfAgreed on Yuna having done of the best character development of final fantasy characters due to x-2. I did like the narrative of xiii-2 but it definitely fell flat with a lot of the character development (looking at you snow).
-
I do love XIII-2 but I think I like the original a bit better, it just ticks more boxes for me. Totally personal preference though, I like the choices they made for Xiii-2. I didn’t get around to playing LR yet, though!
Fwiw, I love both X and X-2 as well.
-
Yes because I liked Snow and Serah a lot more than the characters in 13. Also Gaius is a pretty good antagonist.
-
It's my least favorite out of the trilogy, but I still love it and enjoyed it very much.
I really like Noel as a character. Music is awesome. Using monsters as an ally was just so much
fun.I just didn't like the puzzle, especially the clock puzzle.
-
I love this trilogy even though I haven’t finished lightning returns. I hope they can make a remaster.
-
I liked XIII and could hardly get through XIII-2 I don't know I wanted Lightning and not her sister.
If it had been it's own thing I would've been stoked with the different ending and such as it was, I just had to get through it to get to play XIII-3 which I never finished after getting burned out by XIII-2.
-
I wasn't a fan of XIII-2 outside of the music. I was satisfied with the ending of XIII. Serah and Noel were OK but I didn't connect with them light I did with the L'Cie crew.
-
XIII-2 is my favorite too, but only because I didn’t like XIII… I mean, XIII has some great story and characters, but I could never get accustomed to the linear maps and lack of NPCs. Exploration is something too important to me and the only explorable part was grand pulse which I didn’t really enjoy. At least XIII-2 let us explore a bit more.
-
I like it a lot, but the ending makes me prefer XIII.
-
Story wise, I really enjoyed XIII
However, I had the most fun with XIII-2 and really fell in love with the characters.
Lightning Returns, I had no idea in hell what was happening half the time.
-
Absolutely not alone there, 13-2 is one of my favorites too. Weirdly enough, I very rarely see people say they like both 13 and 13-2. It feels like the majority of people who enjoy either game likes one and hates the other.
-
And my axe! My favorite villain of the entire season, incredible music, and a super fun time travel story. I love it.
-
13-2 is soooo good man. It's a wacky mess but it's so fun! And Caius took my top spot for best FF villain by a long shot :p
-
Definitely and when I replayed the whole trilogy I did everything I could. Got all but the chocobo walking distance trophy.
-
I did a decently long analysis on why 13-2 is an amazing sequel
13-2 is not quite my favourite game in the series, it's a hair behind the original one for me. But the things it does well it does REALLY WELL.
-
XIII-2 is one of my favorite games ever. Mainly the music. Also I just love time travel stories, I find them more interesting. I airways found the paradigm system really interesting and easy more strategic than most ff games, and having to pick monsters added a new layer to that. I've been wanting to replay so badly but I'm waiting for a re-release on newer consoles since I heard the pc port is bad
-
Enjoyed it quite a bit
-
Yes, I love XIII-2, I like the other two games in the series but I think this one hits a sweet spot for me.
-
I liked FF XIII enough, but I LOVED XIII-2 and also Lightning Returns.
-
I’m currently playing XIII and really really enjoying it. I’m on chapter 12 and probably near the end. I plan to play 2 after but unsure if I should keep doing all the missions first. I’m just loving the game so far.
-
My biggest thing is I find creatures as a replacement for party is lazy. I know the game is a sequel that doesn’t get first priority but their general anti-party stance of the last decade has me annoyed.
-
Me ofc
-
Yes. It was genuinely fun to play, which was XIII's main issue.
-
Followed the trend of the numbered sequel (X-2) with being a more upbeat, brighter story in the same universe.
The characters had a chance to breathe and also loved that Serah finally had some agency. Also her outfit is a top tier design and the game really made her her own person.
And the New Bodhum track on the OST is one of my go to summer songs. I loved it.
-
Yep, loved it. Was the only game I was able to 100% during a period of deep depression. It was just so bizarre and fun, and the soundtrack is still in my top 5. Had to use Japanese VA though, otherwise I'd be laughing/wincing at the awkward straight delivery of this fever dream adventure.
-
It is also mine! There are dozens of us!
But seriously, XIII-2 did so many things right at a better pace than its predecessor. The whole beastmaster playstyle, to the multitude of endings you could achieve really made the whole experience super gratifying!
-
Sorry to say that it’s actually my least favorite. Lightning Returns is first, then 1, then 2. 2 just didn’t seem to have much rhyme nor reason to me, and Lightning Returns just had a really fun combat system that just put it above 1 for me.
-
XIII-2 is actually the only one of the trilogy I don't like. I don't think it improved on XIII's gameplay in any significant way, the minigames didn't feel fun or rewarding, it was the first FF game with DLC (and if you don't have it, the coliseum is entirely pointless) and the story felt downright emotionally manipulative; we know practically nothing about Yeul for most of the game but we still get a big tragic cutscene with sad music playing over one of her deaths. We're meant to care just because Noel cares.
I also hate that metal song they use when riding a red chocobo. Riding a chocobo should be fun and whimsical and they put a Devil May Cry song over the top of it. I remember thinking "Square just don't have a clue anymore".
I'll say this though; it might actually have the best final boss out of any FF game. Caius in general is really cool, mainly because of how hammy he is.
-
nah its my least favorite. Serah and Noel are lame and they are the only 2 chars you get all game. I haven't played LR yet though...
-
[deleted]
ID: hjg0i5oLightning returns
Subscribe
Login
0 Comments
It's like a hot summer's day!