Final Fantasy XIII-2 is a direct sequel to Final Fantasy XIII.  Many might not think much about that but fans of the series understand that direct sequels have never been what the franchise is about.  So it’s definitely nice to have a continuation here.

Set three years after the events of Final Fantasy XIII, Lighting the protagonist of the original game, has disappeared into an unknown world.  Her younger sister Serah Farron, a returning character from the original title, and a young boy named Noel Kreiss attempt to find Lightning and reunite with their missing friend.

I haven’t played much of the series but I’ve enjoyed it from afar believe it or not.  In fact, I’m probably one of the few who actually enjoyed the movie based on the franchise, Final Fantasy: Spirits Within.  Anyway, I went to PAX on a mission to get my hands on the game.  I had my doubts as most will tell you but what I ended up playing surprised the hell out of me.  I’ve been told that the series has never focused much on action but Final Fantasy XIII-2 has plenty of it!

The turn-based battles are still there and you actually get to see your enemy in the overworld before you fight.  It’s not much from what you’d expect except that fact that Square Enix has increased the size of the battles.  They unfold in a way that’s pure adrenaline.  You can even sneak up on your enemy this time around and issue the first hit before the fight even starts.  Fans of Lost Odyssey would love this new scheme because it limits the amount of random battles you engage in.

It’s the same Paradigm Shift battle system but the moving parts of battle make it much more interesting at least for me.  Sure you’ll be connected at the hip of your A button and menu system choosing the best options to attack but the complexity of the system will give you plenty of options. 

One of the biggest changes pointed out to me were the quicktime events included in battle.  I don’t know if that worked well for others but it somehow made me feel more connected to the fight.  They weren’t difficult at all though as I’m not sure what difficulty I was playing on.  You just had to press A, hit the Left/Right triggers really fast etc.  If you don’t do it right, you’ll lose some health.   One of the cooler things about the way Square is handling the turn-based fighting is allowing you to control bits of the cutscenes and such by adjusting the camera slightly.  It was cool.

It was a lot to take in especially being a somewhat rookie to the game.  I tried to digest all the news about “live trigger” events, more dialogue for NPCs, multiple paths for the overworld, new characters, weapons etc.  Final Fantasy XIII-2 really changed my mind about the franchise.  And it looked beautiful especially during battles.

My only hope is that the game doesn’t come on too many discs.  I don’t have a problem with it but others might.  I flipped through a few discs in Lost Odyssey so I can do it with Final Fantasy XIII-2 but let’s be real, most people would rather not.

For those who need a dose of Final Fantasy XIII-2 right now, check out the latest trailer.  You can also see quite a bit of Final Fantasy XIII-2 action in my final day of PAX video.