This game is very underrated. I think because of 13's reputation, 13-2 never got to shine. Which is a shame because it addresses nearly every criticism that 13 received. I personally thought 13 was fairly mid, but 13-2 pleasantly blew me away. I'm glad someone here on the internet is talking about it. 🙂
This game blew me away. It is as epic as ff 13. The maps were incredible and the gameplay was so good and always kept you engaged. The monster collection was epic. What a great way to bolster the game. Spent hours collecting, infusing, and leveling up. So many cool combos you can do with them. Love this game 😊
@@BenjaminGoose I am not interested, 13 kinda killed my interest in the series, and playing 7Remake finalized it. I don't think I'll be playing any more games by Squenix. But, doesn't mean I'm not still fascinated by gossip around it
Best one in the trilogy. The monster breeding and making the ultimate monster for each role was awesome with the combat system. I can't think of anything bad about this game I loved it.
FFXIII-2 is my favourite Final Fantasy game. Everything about the story, art direction, music and gameplay has had me coming back to it for over 10 years. I'm not one for playing JRPGs over and over, but FF XIII-2 has the depth and flexibility to make it fun every play through.
I love the entire XIII trilogy and am very happy that it's legacy (the stagger mechanic) lives on even in XVI! This video is awesome, but I think you forgot about tuning paradigms, which change how the AI uses skills. Let's take Agression for example. Normally Aggresion (a paradigm consisting of 2 COMmanders and a RAVager) causes one COM and the RAV to focus on one enemy while the other COM chooses a different target. If you tune the paradigm to CROSS (-x) it causes all allies to focus attacks on a single enemy. On the other hand if it is tuned to WIDE (-W) it causes allies to use attack that target multiple enemies. The WIDE tuning even causes MEDics to prioritize skills that heal all allies and SYNergists to use AoE buffs like Bravega instead of Brave or Shellga instead of Shell. Sorry for the wall of text, but I couldn't help myself.
13-2 feels like a soft reboot for 13 when it comes to it's world and lore, especially since they basically retcon the ending of the first game. It's definitely my favorite out of the 3 games, the gameplay (especially combat and the monster system) is so much fun and you get a better idea of what this world is like both on a macro and micro level which was one of my major criticisms of the first game. In the fist game, aside from the final big open area in the third half, each environment felt disconnected and it didn't help that there were so few towns to explore at your leisure. It left me with the feeling that I really didn't have any idea of what this world was like geographically, what cultures occupied it's different parts, or what the people living in it were really like. This was all pretty much completely fixed by 13-2, while I'm still not the biggest fan of the lore, I felt like I at least had a better idea of the smaller nuances that make the world feel more lived in.
I took it about the opposite of you. While I do ignore the gameplay that was probably superior in the second, by the end of the first game I got really invested in the world they created, wanted more of it, and got bitter in the second game when they butchered it for yet another time travel/parallel word. Unfortunately, regardless of gameplay superiority of the second, the destruction of the first game's world and lore made FF13-2 one of my most hated sequels.
FF13: 13 minutes. FF13-2: 50 minutes. HELL. YEAH. Also, I love that this game has dynamic music in it. An enemy appearing seamlessly replaces the current area's field music with it's "aggressive mix" while you decide to run or fight. I love some of the Aggressive Mix songs, like for Oerba!
Another great analysis, this one is somehow 3 times bigger and 3 times better than the last one! As an ardent XIII-trilogy fan I am definitely sending newcomers this way first so they can get an in-depth and fair analysis of the series. I loved XIII-2 as much as the first one even if the 6 characters we just spent 50+ hours with are not a huge part of the game, it was nice to see the world continue on after their journey. The game does address many of the common complaints with XIII. My only gripe is with how they did the new Crystarium. If you progress through this new Crystarium you could unintentionally nerf yourself for a good part of the game. I wish they elaborated more on the mechanics of leveling since a prior XIII player might just hold X/A to advance like last time without engaging much with the system. Of course this is not an issue if one were to only play to the end of the main story, like XIII it's terribly easy once you do actually find your comfortable build and monsters. But for Completionists, it can get messy at some points since a non-optimized Crystarium can get you bodied by the post-game and DLC bosses. (Lightning DLC included, as even though that has a different system, it will still cause frustration if you don't know that its meant to be played over and over again.) And I definitely agree with your point about the ending, it didn't come out of nowhere, the story slowly but surely led us to that point. Hell, the instant Hope told us his boneheaded plan to save Fang, Vanille, and move the people of Pulse-Academia my first thought was: "there is no way this is going to work, and if anything it will just reset us back to where XIII started, back in a Cocoon." It was at that moment the reality started to sink in that there was no real "resolution" for our heroes. They could change Time but never fix the epicenter of the issue itself...the Goddess. Anyway, can't wait for your Lightning Returns video or what ever game you decide next! Your videos are always time well spent 😤 -I'm not a furry but Chocolina got me acting unwise 🥵-
Thank you so much!! I really appreciate that and you!! And yeah, this trilogy needs to get more love!! This game was a lot of fun to playthrough an although it doesn't really feel like a direct sequel to FF13, I still think that it is a great game, I like how it expands the lore of the world, and I think the story is wonderful; just like FF13's story. As far as the crystarium goes, I absolutely agree with you! They did not explain much about it, and if you don't unlock certain roles early on, or you unlock inferior roles for certain characters, like I did when I unlocked the medic role for Serah right away and didn't unlock it for Noel until the end game, then you nerf yourself pretty hard. And Yup! The ending was in our face the entire time, it just didn't seem like it was going to happen due to the good guys always winning mentality of FF13. Lightning Returns is definitely on the way! I'm about 1/2-3/4ths of the way through it right now so hopefully it won't be too long until I get that video out! Chocolina is definitely Bae!! 😍 And again, Thank You for watching the videos I really appreciate it!!
Awesome, in-depth review! Great points, and I agree with how strong the soundtrack was. Makes me want a remaster of the trilogy for PS5 so I can experience it all again. Would love to see a review for Lightning Returns one day!
Thank you!! And yeah the soundtrack is wonderful! A remaster of the trilogy would be great and I honestly hope they do it but very unlikely unfortunately. And yeah lightning returns is next up and I’m already working on it so stay tuned!!
The team behind this series really showed me their thought process when they were developing these games and taking fan feedback. I personally find them to be so strong for taking some of the exaggerated criticisms and hate, and then constantly doing things differently to where each game is so different. And in a way, I'm proud of the work they're doing on 7R, and how far they've come, even as I still see some of their design quirks in that game too. Oddly enough, in my experience of hearing reviews, it usually follows that if someone disliked FF13 they'd like 13-2 more, but if they really like 13, they'd like 13-2 less. This is likely because enjoying FF13 usually means a person really focused on and resonated with the individual character journeys and interactions, along with the endgame battle difficulty. A couple things 13-2 doesn't do that 13 did, was have that more varied character experience, more spectacle in terms of cutscenes, and based on anecdotal evidence, people generally enjoy the difficulty balance more in 13. I often hear people complain about battle in 13-2 either being too easy or too hard.
All very good points! I really like 13 and 13-2 but I think 13-2 is so different from 13 that at times you focus on what the game lost from 13 and not viewing 13-2 as its own game. Which is fair because it’s a direct sequel
Glad to know that you like FFXIII-2 it was my very first final fantasy game on the ps3. Though I really wish the game and story extended more world building instead the main canon ending.
I adore ff13, it's my 3rd ff game and so far it's my favorite. I really like its plot and characters, especially since they all have tangible arcs and I really got to care about them. However, a lot of the dialogue was rough and felt juvenile. My favorite part about ff13-2 is that the writing seemed a lot more focused and because of that Serah, Noel, Caius, and Hope are all really great here. The amount of stupid dialogue is down by like 90% and it really lets the characters shine
i swear to got that in ff 13 characters had 0 conversations with each other and were always talking about some nonsense. LIGHTIGNMADIFJGNA was total cunt which never talked to anyone and rest of the group just kept saying ELCISLE and ELISSECESCE. you ppl need to stop using drugs and stop playing JRPG if you are over 15.
This is my favorite FF game. The graphics are great, the gameplay is solid, the music top awesome. My favorite part though is Caius. His story, motivations were really good and made good practical sense. He wasn’t twirling his mustache scheming was to take over the world. He was trying to stop someone’s suffering. It’s hard to even call him a villain imo. His theme music is probably one of the best themes ever.
this is hardly FF game, it was same garbo as ff 12-13-14-15 it has nothing to do with roots of the series, its just about sexy girls and story writen by mentaly ill chicken.
📌13-2 is one of the rare examples of developers learning their lesson and improving on all the problems. Oftentimes we see studios that are tone-deaf to the problems of the original game and in worst case scenarios, instead of improving on the original, they remove the few things people actually liked about the original and they add features nobody asked for so the sequel is even worse than the original.
13-2 is simply the best of the trilogy. Lightning Returns got close but I think it needed more time in development… time it didn’t have. Edit: thank you for not bashing Serah and Noel as leads. Most people say they’re boring, especially Serah… but that’s disregarding her complex backstory. She’s an optimist, but fans like the brooding type so they see her as kinda lame.
I really enjoyed 13 and didn't think it deserved/deserves the hate it gets. Other FF games have arguably been MORE linear and less interesting story wise and no one bats an eye. But 13-2 is not only an improvement on every aspect but I'd go so far as to say it's one of the best FF games period. I think it's probably in my top 5 pretty handily. The story itself was wonderful but the game itself was so good to play that other than the big ones(7, 10, etc), 13-2 is probably the only one I like to actually replay. And it had a "villain" that people could actually identify with and arguably be on his side. It's also depressing how good the battle system of the 13 games really was but since people disliked the games that we'll likely never see anything like it again. Other than maybe FF10, it might be my favorite battle system.
I was just wondering which soundtrack to unlock on Theatrhythm Final Bar Line, after finishing the FFVII Remake path. You've just convinced me to use my next key on the FF XIII-2 /Lightning Returns selection!
This is such a good breakdown of XIII-2. To this day, it's still my favorite single player Final Fantasy.......hence the name. Literally my only point of correction is that the 5 Graviton Cores can actually be collected before the main story asks you to hunt for them. As long as you have Mog's reveal ability and you can physically reach the spot the core is at (some need chocobos or wild artefacts ofc) then you can just collect them as you go. You do have to go back for the New Bodhum 3AF one tho... SLFHFKS THATS JUST A MINOR NITPICK THO
This game was such an emotional rollercoaster for me. Even though I spoiled the ending for myself, getting to the end still choked me up inside. One of the best plot twists of gaming history. Noel stands as my favorite FF protag, he’s just so goated. Style, fighting, personality, he’s got it all. Not to mention Caius is one of the best antagonists in the entire series too! I am so glad other people feel like it is the perfect sequel
One of my favorite FF's of all time. They really went out of their way to address all of the criticisms of part 1. It showed, and it payed off. The monster hunting part was my favorite. I think it's one of the biggest FF crimes that this is the only series in the Franchise (outside of the obvious 11 and 14) that isn't available to be played on PS4/5. Not sure if it's a bigger crime or not than not being able to skip cutscenes in the remake of FF10 nor it's PS4 port lol.
I think I'm gonna go home and download this game again. Weird how this game give me nostalgia because I played it before I ever touched the first game. So for me it was the first game in the series and it made the story crazy for me
The final fantasy 13 trilogy ✨️ i honestly loved all the characters and I was just 12 playing it. I related mostly to Hope in way when I lost my dad. I felt close to Lightning and Snow too. It really helped me as a boy growing up. I loved the gameplay and the cutscenes. When 13-2 came out it became an instant favorite. Definitely an upgrade from the 1st and the antagonist was everything in this game and rememberable. And seeing Hope doing better for himself made me feel really good in that game. And I felt like the whole Time and Space thing was phenomenal and beautifully done right ❤ Of course the music is very rememberable and I even play them to this day at 26. I remember defending the game from FF7 fanboys lol 😆 they were too much honestly. But I knew I was defending a masterpiece. If I could forget and replay this for the 1st time 💙 It really changed my life 💯 and inspired me.
Just finished the game again, on my way to collect everything. I absolutely love the gameplay and puzzling of searching artifacts and figuring out the timeline and connectivities. But once I get the swing of it its over quite quick. Wish they gave sahz some more time in the game, as well for fang and vannile even though that makes less sense but could be some more dreamrealm stuff. The addition of monsters in battle and to collect them was awesome too. With the time mechanic and my memory not being that great no more its a wonderfull game to replay every now and then.
Caius is one of the most well writen villains I've ever seen. I genuinely can't think of any better. I don't remember if it's explained in the datalog or in the main story, but him and Yuel aren't in society very much at all. His design not fitting the rest of the world actually makes a lot of sense. His theme is also one of the best, most well written songs for a villain I've ever heard. I think they did well with the main characters, better than XIII even, but I don't think they went into enough depth for them. Noel is kind of hard to understand sometimes, and so is Serah. I obviously understand them very well, but most people don't look into it as deep as I do, but when i first played it I didn't understand them well at all. Still, Serah is my favorite character of the whole trilogy because of this game. I think they shouldn't have made Noel repeat a ton of things that just happened. Noel: "Who's behind this?" Serah: "Only the power of a Fal'cie could do this." . . . *2 seconds later* Noel: "Who's closing things off?" Serah: "I don't think it is a who." Reference to Academia 400AF, i played that beginning a lot to capture fencers for my chichu and Lightning. There are only 2 in the game and the only way to get them is to redo Academia 400AF over and over. They just could've done Noel better over all, but he is still great. I've gotten mad at him a couple times for being dumb though. 💀 (I AM SO MAD ABOUT WHAT THEY DID TO SERAH AT THE END, THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO DO THAT! EVEN THOUGH THEY KINDA SAID THEY WOULD EARLY ON, IT STILL SUCKS!!) I don't think Hope was an amazing character in this game. The voice actor started to not care and you can tell. He also isn't in enough of the story to really tell if you love him or just like him very easily. I personally think that he was just okay. I'm glad he was there but he could've been done better. Even his theme, which is still good, isn't as good as his first theme. They kinda did the same to Lightning too, but she was a little better than Hope. I think Noel, Serah, and Caius were the best actors. Over all, best game of the 3, i love the battle system, i love the characters and story even more than the first game, and i fully agree with this games sound track being the best one too. Whether anyone loves or hates the first game, i genuinely recommend this one after. The puzzle parts all have a little tutorial don't they? If not, it's bad design and I've always hated them, but there are clock solver websites at least, and there are answer keys to the red room, gather the crystals and you can't step on the same tile more than twice ones. (idk what they're called.) I also HATE the rambunctious chocobos. Just use the normal one's, right? Would've been so much better. I like the silly metal rout they took with their theme. 💀 I hate Snow's design in this one, and I'm highly disappointed with what they did with Sazh. I want more of him, he's a really good character. These games changed my life. They made me more appreciative of things, and Snow's and Serah's relationship made me realize i was in a toxic one for almost three years. I got out of it because of Snow and Serah. I seriously recommend these games to everyone if they like RPGs, or want to get into them.
Great insight and awesome comment! I agree with Caius being a wonderful villain and Serah being an excellent protagonist! I also think this is the best out of all 3 and that I agree with most of the negative aspects about this game that you point out here. Also, glad to hear that this game changed your life and that you're out of that bad situation!
I don't like muchof the game itself, but i REALLY LOVE how it treated the Lore and mythology, showing that the Big Eventes of XIII are nothing compared with what happaens since the begginging of the time, and man Caius. If you played XIII-2 and didn't like caius you need medical assistance.
I fell into a farming rabbit hole with this game and the monster fusing system. Its silly how strong you can get and I love it. I do miss 13s weapon system sometimes though. The way you could manipulate the AI through stats was neat
Agreed, In summary ff13-2 had great main villian, characters, fast-paced and got various improvements over ff13 with having less amount of storage covered over your console and pc, definitely worth it!
I’ve loved the FF XIII games since they came out! I think I was 16 at the time. I loved XIII-2 especially! I’m so glad people are finally starting to give these games fair criticism and not just blindly hating them.
Gotta say, 13-2 is a big improvement over 13. I even managed to platinum it back in the day. Also, RIP to Origa, who does some of the vocal tracks here (and did the opening songs for Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex)
I actually can’t wait to play this trilogy. As a kid I looked at it and immediately spat on the idea of buying it, but as an adult I think I might enjoy it the same way I enjoy bad movies. It’s absolutely not what I normally go for, but after half watching a couple of these videos and laughing my ass off at certain plot points, I’m down. Square enix can have my money a decade later
Love this game, blows my mind that it was made in 1 and a half years! PS: You can remove the lag on Series X. When in game, press the start and select buttons at the same time to open a secret menu. Then scroll right to “Xbox One X Settings” and change the game to performance mode. This will make the game still 60fps but just not 4k anymore. The lag is some glitch with Microsoft’s emulator that they unfortunately never went back to fix.
Long story short, FF13-2 was my first but I was hooked since 2007ish when it was being promoted but I only had a PS2 :( when I got my 360 13-2 came out. I played it, then ending made my cry but my only complaint was not being able to play as Lightning as much as you can in FF13. Played FF13 before Lightning Returns came out, Ending made me cry lmao. Finish Lightning Returns. I like all 3, however, I put the most time into FF13-2 I wanted all the endings and achievements. If FF13 flowed and played like FF13-2 dare I say that would be the perfect JRPG of all time.
Loved this game too. Music isn't as great as 13 but still awesome. Caius ballad was great as a bad guy. I usually don't like time travel stories and this one didn't change my mind but was beareable. I hated some of the puzzles, like the clock one and having to walk all over to conplete the maps. But it was fun and engaging and I completed it 100%
I've noticed the only people who don't like XIII-2 are the people who act like the first game killed their firstborn. I got one of my buddies to try XIII-2 he only made it 2 hours in while complaining about the first game the ENTRIE time. Things that were addressed. He even started complaining during Final Fantasy VII Remake when he saw the stagger meter. He also started complaining when he heard the terms L'Cie and Fal'Cie in Type 0...despite the fact that the 3 main FNC games were announced all on the same day. People really have some sort of PTSD with the original XIII.
I have the collectors edition of the game that came with the soundtrack. I feel this game was even better than the original and with sequels that’s very hard. I feel like all the DLC was worth it…. I purchased literally EVERYTHING lol and since i was logged into the PSN when i played it carried over to my PS5. I collected every single trophy and got the platinum trophy 🏆 for obtaining everything lol. Im gonna be honest i was a bit let down that the game didn’t end with 13-2. Being even more honest i wasn’t a big fan of FF13-3….. i think if they would’ve allowed you to gather party members from the past and partnered up with them throughout a bigger world it would’ve been better. Or if they would’ve allowed lightning to bend monsters to her will like Serah did in 13-2. When i bought the lightning DLC and she turned herself into crystal i was let down….also 13-3 made everything in 13-2 null and void. Why did we try so hard to keep Cocoon airborne if in 13-3 there was NO mention of it? How did it all turn into one world map with 1 desert 1 true big city 1 grass lands lol it just didn’t make sense. 13-2 going around time to fix paradoxes was great Im so upset how they handled the 3rd installment. I put over 300 hours into 13-2 it was really a masterpiece
I really liked this game because of the content. The only thing I really don't like are the paradox puzzles, I hate the one with the clocks, also the slot machine and the Academia quizzes, thank goodness you only have to do it once 😅
I love FF13-2, especially the because the ending was foreshadowed and they followed it through, even if it was tragic. Unfortunately FF13-3 kinda retconned it 😅
I'm on lightning returns but I have a funny history with ff13. I played the first one. Played until the fight with some dude with blue hair. Kept getting destroyed repeatedly. Dropped the game. 5 years go by and I find ff13-2 for cheap. I buy it play it. Fall in love with it even tho I was super confused with the story. Then I beat it. The ending shook me and I was just surprised as to how good it was. Another 5 years go by, I think Xbox gave away ff13 a random month because on my series X I had it on my account and said now that I'm not longer a dumb kid, im sure I can beat the game and yess i did. The guy with blue hair was NOTHING to me now! But what I didn't expect, was to fall in love with cocoon. The amazing futuristic sci Fi design of cocoon is the greatest thing in gaming since cyberpunk. And now In 2023 almost 2024 I'm 1 hour into lightning returns and uhhhh it's kind of a turn off because now the combat system is totally different and based on costumes? I am trying because I want to know what happened to Sara and everyone else
That's awesome that you finally got back into it! And your history with the franchise is super cool! LR is absolutely a huge switch up, but I don't think it's a bad game, so keep pushing through!
I liked 13-2 alot. Definitely my favorite of the trilogy. Part of that was probably because I'd just started watching Doctor Who, so I liked the time travel aspect.
I honestly love the monster collection feature and I don’t care if it doesn’t fit the story. Maybe it’s cause I grew up with Pokemon and yo-Kai watch but I love getting to have the monsters as playable characters especially from final fantasy. Lightning returns should’ve kept this feature
This is my second time watching this vid in the past year. I always thought FF13-2 looked like shit and only ever tried it once years ago for 15 mins and didn’t like it. But after watching this again I’m gonna give it a real try and I’m excited. But I can’t agree on the music being better in ff13-2, seems good but it didn’t hit for me, maybe that will change when I play it. Anyways great vid
The point is: they don`t include them (13 and 13-2) to the PS Network ! I watched a video of your about FF13 and I thought to buy It for my ps5 from the store to replay It in the future, but I`ve soon realised that it`s not listed in the FF list! That`s sucks tbh
Totally agree!! The only decent place to play them are on xbox, PC ports are supposed to be bad but can be fixed with mods. Having these titles isolated sucks!!!
Thank you so much, I know lightning and FF XIII from dissidia psp, I know im not dive enough to player review but most of what i see in my usual review or content place, they had particularly bad view to FFXIII series, its discouraging me. But your video encouraging me to play the game, along with FFXV, yeah, interesting that you find interesting about those game that have mixed review from players. My impression to the game back then is good. I wish i really buy it this time, on january first 2024. FF 7RI, FF X, FF XIII
Loved xiii-2 Defs the best in the trilogy, I loved this vid, I didn’t recall frame rate issues but I played on ps3. Also how did you not see they are numbers on the clock haha I’m so confused by that. . One of the best ost ever made
Had so much promise but nope. The whole time traveling back and forth to find where to go next was unnecessarily cumbersome and ruined an otherwise fun experience. I liked the first 10 hours or so.
Thank you for this video! I finally have something to show my friends as to why this beats out FF14 as my favorite FF game. And I i STILL remmeber when I first played it and Serah first aimed that bow at the giant mecha's head and I went from, "Ugh, why SERAH!?" to "FUCK YEAH! SERAH!"
It's funny to me, how even though I've always defended and enjoyed the 13 series, there is some level of poetic justice in the way Square-Enix ignores it now days. Considering that back then, most people didn't enjoy 13, nobody wanted a sequel to it, much less 2 sequels. Yet at the time SE was pushing this series on us so hard! So as much as i love what we got, I'm glad they ignore it now. Like, why was Lightning a real life model? Type-0 didnt have anything to do with the world, but was set in the same universe. And even FF15 was originally a 13 spinoff like Type-0 was. (And 15 is so close to being truly great, and most of its shortcomings stem from starting out as a 13 game, when it should've started as a new Mainline FF to begin with) So yea, I absolutely love FF13, 13-2, and 13LR, but I'm also glad SE ignores it now cuz they shouldn't have pushed it so hard back then. Sorta vindicating to everyone else.
Lightning is amazing. I've played through 13 at least 20 times. 13-2 is equally impressive although Light isn't a playable character in it. She was a downloadable "monster" add on though. I love these 2 games. Lightning Returns wasn't very good.
I played FFXIII when it was released and was heavily disappointed. Recently I bought the whole trilogy in their Xbox360 versions to play them on my Series X and I played through XIII last year. Made my piece with it and could appreciate it more after I played XIV and XV which I both liked very much. It is linear, yes, but it has great characters, music, graphics and a great endgame. I will definitely play XIII-2 and LR for the first time in the near future and I am very thrilled to do so.
Lots to love about this game, it's one of my favorites, but I overall prefer 13 because of the tighter difficulty balancing (I beat 13-2's final boss in seconds and didn't even realize it was the final boss) and what I felt was excellent pacing on the story front.
I respectfully disagree about Serah being a well written character. Shes one of the blandest uninteresting protagonists in any FF. If I was to tell you give me at least two or three defining character traits of any Final Fantasy protagonist it’s not really that hard even the side characters . Like Cloud = mercenary, Ex soldier, untrusting, etc. But for Serah its like ummm… Lightnings Sister, Snows girlfriend. Even in your own video, you were able to give me some defining traits of Noel. But you couldn’t describe Serah without talking about lightning or snow. Her entire existence is dependent on other characters. Shes just needy and uninteresting IMO. “Kind” is a basic human trait that alone isnt enough to make a compelling protagonist. Who is Serah without Lighting or Snow other than “kind person?”
If you hate FF 13, like me. 13-2 is way better in almost every possible way and doesn't have any of the terrible characters (except Hope, you have to deal with him but he ain't playable) So yeah, is a good sequel.
Hey love watching videos about the FF13 series. There definitely seems to be a resurgence of gamers re-considering the game and recognizing its brilliance. I, for one, am so glad it was made, despite all the hang-ups and pushback it received. And that the development team pushed through with the entire series. And your video makes me want to replay FF13 right away. One question for you. Which system did you capture your footage from, and which version/platform of FF13 do you recommend playing on (ps3, XB1/S/X, PC)?
Did you really just suggest that non-intuitive puzzles with hidden hints don’t fit in Final Fantasy games? Seriously? They’ve been a part of so many FF games that they are practically an iconic part of the FF experience. I liked your video - but the entire segment on the games/puzzles just had me shaking my head.
![Twenty One Pilots - The Line (from Arcane Season 2) [Official Audio]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/XCz7WUotXs8/mqdefault.jpg)
This game is very underrated. I think because of 13's reputation, 13-2 never got to shine. Which is a shame because it addresses nearly every criticism that 13 received. I personally thought 13 was fairly mid, but 13-2 pleasantly blew me away.
I'm glad someone here on the internet is talking about it. 🙂
I’m glad you love the game!! And thanks for watching!!
This game blew me away. It is as epic as ff 13. The maps were incredible and the gameplay was so good and always kept you engaged. The monster collection was epic. What a great way to bolster the game. Spent hours collecting, infusing, and leveling up. So many cool combos you can do with them. Love this game 😊
Absolutely agree!!
"As good as ff xiii" sounds pretty damning to me. Is it really that bad?
@@gJonii its waaaay worse
@@gJonii Stop falling for peer pressure and play it for yourself.
@@BenjaminGoose I am not interested, 13 kinda killed my interest in the series, and playing 7Remake finalized it. I don't think I'll be playing any more games by Squenix. But, doesn't mean I'm not still fascinated by gossip around it
Best one in the trilogy. The monster breeding and making the ultimate monster for each role was awesome with the combat system. I can't think of anything bad about this game I loved it.
Couldn't agree more!
FFXIII-2 is my favourite Final Fantasy game. Everything about the story, art direction, music and gameplay has had me coming back to it for over 10 years. I'm not one for playing JRPGs over and over, but FF XIII-2 has the depth and flexibility to make it fun every play through.
It’s a wonderful game and I’m glad you love it too!!
I love the entire XIII trilogy and am very happy that it's legacy (the stagger mechanic) lives on even in XVI! This video is awesome, but I think you forgot about tuning paradigms, which change how the AI uses skills. Let's take Agression for example. Normally Aggresion (a paradigm consisting of 2 COMmanders and a RAVager) causes one COM and the RAV to focus on one enemy while the other COM chooses a different target. If you tune the paradigm to CROSS (-x) it causes all allies to focus attacks on a single enemy. On the other hand if it is tuned to WIDE (-W) it causes allies to use attack that target multiple enemies. The WIDE tuning even causes MEDics to prioritize skills that heal all allies and SYNergists to use AoE buffs like Bravega instead of Brave or Shellga instead of Shell. Sorry for the wall of text, but I couldn't help myself.
Thank you so much!! And yeah that’s a good point that I didn’t bring up! Tuning the paradigms offers a wide variety of customization!
13-2 feels like a soft reboot for 13 when it comes to it's world and lore, especially since they basically retcon the ending of the first game. It's definitely my favorite out of the 3 games, the gameplay (especially combat and the monster system) is so much fun and you get a better idea of what this world is like both on a macro and micro level which was one of my major criticisms of the first game. In the fist game, aside from the final big open area in the third half, each environment felt disconnected and it didn't help that there were so few towns to explore at your leisure. It left me with the feeling that I really didn't have any idea of what this world was like geographically, what cultures occupied it's different parts, or what the people living in it were really like. This was all pretty much completely fixed by 13-2, while I'm still not the biggest fan of the lore, I felt like I at least had a better idea of the smaller nuances that make the world feel more lived in.
I agree with all of these takes! This was objectively the best in the series I think and it was a ton of fun
Xiii is crap. Xiii2 is quite good and fun. Should have been the main game.
I took it about the opposite of you.
While I do ignore the gameplay that was probably superior in the second, by the end of the first game I got really invested in the world they created, wanted more of it, and got bitter in the second game when they butchered it for yet another time travel/parallel word. Unfortunately, regardless of gameplay superiority of the second, the destruction of the first game's world and lore made FF13-2 one of my most hated sequels.
FF13: 13 minutes.
FF13-2: 50 minutes.
HELL. YEAH.
Also, I love that this game has dynamic music in it. An enemy appearing seamlessly replaces the current area's field music with it's "aggressive mix" while you decide to run or fight.
I love some of the Aggressive Mix songs, like for Oerba!
Thank you!! And yeah the dynamic music was a great touch and really the soundtrack as a whole was awesome!!
Another great analysis, this one is somehow 3 times bigger and 3 times better than the last one! As an ardent XIII-trilogy fan I am definitely sending newcomers this way first so they can get an in-depth and fair analysis of the series.
I loved XIII-2 as much as the first one even if the 6 characters we just spent 50+ hours with are not a huge part of the game, it was nice to see the world continue on after their journey. The game does address many of the common complaints with XIII.
My only gripe is with how they did the new Crystarium. If you progress through this new Crystarium you could unintentionally nerf yourself for a good part of the game. I wish they elaborated more on the mechanics of leveling since a prior XIII player might just hold X/A to advance like last time without engaging much with the system. Of course this is not an issue if one were to only play to the end of the main story, like XIII it's terribly easy once you do actually find your comfortable build and monsters. But for Completionists, it can get messy at some points since a non-optimized Crystarium can get you bodied by the post-game and DLC bosses. (Lightning DLC included, as even though that has a different system, it will still cause frustration if you don't know that its meant to be played over and over again.)
And I definitely agree with your point about the ending, it didn't come out of nowhere, the story slowly but surely led us to that point. Hell, the instant Hope told us his boneheaded plan to save Fang, Vanille, and move the people of Pulse-Academia my first thought was: "there is no way this is going to work, and if anything it will just reset us back to where XIII started, back in a Cocoon." It was at that moment the reality started to sink in that there was no real "resolution" for our heroes. They could change Time but never fix the epicenter of the issue itself...the Goddess.
Anyway, can't wait for your Lightning Returns video or what ever game you decide next! Your videos are always time well spent 😤
-I'm not a furry but Chocolina got me acting unwise 🥵-
Thank you so much!! I really appreciate that and you!! And yeah, this trilogy needs to get more love!!
This game was a lot of fun to playthrough an although it doesn't really feel like a direct sequel to FF13, I still think that it is a great game, I like how it expands the lore of the world, and I think the story is wonderful; just like FF13's story.
As far as the crystarium goes, I absolutely agree with you! They did not explain much about it, and if you don't unlock certain roles early on, or you unlock inferior roles for certain characters, like I did when I unlocked the medic role for Serah right away and didn't unlock it for Noel until the end game, then you nerf yourself pretty hard.
And Yup! The ending was in our face the entire time, it just didn't seem like it was going to happen due to the good guys always winning mentality of FF13.
Lightning Returns is definitely on the way! I'm about 1/2-3/4ths of the way through it right now so hopefully it won't be too long until I get that video out!
Chocolina is definitely Bae!! 😍
And again, Thank You for watching the videos I really appreciate it!!
The beat drop from the Historia Crux song was a great surprise on top of everything else.
Very true!!
Awesome, in-depth review! Great points, and I agree with how strong the soundtrack was. Makes me want a remaster of the trilogy for PS5 so I can experience it all again. Would love to see a review for Lightning Returns one day!
Thank you!! And yeah the soundtrack is wonderful! A remaster of the trilogy would be great and I honestly hope they do it but very unlikely unfortunately. And yeah lightning returns is next up and I’m already working on it so stay tuned!!
The team behind this series really showed me their thought process when they were developing these games and taking fan feedback. I personally find them to be so strong for taking some of the exaggerated criticisms and hate, and then constantly doing things differently to where each game is so different. And in a way, I'm proud of the work they're doing on 7R, and how far they've come, even as I still see some of their design quirks in that game too.
Oddly enough, in my experience of hearing reviews, it usually follows that if someone disliked FF13 they'd like 13-2 more, but if they really like 13, they'd like 13-2 less. This is likely because enjoying FF13 usually means a person really focused on and resonated with the individual character journeys and interactions, along with the endgame battle difficulty. A couple things 13-2 doesn't do that 13 did, was have that more varied character experience, more spectacle in terms of cutscenes, and based on anecdotal evidence, people generally enjoy the difficulty balance more in 13. I often hear people complain about battle in 13-2 either being too easy or too hard.
All very good points! I really like 13 and 13-2 but I think 13-2 is so different from 13 that at times you focus on what the game lost from 13 and not viewing 13-2 as its own game. Which is fair because it’s a direct sequel
Glad to know that you like FFXIII-2 it was my very first final fantasy game on the ps3. Though I really wish the game and story extended more world building instead the main canon ending.
Thank you!! And that’s a fair point too!!
I adore ff13, it's my 3rd ff game and so far it's my favorite. I really like its plot and characters, especially since they all have tangible arcs and I really got to care about them. However, a lot of the dialogue was rough and felt juvenile. My favorite part about ff13-2 is that the writing seemed a lot more focused and because of that Serah, Noel, Caius, and Hope are all really great here. The amount of stupid dialogue is down by like 90% and it really lets the characters shine
Totally agree!!
i swear to got that in ff 13 characters had 0 conversations with each other and were always talking about some nonsense. LIGHTIGNMADIFJGNA was total cunt which never talked to anyone and rest of the group just kept saying ELCISLE and ELISSECESCE.
you ppl need to stop using drugs and stop playing JRPG if you are over 15.
This is my favorite FF game. The graphics are great, the gameplay is solid, the music top awesome. My favorite part though is Caius. His story, motivations were really good and made good practical sense. He wasn’t twirling his mustache scheming was to take over the world. He was trying to stop someone’s suffering. It’s hard to even call him a villain imo. His theme music is probably one of the best themes ever.
It's a great game! I'm glad you love it and yeah all valid points!!
this is hardly FF game, it was same garbo as ff 12-13-14-15 it has nothing to do with roots of the series, its just about sexy girls and story writen by mentaly ill chicken.
@@critical-thinker66612 was good asf wym
@@bort_hill trash characters,trash story,trash combat, otherwise it was mid.
@@critical-thinker666 you sound like you're fun at parties when all you talk about is ffIX and VI
Loved the opening section and so much agree with you! XIII-2 is one of my favorite games of all time and can highly recommend to anyone!
Yeah it was a wonderful experience! And thank you!!
📌13-2 is one of the rare examples of developers learning their lesson and improving on all the problems. Oftentimes we see studios that are tone-deaf to the problems of the original game and in worst case scenarios, instead of improving on the original, they remove the few things people actually liked about the original and they add features nobody asked for so the sequel is even worse than the original.
Very good point!!
13-2 is simply the best of the trilogy. Lightning Returns got close but I think it needed more time in development… time it didn’t have.
Edit: thank you for not bashing Serah and Noel as leads. Most people say they’re boring, especially Serah… but that’s disregarding her complex backstory. She’s an optimist, but fans like the brooding type so they see her as kinda lame.
I agree!! And yeah I really liked Serah and Noel as the main characters I’m glad they had their moment to shine!!
whole trilogy was utter trash. story was so fucking dumb so were all characters.
I really enjoyed 13 and didn't think it deserved/deserves the hate it gets. Other FF games have arguably been MORE linear and less interesting story wise and no one bats an eye. But 13-2 is not only an improvement on every aspect but I'd go so far as to say it's one of the best FF games period. I think it's probably in my top 5 pretty handily. The story itself was wonderful but the game itself was so good to play that other than the big ones(7, 10, etc), 13-2 is probably the only one I like to actually replay. And it had a "villain" that people could actually identify with and arguably be on his side.
It's also depressing how good the battle system of the 13 games really was but since people disliked the games that we'll likely never see anything like it again. Other than maybe FF10, it might be my favorite battle system.
Totally agree!!
I was just wondering which soundtrack to unlock on Theatrhythm Final Bar Line, after finishing the FFVII Remake path. You've just convinced me to use my next key on the FF XIII-2 /Lightning Returns selection!
That’s awesome!! I’m glad I could help with that choice!!
I love the XIII saga, I’d forgotten how much I loved Etro’s theme, thanks for showing them some love.
I do as well! And I had to put some respect on Etros theme!
U explained everything perfectly and also made me want to play it again rn 😂
Haha thank you!! I’m glad the video made you want to check it out again!!
This is such a good breakdown of XIII-2. To this day, it's still my favorite single player Final Fantasy.......hence the name. Literally my only point of correction is that the 5 Graviton Cores can actually be collected before the main story asks you to hunt for them. As long as you have Mog's reveal ability and you can physically reach the spot the core is at (some need chocobos or wild artefacts ofc) then you can just collect them as you go. You do have to go back for the New Bodhum 3AF one tho...
SLFHFKS THATS JUST A MINOR NITPICK THO
Almost done with 13 on pc and really looking forward to this
That’s awesome! It’s a great game, I think you’ll enjoy it!
@@thechance-lore4711 Thanks for the reply. Great video. Subbed and liked.
This game was such an emotional rollercoaster for me. Even though I spoiled the ending for myself, getting to the end still choked me up inside. One of the best plot twists of gaming history. Noel stands as my favorite FF protag, he’s just so goated. Style, fighting, personality, he’s got it all. Not to mention Caius is one of the best antagonists in the entire series too! I am so glad other people feel like it is the perfect sequel
Totally agree!! Great game!!
One of my favorite FF's of all time. They really went out of their way to address all of the criticisms of part 1. It showed, and it payed off. The monster hunting part was my favorite. I think it's one of the biggest FF crimes that this is the only series in the Franchise (outside of the obvious 11 and 14) that isn't available to be played on PS4/5. Not sure if it's a bigger crime or not than not being able to skip cutscenes in the remake of FF10 nor it's PS4 port lol.
It's a wonderful title!!
"Rambunctious chocobos are just inferior chocobos in every way."
False. The metal arrangement of the chocobo theme is awesome!
Haha fair point
@@thechance-lore4711 :D Other than that, though, I agree that the rambunctious chocobo is subpar to the regular one.
Omg my king🥰 ive just started the video- excited to see how it goes!
Hey!! Great to see you again!! ❤️ and thank you! Let me know what you think!! ❤️
I think I'm gonna go home and download this game again. Weird how this game give me nostalgia because I played it before I ever touched the first game. So for me it was the first game in the series and it made the story crazy for me
Awesome!! I’m glad the video made you want to play it again!!
I played this game on my Xbox 360, and there was no lag. It was pretty stable throughout.
The final fantasy 13 trilogy ✨️ i honestly loved all the characters and I was just 12 playing it. I related mostly to Hope in way when I lost my dad. I felt close to Lightning and Snow too. It really helped me as a boy growing up. I loved the gameplay and the cutscenes. When 13-2 came out it became an instant favorite. Definitely an upgrade from the 1st and the antagonist was everything in this game and rememberable. And seeing Hope doing better for himself made me feel really good in that game. And I felt like the whole Time and Space thing was phenomenal and beautifully done right ❤ Of course the music is very rememberable and I even play them to this day at 26. I remember defending the game from FF7 fanboys lol 😆 they were too much honestly. But I knew I was defending a masterpiece. If I could forget and replay this for the 1st time 💙 It really changed my life 💯 and inspired me.
Sorry for your loss! But I'm glad these games could help and I'm glad that you love them!
Just finished the game again, on my way to collect everything. I absolutely love the gameplay and puzzling of searching artifacts and figuring out the timeline and connectivities. But once I get the swing of it its over quite quick. Wish they gave sahz some more time in the game, as well for fang and vannile even though that makes less sense but could be some more dreamrealm stuff. The addition of monsters in battle and to collect them was awesome too. With the time mechanic and my memory not being that great no more its a wonderfull game to replay every now and then.
I totally agree with including more Sazh, Fang, and Vanille!
I had so much fun figuring out how to unlock the different time zones. One of my fave ff games
It's a great game!!
Caius is one of the most well writen villains I've ever seen. I genuinely can't think of any better. I don't remember if it's explained in the datalog or in the main story, but him and Yuel aren't in society very much at all. His design not fitting the rest of the world actually makes a lot of sense. His theme is also one of the best, most well written songs for a villain I've ever heard.
I think they did well with the main characters, better than XIII even, but I don't think they went into enough depth for them. Noel is kind of hard to understand sometimes, and so is Serah. I obviously understand them very well, but most people don't look into it as deep as I do, but when i first played it I didn't understand them well at all. Still, Serah is my favorite character of the whole trilogy because of this game. I think they shouldn't have made Noel repeat a ton of things that just happened. Noel: "Who's behind this?" Serah: "Only the power of a Fal'cie could do this." . . . *2 seconds later* Noel: "Who's closing things off?" Serah: "I don't think it is a who." Reference to Academia 400AF, i played that beginning a lot to capture fencers for my chichu and Lightning. There are only 2 in the game and the only way to get them is to redo Academia 400AF over and over. They just could've done Noel better over all, but he is still great. I've gotten mad at him a couple times for being dumb though. 💀
(I AM SO MAD ABOUT WHAT THEY DID TO SERAH AT THE END, THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO DO THAT! EVEN THOUGH THEY KINDA SAID THEY WOULD EARLY ON, IT STILL SUCKS!!)
I don't think Hope was an amazing character in this game. The voice actor started to not care and you can tell. He also isn't in enough of the story to really tell if you love him or just like him very easily. I personally think that he was just okay. I'm glad he was there but he could've been done better. Even his theme, which is still good, isn't as good as his first theme. They kinda did the same to Lightning too, but she was a little better than Hope. I think Noel, Serah, and Caius were the best actors.
Over all, best game of the 3, i love the battle system, i love the characters and story even more than the first game, and i fully agree with this games sound track being the best one too. Whether anyone loves or hates the first game, i genuinely recommend this one after.
The puzzle parts all have a little tutorial don't they? If not, it's bad design and I've always hated them, but there are clock solver websites at least, and there are answer keys to the red room, gather the crystals and you can't step on the same tile more than twice ones. (idk what they're called.) I also HATE the rambunctious chocobos. Just use the normal one's, right? Would've been so much better. I like the silly metal rout they took with their theme. 💀
I hate Snow's design in this one, and I'm highly disappointed with what they did with Sazh. I want more of him, he's a really good character.
These games changed my life. They made me more appreciative of things, and Snow's and Serah's relationship made me realize i was in a toxic one for almost three years. I got out of it because of Snow and Serah. I seriously recommend these games to everyone if they like RPGs, or want to get into them.
Great insight and awesome comment! I agree with Caius being a wonderful villain and Serah being an excellent protagonist! I also think this is the best out of all 3 and that I agree with most of the negative aspects about this game that you point out here.
Also, glad to hear that this game changed your life and that you're out of that bad situation!
I don't like muchof the game itself, but i REALLY LOVE how it treated the Lore and mythology, showing that the Big Eventes of XIII are nothing compared with what happaens since the begginging of the time, and man Caius. If you played XIII-2 and didn't like caius you need medical assistance.
All fair points!!
I fell into a farming rabbit hole with this game and the monster fusing system. Its silly how strong you can get and I love it. I do miss 13s weapon system sometimes though. The way you could manipulate the AI through stats was neat
Yeah the catching monsters system is very addicting!!
Agreed, In summary ff13-2 had great main villian, characters, fast-paced and got various improvements over ff13 with having less amount of storage covered over your console and pc, definitely worth it!
Amen!!
I’ve loved the FF XIII games since they came out! I think I was 16 at the time. I loved XIII-2 especially! I’m so glad people are finally starting to give these games fair criticism and not just blindly hating them.
They are great games for sure and I'm glad that you really enjoyed them!
This is one of my favorite video game reviews on RUclips… ever. I appreciate how non cynical you are just in terms of RUclips reviews.
Thank you so much!! I’m glad you enjoyed it! More coming soon!!
Noel is such an underrated FF character
Amen to that!!
Gotta say, 13-2 is a big improvement over 13. I even managed to platinum it back in the day. Also, RIP to Origa, who does some of the vocal tracks here (and did the opening songs for Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex)
It was!! And Yes RIP!
*I never played 13 or 13-2 but I LLOOOVVVEEEEE Lightning Returns and love that ur vid gave me some insight about these characters* 👍
Thank you so much!! Glad I could give some information for you!
My absolute favorite of the trilogy! I wish Jihl Nabaat wasn’t DLC and we had access to her sooner
Absolutely agree!!
nabaat is voice by lu lu from ffx series listen to her voice and you will hear it and gilgamesh voice by wakka aswell
@@charma83 I already knew Paula Tiso voiced her that is also part of the reason why I love Jihl. Thanks for that fact though for others to see
yeah bro i was like I heard that voice before.... I really need ps5 remaster
Thank you for the video, I can never get enough of FFXIII Series and Lightning. Keep up the great work 👍
Thank you so much!! I appreciate it!!
I actually can’t wait to play this trilogy. As a kid I looked at it and immediately spat on the idea of buying it, but as an adult I think I might enjoy it the same way I enjoy bad movies. It’s absolutely not what I normally go for, but after half watching a couple of these videos and laughing my ass off at certain plot points, I’m down. Square enix can have my money a decade later
Haha well I hope you get into it and enjoy your time!
Love this game, blows my mind that it was made in 1 and a half years!
PS: You can remove the lag on Series X. When in game, press the start and select buttons at the same time to open a secret menu. Then scroll right to “Xbox One X Settings” and change the game to performance mode. This will make the game still 60fps but just not 4k anymore. The lag is some glitch with Microsoft’s emulator that they unfortunately never went back to fix.
It's a wonderful game!! And thanks for the tip!!!
Love your videos bro! 13-2 is my favorite of the trilogy and one of my favorite Final Fantasy’s period
Thank you so much!! And 13-2 is a top tier game for sure!!
Long story short, FF13-2 was my first but I was hooked since 2007ish when it was being promoted but I only had a PS2 :( when I got my 360 13-2 came out. I played it, then ending made my cry but my only complaint was not being able to play as Lightning as much as you can in FF13. Played FF13 before Lightning Returns came out, Ending made me cry lmao. Finish Lightning Returns.
I like all 3, however, I put the most time into FF13-2 I wanted all the endings and achievements. If FF13 flowed and played like FF13-2 dare I say that would be the perfect JRPG of all time.
Total agree with the last point!
Loved this game too. Music isn't as great as 13 but still awesome. Caius ballad was great as a bad guy. I usually don't like time travel stories and this one didn't change my mind but was beareable. I hated some of the puzzles, like the clock one and having to walk all over to conplete the maps. But it was fun and engaging and I completed it 100%
That’s awesome!! Yeah I thought it was a great sequel and agree with all of your points
I've noticed the only people who don't like XIII-2 are the people who act like the first game killed their firstborn. I got one of my buddies to try XIII-2 he only made it 2 hours in while complaining about the first game the ENTRIE time. Things that were addressed. He even started complaining during Final Fantasy VII Remake when he saw the stagger meter. He also started complaining when he heard the terms L'Cie and Fal'Cie in Type 0...despite the fact that the 3 main FNC games were announced all on the same day.
People really have some sort of PTSD with the original XIII.
Hahaha that’s an interesting point!
I have the collectors edition of the game that came with the soundtrack. I feel this game was even better than the original and with sequels that’s very hard. I feel like all the DLC was worth it…. I purchased literally EVERYTHING lol and since i was logged into the PSN when i played it carried over to my PS5. I collected every single trophy and got the platinum trophy 🏆 for obtaining everything lol. Im gonna be honest i was a bit let down that the game didn’t end with 13-2. Being even more honest i wasn’t a big fan of FF13-3….. i think if they would’ve allowed you to gather party members from the past and partnered up with them throughout a bigger world it would’ve been better. Or if they would’ve allowed lightning to bend monsters to her will like Serah did in 13-2. When i bought the lightning DLC and she turned herself into crystal i was let down….also 13-3 made everything in 13-2 null and void. Why did we try so hard to keep Cocoon airborne if in 13-3 there was NO mention of it? How did it all turn into one world map with 1 desert 1 true big city 1 grass lands lol it just didn’t make sense. 13-2 going around time to fix paradoxes was great Im so upset how they handled the 3rd installment. I put over 300 hours into 13-2 it was really a masterpiece
Btw whoever sees this please comment your favorite track on the entire FF13 franchise. Mine are “wish” and “sunleth waterscape”
Totally agree with it being a masterpiece! But personally I like the ending I thought it was interesting!
The Yaschas Massif for sure!!
I really liked this game because of the content. The only thing I really don't like are the paradox puzzles, I hate the one with the clocks, also the slot machine and the Academia quizzes, thank goodness you only have to do it once 😅
Totally agree!!
Just ordered a copy for my series x for when I finish my xiii playthrough, ffxiii-2 has a beyond amazing soundtrack constantly!!!
That's awesome!! I played both on Xbox and it was a great experience! I hope you enjoy it! And yeah the soundtrack is wonderful!
I love FF13-2, especially the because the ending was foreshadowed and they followed it through, even if it was tragic. Unfortunately FF13-3 kinda retconned it 😅
Totally agree!!
I'm on lightning returns but I have a funny history with ff13. I played the first one. Played until the fight with some dude with blue hair. Kept getting destroyed repeatedly. Dropped the game. 5 years go by and I find ff13-2 for cheap. I buy it play it. Fall in love with it even tho I was super confused with the story. Then I beat it. The ending shook me and I was just surprised as to how good it was. Another 5 years go by, I think Xbox gave away ff13 a random month because on my series X I had it on my account and said now that I'm not longer a dumb kid, im sure I can beat the game and yess i did. The guy with blue hair was NOTHING to me now! But what I didn't expect, was to fall in love with cocoon. The amazing futuristic sci Fi design of cocoon is the greatest thing in gaming since cyberpunk. And now In 2023 almost 2024 I'm 1 hour into lightning returns and uhhhh it's kind of a turn off because now the combat system is totally different and based on costumes? I am trying because I want to know what happened to Sara and everyone else
That's awesome that you finally got back into it! And your history with the franchise is super cool! LR is absolutely a huge switch up, but I don't think it's a bad game, so keep pushing through!
@@thechance-lore4711 thank you, your amazing videos got me back in the final fantasy fantasy mood. You got a sub for life!
Awesome review! Made me pick up the game and start replaying 😊😊
That’s awesome!! And thank you for watching! I’m glad you enjoyed!!
I liked 13-2 alot. Definitely my favorite of the trilogy. Part of that was probably because I'd just started watching Doctor Who, so I liked the time travel aspect.
13-2 is great!!
I honestly love the monster collection feature and I don’t care if it doesn’t fit the story. Maybe it’s cause I grew up with Pokemon and yo-Kai watch but I love getting to have the monsters as playable characters especially from final fantasy. Lightning returns should’ve kept this feature
Totally agree!
This is my second time watching this vid in the past year. I always thought FF13-2 looked like shit and only ever tried it once years ago for 15 mins and didn’t like it. But after watching this again I’m gonna give it a real try and I’m excited. But I can’t agree on the music being better in ff13-2, seems good but it didn’t hit for me, maybe that will change when I play it. Anyways great vid
Thank you so much!! Hopefully the game digs its teeth into you this time around!
The point is: they don`t include them (13 and 13-2) to the PS Network ! I watched a video of your about FF13 and I thought to buy It for my ps5 from the store to replay It in the future, but I`ve soon realised that it`s not listed in the FF list! That`s sucks tbh
Totally agree!! The only decent place to play them are on xbox, PC ports are supposed to be bad but can be fixed with mods. Having these titles isolated sucks!!!
Thank you so much,
I know lightning and FF XIII from dissidia psp,
I know im not dive enough to player review but most of what i see in my usual review or content place, they had particularly bad view to FFXIII series, its discouraging me.
But your video encouraging me to play the game, along with FFXV, yeah, interesting that you find interesting about those game that have mixed review from players.
My impression to the game back then is good.
I wish i really buy it this time, on january first 2024.
FF 7RI, FF X, FF XIII
Thank you for watching!! And that’s awesome that my videos encouraged you to play these games!
I rank 13-2 up there with FF9, FF12, and FF7 as the best of the franchise.
Loved xiii-2 Defs the best in the trilogy, I loved this vid, I didn’t recall frame rate issues but I played on ps3. Also how did you not see they are numbers on the clock haha I’m so confused by that. . One of the best ost ever made
Amen to that!! and Thank you so much!!
FF13 n 13-2 are Two of my favourite games of all time! 😊
I hope we get a remastered for current gen.
I hope so too!
I love FFXIII-2 so much. Great review except RED CHOCOBO THEME CLEARS!!!
Haha it’s a good song for sure!! But it’s sooooooo different from everything else haha
And thank you! Glad you enjoyed!!
One of my fav game, the soundtrack of this game was so chill👌👌👌👌👌👌👌
The soundtrack is wonderful!!
Had so much promise but nope. The whole time traveling back and forth to find where to go next was unnecessarily cumbersome and ruined an otherwise fun experience. I liked the first 10 hours or so.
That’s a good point!
Thank you for this video! I finally have something to show my friends as to why this beats out FF14 as my favorite FF game.
And I i STILL remmeber when I first played it and Serah first aimed that bow at the giant mecha's head and I went from, "Ugh, why SERAH!?" to "FUCK YEAH! SERAH!"
I also love how, yes, the ending is heavily foreshadowed CONSTANTLY.
FF13-2 is a great game and Serah is a wonderful protagonist!
Same here!
It's funny to me, how even though I've always defended and enjoyed the 13 series, there is some level of poetic justice in the way Square-Enix ignores it now days.
Considering that back then, most people didn't enjoy 13, nobody wanted a sequel to it, much less 2 sequels. Yet at the time SE was pushing this series on us so hard!
So as much as i love what we got, I'm glad they ignore it now.
Like, why was Lightning a real life model?
Type-0 didnt have anything to do with the world, but was set in the same universe.
And even FF15 was originally a 13 spinoff like Type-0 was.
(And 15 is so close to being truly great, and most of its shortcomings stem from starting out as a 13 game, when it should've started as a new Mainline FF to begin with)
So yea, I absolutely love FF13, 13-2, and 13LR, but I'm also glad SE ignores it now cuz they shouldn't have pushed it so hard back then.
Sorta vindicating to everyone else.
That’s a unique take! And I kind of agree with it!
Lightning is amazing. I've played through 13 at least 20 times. 13-2 is equally impressive although Light isn't a playable character in it. She was a downloadable "monster" add on though.
I love these 2 games. Lightning Returns wasn't very good.
Totally agree with almost everything here!!
Anyway to mute the moogle in 13-2?
I'm not sure to be honest!
I loved this game it was so engrossing loved the battle system characters the world it was so much fun
It’s a wonderful game!!
I played FFXIII when it was released and was heavily disappointed. Recently I bought the whole trilogy in their Xbox360 versions to play them on my Series X and I played through XIII last year. Made my piece with it and could appreciate it more after I played XIV and XV which I both liked very much. It is linear, yes, but it has great characters, music, graphics and a great endgame. I will definitely play XIII-2 and LR for the first time in the near future and I am very thrilled to do so.
That awesome! I'm glad you went back to it and enjoyed it!
Lots to love about this game, it's one of my favorites, but I overall prefer 13 because of the tighter difficulty balancing (I beat 13-2's final boss in seconds and didn't even realize it was the final boss) and what I felt was excellent pacing on the story front.
That's a really good point!
isnt ff 13 basicly pressing X for 25 hours and than game ends?
Damn we went from a 10 minute vid to nearly an HOUR with this one. FF13-2 must've been absolute FIRE for you
It was!! And honestly I could have done a lot more with FF13 but it was my first video and it was more of a proof of concept as well
Just finished it. I'm going to miss seeing Serah in her DLC beachwear outfit.
haha there you go!!
I'm about to run this game up for the 1st time on series s 60fps ❤
There you go!!
Idk if I’m just not a super critic or I have “bad taste” but while 13’s story was confusing I throughly enjoyed 13 and 13-2 even more
I'm right there with you!
Bought the game at a small game shop. Looks amazing
It does!!
The ending was WILD
It was!!
I respectfully disagree about Serah being a well written character. Shes one of the blandest uninteresting protagonists in any FF.
If I was to tell you give me at least two or three defining character traits of any Final Fantasy protagonist it’s not really that hard even the side characters .
Like Cloud = mercenary, Ex soldier, untrusting, etc. But for Serah its like ummm… Lightnings Sister, Snows girlfriend.
Even in your own video, you were able to give me some defining traits of Noel. But you couldn’t describe Serah without talking about lightning or snow. Her entire existence is dependent on other characters.
Shes just needy and uninteresting IMO. “Kind” is a basic human trait that alone isnt enough to make a compelling protagonist. Who is Serah without Lighting or Snow other than “kind person?”
If you hate FF 13, like me. 13-2 is way better in almost every possible way and doesn't have any of the terrible characters (except Hope, you have to deal with him but he ain't playable)
So yeah, is a good sequel.
Fair point!
One of my favorite Final Fantasy games of ALL TIME.
It’s a wonderful FF title!!
Despite not being a fan of FF13 trilogy, I still got the platinum for 13-2. It is a pretty good game.
Yeah! It’s very solid
cool take!
thank you!
Dude how did you figure out the clock puzzles? I only got them randomly after a million tries
So I did but it took a long time for me to figure it out
I loveeeee the 13 series, however i dont understand the confusion around ffxiii story. Do people actually have trouble following?
It's a great story!! And yeah they do unfortunately, but I think it's mostly around the first title
@@thechance-lore4711 Thats interesting the story for 13 is really simple. If you watch the cut scenes, they tell you everything.
I dislike FF13 and 13-3 but Love FF13-2. might be my second favorite FF after FF6. I liked it that much.
Also it looks great on XSX at 4K 60 👍
That’s totally fair! And yeah it does look great on Xbox Series!
is it just me or does the gates give kingdom hearts chain of memories vibez gang ?
They do!!
Will you do a video for Type 0 and World of FF?
Yeah I’ll look into it! I think a type 0 video would be fun for sure!
@@thechance-lore4711 Me too
Hey love watching videos about the FF13 series. There definitely seems to be a resurgence of gamers re-considering the game and recognizing its brilliance. I, for one, am so glad it was made, despite all the hang-ups and pushback it received. And that the development team pushed through with the entire series. And your video makes me want to replay FF13 right away.
One question for you. Which system did you capture your footage from, and which version/platform of FF13 do you recommend playing on (ps3, XB1/S/X, PC)?
Thank you!! And I played on a Xbox series X, and it ran very well!
I played this game on Xbox 360 and it never lagged for me.
I played on an Xbox series x and it was chugging at times
I Just need a reason to replay these games again, ive done it a few times just the PC ports suck
If you have an Xbox the ports there are really good!!
The pc port for XIII was really bad a few years ago, but I just recently beat the game now with no issues.
Can’t speak for the second two games.
Can this game be played as a stand alone or do i need to play 13 first?
You kind of need to play 13 first if you care about the story, but they also do a decent job at summarizing the story from 13 here too
13 is my fave, i dont care about its spin offs.
That’s a fair point
Best song in any final fantasy is crazy chocobo
Haha fair!
Have you ever heard the Final fantasy 8 sound track.Its much better than FF 13 or 13 2
Did you really just suggest that non-intuitive puzzles with hidden hints don’t fit in Final Fantasy games? Seriously? They’ve been a part of so many FF games that they are practically an iconic part of the FF experience. I liked your video - but the entire segment on the games/puzzles just had me shaking my head.
That's a fair point! I never looked at it like that. Maybe that was an oversight!
Alot of people missed out on how isane this game was and the amount of content also the dlc was fun and cheap
Amen!
13-2 was best game in ff13 series and they messed it up (story) in lightning returns
FF13-2 is great!!
i wouldnt say perfect but id agree its a damn good improvement over the first game in soooooooooo many aspects its not even funny.
Very very true!!