The demo for Final Fantasy XIII-2 is now up on Xbox Live and PSN and I thought I’d share some early impressions before the game arrives later this month.
It’s safe to say the original Final Fantasy XIII was as polarizing as they come in the gaming community. Many hated the linear progression and indecipherable story while others grew to appreciate the Paradigm Shift battle system when freedom finally unfolds late in the game. I personally experienced both emotions during my playthrough of FFXIII and although I’m skeptical, I’m willing to give Square-Enix another shot at their vision.
I should mention that while I played FFXIII on the PS3, I opted to try the FFXIII-2 demo on the Xbox 360. I’m not sure if there is a big difference between versions this time around, but I know your FFXIII save file grants you special in-game items so you likely want to go with the console you played the previous game on.
The demo immediately starts off with Serah and new-character Noel in a boss battle with Atlas, a giant arm (!?!). It’s apparently only Chapter 2 but I can see we’re already knee-deep in crazy.
During this fight I was introduced to a Final Fantasy first: “Cinematic Action” aka quick time events. Yes, even Final Fantasy isn’t immune to this generation’s most vile of inventions. Like most sane people I dread this style of gameplay, but evidently Square wants players to interact during cutscenes rather than just watch and enjoy them. I guess I have little choice as I am but one mortal man so I’ll play along.
FF XIII-2 promises more world exploration than simply walking forward and hitting the X-button like the previous game. You get a sample of this new exploration as you wander the Bresha Ruins talking to strangers, discovering items, and accepting quests. Any character that you can interact with has a white speech bubble floating above their head letting you know they have something to say. The quality of the NPC’s voice acting varies and many characters look identical and repeat the same dialogue. If I’m being honest I was a little underwhelmed by the bland environment and cookie-cutter characters shown in the demo. Hopefully this location isn’t indicative of every area you’ll be seeing throughout the game. One bright spot is the Moogle that accompanies you in your party, she is absolutely adorable – Kupo! Using her to locate hidden items will be a lot of fun. Listening to her high-pitched five year-old voice will not be.
The monster recruitment seems like a worthwhile concept and I look forward to leveling each one up and seeing what they can do in battle. I’m not sure I wouldn’t prefer a static teammate in that third slot but I’m open to trying something new. I get that Square wants this to be mainly Serah and Noel’s story.
Speaking of story, I couldn’t make much sense of the plot though it’s not fair to judge that from just an hour-long demo. Since the narrative was the weakest element of the last game, I’m expecting something at least coherent this time around. Every time I hear the words l’Cie and fal’Cie my eyes glaze over and I start thinking about what errands I need to do the next day.
Your characters can now jump while walking which is another first for a Final Fantasy game. I would hope this leads to basic platforming of some type as the only thing I could do in the demo was jump up some steps.
The only thing I truly didn’t like was the battle music during the first boss fight. It’s a strange mix of hyper drum loops with a distorted voice mumbling in the background. It’s certainly not something I’m willing to listen to for 40+ hours. Hopefully that song doesn’t reoccur throughout the game or I might be level-grinding listening to a podcast instead. The other music however was nice and what you would expect for the game.
Every time a new Final Fantasy game comes out I say to myself “I’m getting too old for this sh!t!” Yet I’m always there day-one to dive in and experience one of my favorite series for the past twenty years. After the disappointment of FFXIII Square has the chance to right the course of the franchise and make a worthy Final Fantasy game for this console generation.
All told it’s a substantial demo that gives you an hour of Final Fantasy XIII-2 for free so download it now if you haven’t. We’ll all find out how the full game is when Final Fantasy XIII-2 releases January 31 in North America and February 3 in Europe. Kupo!
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About Dynamite Jack
Nice overview! I can't wait for this game after playing the last. I'll definitely give the demo a try soon.