Current Events > Final Fantasy XIII-2 was better than Final Fantasy XIII

(+) Yeah! (+)

This isn't a controversial opinion right?

And yet I never played Lightning Returns. Or FFXV for that matter.
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none of the games past 11 are worth playing tbh. There are better games
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what? XIV is fun
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I thought Lightning Returns was good. That was the best ATB in a while imo
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Yeah 13-2 was better, it was a lot more fun to play
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I liked the pokemon aspect of 13-2
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Agreed.
Story was equally dumb, but more enjoyable to me. The villain was better in each and every way. Most gripes I had with XIII's combat were rectified. Serah was an actual character rather than a word randomly shouted by Snow. I'm also a sucker for time travel/alternate dimension stories.
Noel and the Pokemon stuff I didn't much care for though.
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Final Fantasy 13 was were I dropped off the series.

I didn't like the idea of Spirits Within or the Anime or the MMO

12 was okay but not as good as the previous ones.

Then 13 came out and was worse than 12... And it was like "I don't like the direction the series is going AND the stuff they are doing in the same vain is worse than it used to be.... This series isn't for me anymore."

And I'm legitimately not complaining. It changed and moved on to a new audience to survive. That's what it should do. I approve.

It just left me behind.
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Lightning Returns is one of those games I want to play but can never find the time too and now an entire generation has passed.

I don't know if I could still follow the plot but honestly I don't know if I was back then either.
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I hated it so much I quit playing a couple of hours in. But I hate Pokmon type games.

Darmik posted...

Lightning Returns is one of those games I want to play but can never find the time too and now an entire generation has passed.

Same. If they ever do a XIII trilogy remaster, I might get around to it.
I'll play the first one, confused at how much I'm enjoying everything. Then 4-5 chapters in I'll get annoyed at all the restrictions and characters using different words to convey the same thoughts ad nauseum...except for Snow. He just needs "SERAH!" and "I'm a hero".
I truly wonder if that's the way it'll go. It's been like that for my previous 2 tries, but it has been 7 years so...
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XIII-2 is not only better than XIII, it's a top 5 all time FF game
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I much preferred XIII to XIII-2, but XIII-2 is still a good game. The time travel stuff was initially very interesting but the plot and even some of the gameplay became a bit too convoluted for me around the midgame. However that mechanic where you could use monsters in battle was a lot of fun.
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XIII-2 is the polar opposite of XIII. 13 had really restrictive levelling, incredibly restrictive level design and no freedom in how you explored the world except for one area. The sequel lets you grind up your level as much as you like from the get go, each stage is a very open hub with lots of different branches and objectives, and with the time travel gimmick you have total freedom over where you want to play. 13 had a very grim plot, and the sequel has a very light anime-type plot.

But this works in reverse, too. 13's characters weren't always at their best, but I enjoyed them a lot and I thought there was a lot of nuance to them. They all had an arc - a big problem was that their individual arcs all wrapped up before the end of the game, so by the end they're all just smiling and goofing off, and I think Sazh jokes about a suicide at one point? Anyway, in the sequel, neither Serah or Noah have that strong of a characterisation and they have little to no nuance. They're not bad, but they're definitely a lot more simplified, and they spend most of the cutscenes explaining what they just did in the game and what they need to do next.

And while XIII-2 is by all means a better RPG than the first game - they had to butcher the one saving grace of XIII to justify -2's existence at all.

Final Fantasy XIII had a good ending. It was triumphant, it was upbeat, and while it could be considered a bit corny I think it was a really nice way to end such a tedious slog. My favorite part about XIII is the ending of the game - not because "God, am I glad that trash heap's over!", but because it's a nice, focused little ending that made me feel like the journey was worth it, even after a 50 hour slog through one of the most linear, restrictive RPGs ever made.

The people behind XIII-2 saw it fit to retcon the ending of the first game to justify their game's existence. They broke the best part of the first game just to have a hook for XIII-2 to exist.

XIII and XIII-2 are polar opposites. What XIII did wrong, XIII-2 did better. What XIII got right, XIII-2 dropped the ball on.
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The soundtrack in XIII-2 is also better.

MrMallard posted...

XIII-2 is the polar opposite of XIII. 13 had really restrictive levelling, incredibly restrictive level design and no freedom in how you explored the world except for one area. The sequel lets you grind up your level as much as you like from the get go, each stage is a very open hub with lots of different branches and objectives, and with the time travel gimmick you have total freedom over where you want to play. 13 had a very grim plot, and the sequel has a very light anime-type plot.

But this works in reverse, too. 13's characters weren't always at their best, but I enjoyed them a lot and I thought there was a lot of nuance to them. They all had an arc - a big problem was that their individual arcs all wrapped up before the end of the game, so by the end they're all just smiling and goofing off, and I think Sazh jokes about a suicide at one point? Anyway, in the sequel, neither Serah or Noah have that strong of a characterisation and they have little to no nuance. They're not bad, but they're definitely a lot more simplified, and they spend most of the cutscenes explaining what they just did in the game and what they need to do next.

And while XIII-2 is by all means a better RPG than the first game - they had to butcher the one saving grace of XIII to justify -2's existence at all.

Final Fantasy XIII had a good ending. It was triumphant, it was upbeat, and while it could be considered a bit corny I think it was a really nice way to end such a tedious slog. My favorite part about XIII is the ending of the game - not because "God, am I glad that trash heap's over!", but because it's a nice, focused little ending that made me feel like the journey was worth it, even after a 50 hour slog through one of the most linear, restrictive RPGs ever made.

The people behind XIII-2 saw it fit to retcon the ending of the first game to justify their game's existence. They broke the best part of the first game just to have a hook for XIII-2 to exist.

XIII and XIII-2 are polar opposites. What XIII did wrong, XIII-2 did better. What XIII got right, XIII-2 dropped the ball on.

All fair and good points.
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True, but Lightning Returns >>>>>>.
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13-2 was a very goofy and underrated game. It was trying to do so much. QTEs, mass effect dialogue options, semi open world enviromments, etc. It had a more refined combat system, some god tier music, and the craziest chocobo theme in FF history

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEUOOgNzOv4" data-time="
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