Should i buy this game?

[ScottyRedXIII]

Yeah there's probably a thread asking this but Scottys to lazy to check.

So is it worth me spending my hard earned money on this game? Hated XIII; the story, the music and the characters, apart from Sazh, Sazh was cool, and I guess lightning was cool.

But you never no, there might be something in this game that makes it better then XIII. I see from the demo they've kept the battle system similar, which I quite enjoyed, but that's not enough to make me buy it.

I could go on like IGN to see what they think, but I think I can trust you lot to be honest. So come on guys and gals who have the game, tell me why, or why not, should I buy XIII-2

[Jessweeee♪]

I am only an hour and a half into the full game, so take what I have to say with a grain of salt. These are just early impressions:

Story: If you didn't like the story of FFXIII, you probably won't like it anymore in FFXIII-2. I loved FFXIII's story, and FFXIII-2's is meeting my very very low expectations. It is a little silly, exactly what I expect from a Final Fantasy sequel. Maybe it will be like FFX-2, where it doesn't take itself seriously.

Gameplay: My guess is the demo showed us all there is to offer there. Did you play it or just watch videos? If you didn't play it I recommend you do. It's free after all! I like having monsters in my party. I'm very much enjoying it. Also, much more freedom with the Paradigms. The illusion of choice was removed from the Crystarium, and you get access to the different roles much earlier on.

Characters: Don't have a feel for this yet. I didn't think I'd like Noel all that much, but he's growing on me. Lightning is...different? I don't know. She's one of my favorite Final Fantasy characters ever, and I'm not sure if I'm going to like where her character is going. Too early to say for certain.

Music: Loving it so far. But I loved it in FFXIII as well. Hamauzu is my favorite Square composer, FFX and FFXIII have my favorite soundtracks.

[DMKA]

So is it worth me spending my hard earned money on this game? Hated XIII; the story, the music and the characters, apart from Sazh, Sazh was cool, and I guess lightning was cool.
I say no. This is coming from someone who's purchased, and is really enjoying the game.

I love the game so far, but I loved FFXIII too. I loved the cast, the soundtrack, the world and the story. I'm only 5 or so hours into the game and I already extremely satisfied with my purchase.

Bear in mind however, this game is drastically different from FFXIII in some departments, particularly in world and level design, which are drastically better than FFXIII's; not in the departments you're concerned with, however.

If you hated the story, the music and the characters in FFXIII, and gameplay isn't enough to hook you, then I really can't see you liking this game at all.

So yeah, based on your feelings toward FFXIII, I say steer clear of this game.

[ScottyRedXIII]

perhaps hated is a bad choice of wording, more off just bored me. The story bored me, hated some of the characters (Hope in particular), only liked a few of them and the rest bored me.

[Del Murder]

If you were bored by FFXIII you might find some things in FFXIII-2 that interest you. There is certainly a ton more to do in this game. But if the characters and story is what bored you the most then I wouldn't bother because FFXIII's characters and story were a lot better. (Though I like Noel so far, it just sucks he's paired up with nothingburger Serah)

[Lamia]

XIII-2 is almost better than XIII in every way. I suppose the character and story are a little better in XIII but there is more fun to be had in XIII-2. The characters interact more with each other and environment in this game and you can even choosewhat to say at times in the tradition of a BioWare game. The story is insane, but I think the pacing is a lot better due to the game's design. Instead of being forced through the storyline, you pick up details bit by bit. I actually like Serah's character and think her point of view is interesting. I do feel like Noel is Serah's babysitter sometimes though :p but it's funny. The battle system and crystarium are greatly improved. The monster recruiting idea sounds lame, but plays a lot better than it sounds and adds a layer of customization. There is now something called wound damage which causes damages to your MAXIMUM HP and must be reversed by using a wound potion. Everything else has been fine tuned and works better such as elemental attacks and buffing, and therefore makes XIII more strategic. The crystarium seems simplified at first, but it actually just got rid of the tedium of traveling along the crystarium lines when spending CP and provides more choice (you get a choice of different upgrades when you reach a new crystarium level. Do you want to unlock the medic role or increase the ATB guage of your character? How about increasing the amount of accessories your character can wear?). Also the crystarium isn't locked so leveling up different roles is more important, it is no longer a case of leveling all paradigm roles equally to stay viable. The graphics are also improved just because the zones are now HUGE and DETAILED. Some of the environments are jaw dropping. FFXIII graphics + fully fleshed out fantasy zones = heaven.

If you want to play it safe, just wait until the end of the year when it will likely be half the price it is now. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is coming out soon to keep you busy and Mass Effect 3 is coming out in about 6 weeks.