General Post-Game Opinons (Spoilers)

Okay, admittedly I have too much to discuss about this game, and don't want to flood the forum with several specific posts, so I am starting this thread as a place for people who have completed at least the standard ending of the game , so we can discuss our thoughts after finishing the main experience. Don't read ahead if you don't want spoilers!

Also, by the "main ending" I mean mild spoiler the one that ends with Lightning sitting on the throne and the words "To Be Continued".

What do you all think of this game not having save points? As far as I know, this is the first main series FF game to not have them! I thought it worked pretty conveniently, and since 13 auto heals you between battles, I feel like this could have been implemented in the last game as well.

In fact, overall I feel like 13-2 is the game 13 was meant to be, as far as gameplay is concerned. The branching levels and worlds, the enhanced and quicker battle system with more options such as Feral Link, the ease of saving the game, the ability to change leaders during battle and not lose if your leader is KO'd, there were lots of features this game had that seem like they'd have made 13 a MUCH better game. Unforutunately, 13-2 isn't exactly the realization of what 13 was meant to be, because the plot of it just isn't as complex or gripping as 13. If only they could go back and apply these new changes to the first game, then I think it would be perfect in my eyes. I loved the story of 13, I just didn't enjoy pressing X for hours on end. The linearity never bothered me. 10 is another favorite FF of mine (and a favorite of many fans), and I rarely hear anyone complain about its linearity.

Anyway, those are some of my initial thoughts on gameplay and plot. Also, the initial ending is a real dud, don't you think? Ouch... I have yet to experience any of the 8 alternate endings, but I am hoping there are some better ones in the mix somewhere, and that we don't have to wait for DLC to get a real conclusion!

Speaking of DLC, it's kind of lame that some of the game's built-in features, like the card game (and the Colosseum, unless I'm mistaken) require DLC to even unlock. Bah.

WARNING SPOILERS IN POST

Well, I just beat the game and apparently got the standard ending. After getting 0 starred by the bahamut triplets and seeing that horrible ending I am fairly peeved off. My boyfriend laughing his arse off at it made things even worse.

I'm also really mad about the plot holes. I thought Noel was the only one who could kill Caius without the world going to utter troute? I guess not!

Personally I think XIII-2 is fantastic and obviously has far superior gameplay to 13. I also love the soundtrack, which a lot of people complain about. I think only one track is bad... crazy chocobo. The tracks with the rapping on them were edited and the rapping was removed which saved those tracks and the tracks with the female singers are mysterious and ethereal. Story? Not so much. But I disagree that XIII's is more complex.... XIII-2's is definitely more complex and has more rules to follow so things add up logically, at least in XIII-2's universe.

Problems with the story:

Why do they need to build a new Cocoon? Why cant everyone just move to Pulse?

Why doesn't Caius just kill himself to save Yeul to begin with? Did it really require Noel to point out the obvious? Caius has the Heart of Chaos and he could easily kill Etro by killing himself. The story does point to that being his plan and maybe the time traveling store makes it hard to ask why he didn't do it earlier... maybe in this game there isnt earlier and later, just when. OHH.. but doesnt Caius need Cocoon to fall to kill all those people and cause the gate to chaos to widen so that chaos can be let loose? That's why! But wait! How the heck did Caius manage to succeed in the true ending without doing this first? Supposedly he was going to target the Ark so he could kill all those people but that doesn't happen... but chaos still ends up taking over? wtf?

Anyway, back to that ending. Yeah it especially peeved me off because it tricks you. It starts off as a good ending where everyone is going to be happy but then bam, Serah pulls a Yeul and sees the future and dies. :mad2:

anyway I found an article where Toriyama explains the ending:

http://www.shacknews.com/article/723...ind-the-ending

Quote:

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Asked about the "to be continued" screen which shows at the game's end, Toriyama explained to Taipei Game Show attendees that there were two reasons for the ending: first, to encourage players to explore all of the various (non-canon) "Paradox" endings; and second, to extend the story through downloadable content.

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lol, it's either do the fragment quests or suffer!

WARNING - SPOILERS IN THIS POST

The following emoticons chronicle my reaction process at the end of FF 13-2, after spending 3 hours trying to defeat the final boss and then watching the closing cutscene.

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o_o

O_O

: D

8D

8DDDDDDDDDD

o_o

D8

):

)'8

T______T

DX <----- me for the next 24 hours

I'll be honest, I wasn't mad at first, just confused. How could a Final Fantasy put you through so much effort and optimism just to shoot you down with that kind of ending? Why did it have to end so bleak and cruel? It did say "To be continued". I had heard there were several alternate endings to the game, so I was content with the thought that the short 30 hour adventure would become a longer adventure and eventually I would unlock the "real" ending... a happier ending, through the side quests.

WRONG. I will save the trouble for those of you still reading this and tell you, that none of the 8 "paradox endings" are conclusive, and none of them are particularly happy or really satisfying in any way. In fact, some of them are just plain cartoony and melodramatic, while others are as bleak as the original ending. I watched a video of all of them plus the "secret ending" which occurs if you obtain all 160 fragments. Let me tell you, if you plan to do this out of sheer love of leveling and item collection, go for it. If you're looking to see the alternate endings, do yourself a favor and just watch them on youtube. They aren't worth hours of gameplay. Hell, they aren't worth one hour of gameplay.

Now, the reason I'm particularly angry is that we've all been essentially duped into paying full price for an incomplete game. The only promise of a conclusion comes in the possibility of future downloadable chapters, or another Final Fantasy XIII sequel, which, if you have some sense about you, you will realize is probably not a very high possibility. XIII didn't sit well with a lot of the fans, and from this little stunt they are pulling with XIII-2 not having a conclusion, I don't think there would be enough faith or interest in another XIII game to make it a success. I wasn't tired of XIII and its world and characters until they went and pulled this "no real ending" stunt. Now I am. Next, please. How bout a game that doesn't rip you off and expect you to pay full price for a mere 30 hours of gameplay and 2 fully rendered cutscenes, and actually has, oh, you know, a story, complete with exposition, conflict, and resolution.

I am honestly on the verge of starting a petition online for fans to sign demanding that if Square Enix is going to release an ending to XIII-2 via DLC, that they do it for FREE, considering we all bought this game expecting there would be an ending. If they truly plan to create a XIII-3, then I suppose all is fair, despite the short play time of this game. But as of right now, I think it is safe to speculate that a XIII-3 would not have enough fan support to be a success, and that they should cut their losses with this series and handle the conclusion via DLC for XIII-2.

Anyway, my ranting is done for now. I just needed to warn other players of the disappointments in store if you think there is an ending in the game you have already purchased. There isn't, and unlike a good story that has a conclusion but leaves room for a sequel, I'm afraid in this case we've been strung along for an excellent ride only to be dumped off the side of a cliff. I, for one, having shown a lot of faith in this series when it has gone under fire several times from hoards of fans, feel really let down this time, and am seriously reconsidering my support of this series and Square Enix as a whole. Am I overreacting over one game? Maybe... but it is a Final Fantasy game, the crown jewel of their company, so maybe I'm just being fair here and sticking up for the people who willfully support these game developers with our time and money. It really isn't fair to treat your audience this way. I say we demand Square give us what we paid for, a complete game... without having to pay extra for DLC. If there's a sequel in the works, then so be it, but I highly doubt there is, and that's the only scenario where I think it would be even remotely fair for players to spend more of their money on the FFXIII saga.

Erm, well... I don't feel ripped off. Yeah, you get a bit short changed on the story but 30 hours is still longer than a lot of games out there. Also, the game has a ton of content to explore to make your $60 worthwhile. With any game, you're always taking a risk when you buy it brand new at full price. I know someone deeply upset that purchased a WRPG, Two Worlds II at 60 bucks and then ended up with what they thought was a crap game. FFXIII-2 is really fun and yeah, the ending is cruel but it as at least *different*. It's interesting that Toriyama essentially wrote XIII-2's story line and I can definitely see his influence... Just think about the bizarreness hat is Dragon Ball Z :kakapo: LOL

It is kind of unnerving to see Square-Enix get a little too happy with the DLC like some other game companies are *cough cough* CAPCOM! Let's just hope they don't do that in Versus XIII or XV.

Still, I feel like I got my money's worth considering all the content there is in the game.

Lamia, I think my standards are based on other Final Fantasy games, rather than games in general. Square Enix has set itself up a standard that I think they need to adhere to to satisfy their fan base. The game being so short would be a non-issue if it had a real conclusion, but honestly it doesn't, and at that point it becomes sort of a Western RPG as there is no real plot to follow after that and mostly just exploration and these crummy attempts at alternate endings. I know its a risk whenever you buy a new Final Fantasy game brand new, but I also feel that they are deceptive in their marketing sometimes, especially when the director has outright come forth and said "This game is to answer whether or not Lightning is really happy." It's supposed to put questions from the conclusion to 13 to rest. Does it do that? No. Lightning is in the game for all of 10 minutes, then gets crystallized before you even have a chance to get back inside her head. Instead, we get a "to be continued" message and are likely going to be asked to shell out a few more bucks to see the game resolved. I think that marketing strategy was planned as a money-sucking gimmick and is really a slap in the face to Final Fantasy fans, who are used to having a conventional ending, not a "here have a depressing ending that makes your entire gaming experience feel fruitless, and maybe, just maybe we'll let you see a better one later on, if you spend more money." If they had included a better ending in the game itself it would be fine with all its other problems, but they have essentially released an incomplete game, and unless we are pending a FFXIII-3, I don't really think it's excusable to withhold the game's ending and force fans to pay for DLC to experience it. What kind of precedent does that set for the gaming industry? What if that became commonplace, to have to shell out an extra 15-20 bucks to see the ending of every game? I would honestly quit gaming if that were the case. It's a BS strategy that no respectable gaming company should be attacking their fan base with. It's clear that this installment of Final Fantasy was aimed at our wallets, not our hearts, like so many of the past games were. They've taken an art form and widdled it down to a muddled plot-hole-ridden western RPG, complete with paid expansions to let you feel some sense of closure at some point. I really don't appreciate the gesture. The least they could have done is warned us, but no, they had to be secretive about everything because they knew no one would pay full price for this crap otherwise.

I'll be honest, I loved the 30 hours leading up to the ending. It was a great game, but I feel the ending was a blatant "screw you" to fans, and since it really puts into question the purpose of the other 30 hours leading up to it, it really lowers the quality of the game overall.

(On a side note, DBZ = Akira Toriyama, FFXIII-2= Motomu Toriyama. I think you've got your Toriyama's crossed unless they are related or something? Why did you mention DBZ?)

Erm, yeah. I guess I did get the two Toriyama's mixed up. He did the art of Chrono Trigger and that is a time traveling game by Square. The real reason I got them mixed up is because my boyfriend thought he was the same Toriyama and passed on the misinformation to me. GRR. But anyway...

Yeah, it really sucks to have no resolution and I understand it is infuriating. Yeah, this morning I was feeling a little screwed about it actually, as if I had been duped. It sucks too because I always defend XIII and Square Enix but that ending was terrible. I felt like the developers were giving me the middle finger when I saw the ending. haha. I know that is going a bit too far and it's just a video game but damn. I'm not going to buy the DLC. I still don't feel ripped off though because of the amount of gameplay I enjoyed and will continue to enjoy. But, I understand how you feel and it really sucks how to see how greedy they are being. I guess I think it could have been just worse. Still, it is BS that the ending was inconclusive, Serendipity kind of sucks right now and will be expanded with DLC, and as far as I can tell the coliseum is 100% DLC... and I am not going to buy any of it because it's BS.

I agree with you on the DLC. I almost feel like there should be a boycott. Lol. Thats why I sort of feel like we should all just say "nope" and not download it, and make them offer it for free as an apology for the lack of conclusion.

I honestly think that if they wanted to stick with the dismal ending they chose, and actually have that BE the ending (not a 'to be continued'), they could have pulled it off tactfully and made it work, despite how cruel it was. If they had done that, and made it more sentimental and less plain suck, I could have been okay with it ending so harshly, but they didn't do that, they strung us along with the promise of "to be continued", as if there will be a more conclusive or happy ending. I think they are planning to expand the plot through DLC over time (possibly several new chapters to the story), but I think they are going to be hard pressed to keep people's interest and money flowing their way after how disappointed many of the fans are. I agree 100 percent that the gameplay was a blast and the story leading up to the end was actually quite good. The game as an overall experience was awesome until the ending, but the final impression is a very big part of the lasting impression, and I don't even feel compelled to keep playing side missions. I feel more like starting the game over and enjoying the likable 30 hours of it again and trying to see if I can make any more sense of the plot holes. I should give it a few weeks and come back to it when there is new story-related DLC, then replay it from the start maybe... That might work okay. I'd have a better idea of what to expect from the monster system and how to better use all those monster materials too. We'll see though. I need to rest on this one for a while. Haha.

I think this is perhaps the worst story I have seen in any video game, and the ending makes it even worse.

I've never actually felt insulted after finishing a game, but I do now.

Shameless self promotion time! My review: http://www.primaryignition.com/2012/...o-game-review/

Minor Spoilers in review.

You say that you thought the game was great and you had a lot of fun playing the game? You say this game has the gameplay that XIII should have had, and you thoroughly enjoyed playing the game until you saw the end, you say that people should just "Watch the endings on youtube" and go on to say that everyone should boycott the games DLC because you don't think its worth it, that a game with 10 different endings should have had more? how many other FF games have such a variety of different endings, X-2 had 3 different endings... though they were really extended versions of themselves, XIII-2 has 10, sure a few of them are a little silly, but I personally loved the endings The Future is Hope and Fate and Freedom, and was very satisfied with the game on the whole, and I will gladly be purchasing all the future DLC the game has to offer? why? you said it yourself, the game is very fun to play why should I be sad/angry about being able to play more of the game that I had a great time playing, hell you should be happy that the game doesn't require you to go online to finish the achievements, or purchase the DLC to do that either, I know loads of games that do just that, cheapen the experience by forcing you to pay to go online to get all the achievements (any and all of the fifa games, any of the street fighter games so on and so forth) or in Dragon Age where the game requires you to get DLC to be able to get all of the achievements, be happy the game doesn't ask you to do that to get 100% if they did that THEN I would be pissed off, at least you can 100% the achievements if you feel like it (though in your case this obviously won't be happening).

The thing I don't understand is that you damn the game for not giving you everything... then you go on and say that you won't be playing the game because you didn't like the ending... tell me, have you ever played Breath of Fire III? all the way to completion? I would highly doubt it, the ending of the game makes XIII-2's ending seem like the world seriously you get a CS of them running out of the building where the final boss just died, then you seem them overlooking the desert... thats it, and that game was hailed as the best BoF game there ever was (by myself and many other people) and got really high scores from a lot of people on game faqs.

So the point I am making that the ending of the game shouldn't break what was an awesome experience that was the game from a to y (with z being the ending you oh so hate).

I do think that making new story chapters is good DLC. Let's just hope they don't insult us with the price.

For the ending I got this:
(SPOILER)Caius grabbed Noel's arm and made him stab him and then Noel and Serah zipped to Academia 500AF and then Serah died and Hope was like "But why" with his saddest sad puppy face and then his super shiny new city got all ruin-y and then a Lightning statue on a throne? Also I laughed when Cocoon fell because my boyfriend was in the room and this was the only part of the game he saw, so to him it was like, happy ending music while THE WORLD IS DYING. Really funny out of context.

Is that the standard? Anyway, I think it's neat that they departed from the usually happy ending. I loved FFXIII, but one thing that nagged me was that it didn't make sense that everyone lost their brands. It made so little sense that this game gave us an explanation.

My thoughts on the game:

Plot- Very silly. And not in a FFX-2 kind of way where it isn't taking itself seriously. I enjoyed it for the most part, but I made the mistake of beating it with someone else in the room. It's hard to ignore how silly it is when a normal person is also looking at it. Does that make sense?

Gameplay- All of the greatness of FFXIII and more! I had so much fun. Having monsters is the best. I have so many breeds of cactuars and chocobos you guys I'm gonna build an army. And I no longer hate Flanitors.

Overall I enjoyed my time playing FFXIII-2 and I think I will definitely go back and get the other endings instead of watching them on Youtube. Because I think that would be a fun use of my time. For me I think it was worth the launch price. Would I recommend it to a friend? I think I would say, "I'll let you borrow my copy to help you decide." This game isn't for everyone, that much is for sure.

About AlyssaDo any of the endings address her? Yuel pretty much just straight up told us that it was her that gave Serah and Noel the bad artifact. There's no indication that they put two and two together. I wonder if she just stopped existing?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jessweeee♪

About AlyssaDo any of the endings address her? Yuel pretty much just straight up told us that it was her that gave Serah and Noel the bad artifact. There's no indication that they put two and two together. I wonder if she just stopped existing?

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Yes, one of the paradox endings involves her. Academia 4XX - close the gate in the historia crux, ensure paradox scope is enabled and go through the storyline as normal. When you have to hand over the graviton cores, be sure not to skip the final scene where she hands you the artefact to open the next gate. You have the option of not taking it. Paradox Ending spoilersIt's actually probably the ending that leaves with the characters in their happiest state of the many endings. Well, aside from the epic Sunleth one, that's for sure. That one is the best thing ever.