So my GF and other friend really like the XIII Trilogy. For their sake, I'm trying to play them. I got XIII down so now it's just XIII-2 and LR.

For those with memories for worthless garbage, I did try to play XIII-2. About a year ago I purchased it, played it for a couple hours, then returned it.

Why? Becauseit's Serah and Noel's Whacky Time Adventures. Only it's not whacky, it's melodramatic garbage where I will apparently have to endure this guy whining about how his girlfriend dumped him because of some goddess maybe.

I liked XIII because of the characters yet XIII-2 only has two characters and seems entirely too focused on the needlessly convoluted narrative.

This was my impression.

Am I wrong? Do Serah and Noel have better characters and development than I realized? If not, are there side characters to compensate for how much they suck?

For LR, same question. Lightning was insufferable in XIII. Is she better in LR? If not, are there at least other good characters who get some focus?