Haven't gotten too far. Did a few missions, got to the point where Vanille earned her Eidolon. Mostly grinding and trying to level my gear. I'm annoyed that while Pulse is great for getting CP and some mid-tier XP items, it is seriously lacking in dependable cash options. It seems like the developers made sure you could never grind for either. More annoying since, as I've mentioned before, Gil is King in this game. So I've reached the level max for a few pieces of gear, but I don't have enough cash to purchase the evolution materials. Most of which are dropped by enemies in the last chapter. XIII seriously railroads your ability to play it.

As for the few plot beats I've had, I almost miss Hope being mopey, because his new optimistic outlook is even more grating. I also really don't care for Vanille, and I still feel she gets off way too easily from all the carnage she causes or dumb reasons. "Oh no, I can't let Fang know she was the one who turned into Ragnarök and damaged Cocoon! It will hurt her feelings" meanwhile, Fang is the first one to suggest they just drop Cocoon like the rock it is and move on. If there was anyone in the party who couldn't care less about Cocoon, besides me of course, it's Fang. So this whole secret just feels like forced drama. I also think Hope should have unlocked Alexander earlier, and I feel Fang should have unlocked hers last.