Loopah

So I've been playing quite a bit of Final Fantasy XIII-2 the past week and I am really, really enjoying it. I'm a stickler for RPGs, specifically Japanese developed RPGs, and FFXIII-2 has really hit home with me in terms of design, gameplay, story, and replayability. I'm a huge Squaresoft/Enix fan and have played probably 80-90% of the games they've released outside of Japan. I've gotta say, in my opinion, this is the best game they've put out. One major thing to note, Final Fantasy X (to the right), was a Squaresoft game. I'm not trying to say FFXIII-2 is better than FF7 or FF10 or whatever your favorite FF game is. I'm just simply stating that I think it's the best game the merged company has put out, and that's an incredibly good thing to happen now considering a lot of game critics and fans have ruled SE down and out and out of touch with today's gamer.

If you follow Square Enix or much video game blogging/discussion at all over the past few years, you've probably noticed a lot of talk about how Square Enix might be going into a lull or that they've lost their touch. I gotta say, after how much I wanted FFXIV to succeed and seeing how much it absolutely failed, I was a skeptic for a little bit as well. The argument against FFXIII was the linearity. I saw the linearity, and could see the frustration there, but I still enjoyed the game very much and put 120+ hours into it.

Having put roughly 40 hours into FFXIII-2, I've beaten the main story line and am beginning the process of trying to unlock all of the fragments, endings, etc. Like FFXIII, the side quests and optional content makes up a higher percentage of the overall playtime than the main storyline. I was a bit disappointed to see the main storyline of the game only last 25-30 hours, however I was excited to jump right back into things and look for alternate endings and more fragments.

The main reason I think this is Square Enix's strongest game is that they finally made a Final Fantasy game that had the feel and polish of one of their classics, but also incorporated modern RPG elements. Playing the game, it just felt like Square Enix had finally figured out the path they need to start taking with RPGs and I'm hoping they can continue to pump out more that feed off of this game in the future. I'd love to see SE create a brand new IP using and building off of elements they've developed and polished in FFXIII and FFXIII-2.

What do you think? Is this a valid argument to have? Am I way off? What's your favorite Square Enix game (cannot include Squaresoft or Enix made games)?

Update: I ended up using the scotch tape method for this. You basically put 4-5 tiny pieces of tape on the rubbery connection points at the top corners of the top half of the 3DS. It adds just enough room in between the two halves of the hardware when closed, resulting in the screens not touching.

Wow, didn't expect this.

I'm looking for something to eliminate the small marks on the screen that occur when you close your 3DS for an extended period of time. The marks are caused by the frame of the bottom screen making contact with the top screen. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.

Any recommendations for remedying this? Whether it be a commercial product or a DIY at home fix. What do you do?

Dead Space 2

@Beforet: The story is above average. It's definitely a JRPG story with the usual quirks that come along with it (obnoxious one liners, cutesy character that only provides comedic value, etc). If you've played any JRPGs before you'll immediately know what to expect from that department. The characters are consistent and fun. There are some really great twists in the story in the latter half of the game that keep you guessing. I can remember having the feeling of wanting to know what happens next, and that's sometimes pretty rare in video games.

The only real gripe I have about the story/characters is that I think they could have added a little more story to the optional quests in the game. The only real substance the quests give you are small one-off experiences. For the most part there are no quest story arches that go over the span of multiple quests. There are questlines, but the story either doesn't really tie together or it's so generic that you won't remember it. It made the quests only worth doing for the rewards.

So, I went on a 20 hour binge of Xenoblade Chronicles over the past few days to finish it up in just a little over 80 hours. The playthrough consisted of quite a bit of side quests and collectible stuff, although no where close to finishing it 100%. There were plenty of things that could have kept me playing for longer if I didn't get hooked to the last 5 hours or so of play.

The game as a whole lived up to the hype. I absolutely loved the game and it's one of the better RPGs of this and the last generation (I include the last generation because I just haven't played many this generation =/). I'm kind of sad I already had imported this back in September way before the announcement was made that it would be brought over to the US.

The beginning arch and ending arch was great. I think there was about 10-15 hours in the middle that got a little repetitive or boring, but I ended up doing a lot of my side questing during that time to break up the grind. The ending hours were great. The last few bosses really were a challenge and delivered unique boss experiences in new ways. The ending was awesome as well! For the first time in quite a while, I got a good sense of accomplishment as I saw the ending and credits roll.

For those that imported this game, what were your favorite parts and did you have a set party throughout most of the game? I played the first 75% of the game with Shulk, Dunban, Sharla. The rest of the game, including the ending, I took out Dunban for Reyn since he seemed to be leaps and bounds ahead of Dunban in tanking.

For those that are waiting to buy the US version of the game, as you know by now, it's WELL deserving of a purchase. Any questions you have regarding gameplay, etc?

#2! Definitely the best I've ever gotten...

This game is great! It's kept me from Mario Land 3D! That's saying something....

Something's happening with old video game systems according to 'I Love Mondays'.