Try Some Extra-Curricular Activities in Final Fantasy XIII-2

@Rongaryen said:

Captain Cryptics looks like Lando...just sayin'.

I can see that.

@InsiderGamer said:

So these are going to be better than:

- Torpedo Submarine game

- Protect Tifa/Barrett/Red XIII from Shinra Motorcyclists game (G-Bike)

- Snowboarding

- Roller Coasting Shooting game

- 3D Battler

- And another Chocobo Racing

- And more I've forgotten

Right, FFXIII-2? Better, right?

That's why I always have to laugh at the crowd that says FF7 wasn't as great as it was hyped up to be. Yea, the story and dialogue have aged horribly, but damn was it just a fun game to play. I don't know how many hours I spent perfecting my score in the motorcycle defense game, or how many I spent trying to trim every last second off my snowboarding run, or how many I spent perfecting my chocobo's and competing in races (that I had control over), or how many hours I spent perfecting my score in the rollercoaster shooting gallery, or how many hours I just spent in gold saucer alone. Every last one of those things was meaningful and well realized. My little teenager self was always horribly disappointed with FF8 and FF9 for not having their own version of Gold Saucer.

But that list really says why FFXIII (and many other recent SE titles) fell so short. No variety whatsoever. And tossing in slot machines and random puzzles won't cut it; They have to be part of the story for it all to count. Everything you listed was at one point a vital part of the storyline of FF7 (besides the roller coaster ride I think), and they're not even the main course of the whole experience. There was just so much to that game, it's unbelievable (there was also the tower defense thing, the battle arena fights, and a bunch of other oddball mechanics to shake things up like the keeping yourself warm in the mountains thing, or the CPR, or crossdressing planning, etc). I'll sacrifice any graphics to get that kind of fun back.

Can't say I spent much time with the minigame stuff, since there was SO much content in the game already, but more stuff to do for those that want it never hurts. They really did seem to deliver on almost every critique people had of XIII, and XIII did well enough on it's own. May even buy the English release too, just to see how the voicework went over (probably not at launch though, still working through it anyway)

Oh man, not more Serah. Her run animation is the reason I stopped playing XIII.

@Nasar7 said:

Oh man, not more Serah. Her run animation is the reason I stopped playing XIII.

I think you mean Vanille. Serah was barely in 13. Also Vanille's running animation was apparently based on Yuna's or Rikku's.

What happened to Final Fantasy Versus XIII or whatever?!

funky student...haha

Any modicum of interest I had for this release is now completely gone. Good job Square Enix marketing department!

Looks terrible, sarah as the main character is an instant NEVER!!!

@Maginnovision said:

I liked FF13, and I liked the demo of this. Preordered this and the collectors strategy guide. Did the same with FF13... I'm sure I'll have alot of fun with it.

That must be the shortest strategy guide ever......Keep following the corridor.

This is what we get when too much time and money was spent on assets for the first game. Now if only I didn't detest just about every character in XIII.

I wonder how many people from the first one are going to jump at this? I am thinking not very many but this could be surprising? Maybe?

@Bourbon_Warrior said:

@Maginnovision said:

I liked FF13, and I liked the demo of this. Preordered this and the collectors strategy guide. Did the same with FF13... I'm sure I'll have alot of fun with it.

That must be the shortest strategy guide ever......Keep following the corridor.

Some bosses are a little tricky and having maps for the Gran Pulse section regarding C'ieth stones would also be helpful. A thorough listing of item properties for upgrading would be great. I used all my incentive chips for leveling because I had no idea that particular item was worth like 3,000 Gil in the store and could have sold a ton of them to buy turbo jets at the time. Anyway TL; DR a strategy guide would be useful; you're an idiot.

@fargofallout: IRT Words:

You speak for me also.

I'm down for this. FF XIII's battle system with a world and activity layout more reminiscent of X and XII? Count me excited.

The only reason I watched this is because funky student was mentioned.

@Bourbon_Warrior: For people who haven't played it, or haven't played much of it that might seem right. I guess you could find it useless if you didn't really understand what you were doing too. Highlights are upgrading info, character info, boss strategy, and power levelling. I was underlevelled most of the game from avoiding fights that the strategies and upgrading information really came in handy.

This is how to make mini games with the least amount of effort.
 
I too dissolve time paradoxes via puzzles...

@Draxyle: I concur, man. I too have lost countless hours in those 'mini-games' (at the time, and in some small way, some of those were like, basically full-fledged games on their own). And yes, absolutely, the fact the majority of those games were tied into the main story was pretty danged awesome. It does not feel at all like the impression *I'm* getting in this FFXIII-2 video, where it's like "me too! look at me! look what other things I can do!" Maybe they're not tacked on at all, but I feel, with FFXIII-1 in mind, FFXIII-2 has to prove it to me first.

(By the way, puzzles? Yeah, because that's what draws me to a Final Fantasy. The puzzles. I'm such a skeptic, but I was such the Final Fantasy evangelist back when. Whaaaat happened?)

This trailer reeks of desperation on square enix's part, but hey at least it looks better than the original XIII

A) It's irritating that they're are putting out trailers that are basically, "Hey, look, we actually FINISHED our game this time."

and

B) It's REALLY irritating that i watch these trailers and still want to play, because in the BEST TIME FOR IT EVER, no one bothered to usurp the throne of high production value, ease of access JRPGs.

Lack of Chocobo racing music is a deal breaker.

@Tryptophan said:

This is what we get when too much time and money was spent on assets for the first game. Now if only I didn't detest just about every character in XIII.

Agreed. So, so done with everything about FF XIII. The last thing that'll win me over is a sequel.

I didnt have a problem with XIII, I stopped playing but only because I had so many other games to play. I will probably get this because

1. I am a sucker for anything time travel related.

2. FF XIII wasnt bad, at least from the parts I played.

Although I will say that some of the chars did get on my nerves, but not to the point of turning it off.

I think the mere existence of a trailer like this displays just how badly Square messed up with some basic things in the original FF13 (on the plus side, at least it shows that they learned...somewhat). Really, if the trailer for your RPG sequel consists of "Hey guys, we got puzzles and sidequests and minigames in this one!" you know the first game messed up badly, to say nothing of the fact that previous trailers were glorifying the fact that not every map is a straight line.

Story-wise, it seems like they took all the problems FF13 had and made them many times worse by throwing time travel and alternate dimensions into the mix, but I think it could still be quite enjoyable in an ironic MST3K type of way (i.e. even if you're a fan of Final Fantasy in general, just go into this one with the expectation of the plot being laughably bad and you'll probably enjoy it).

@Chubbaluphigous said:

Final Fantasy has a rich history of having terrible minigames that have nothing in common with things that are enjoyable. At least this time they are pretty.

But anyway, I know deep down that I will end up getting this game. However I think it is for the same reasons that Jeff bought that shitty special edition of DJ Hero. It's there, and I already have the other one.

Final Fantasy VIII's Triple Triad was pretty good for a in game mini game. And it helped you a lot in the main quest.

Not enough androgyny for me. I'm out.

@PacManFevaa said:

The only reason I watched this is because funky student was mentioned.

same here :)))

Ah yes, FURTHER GAMEPLAY VARIETY

I'll still buy and play this

Hey I kinda liked that Amodar guy.

I remember him having a really bad Bronx accent though... Is my memory fucked up, or is that a thing that is true?

I still think it's hilarious that people hate on this game so much. If you don't like it, don't watch the video and leave some stupid comment about older FFs and how they were better.

Besides, you're still going to buy the game.

@PompousDawson said:

I wonder how many people from the first one are going to jump at this? I am thinking not very many but this could be surprising? Maybe?

Actually FFXIII is not as widely reviled as popular videogame message boards would lead you to believe. It had it's fair share of negative criticism but far less than what certain parts of the Internet proclaim it to be.

@Bourbon_Warrior: Tutorials and strategies are two completely different things. Seems to me, maybe you don't care for Final Fantasy XIII and by extension XIII-2. Trying to get people to like or dislike things because of how you feel is incredibly difficult, so you should just take a nap instead of getting all fussy about it. Or you can fuss away, whatever floats your boat. I'm gonna go read my Final Fantasy XIII collectors edition strategy guide.

@Bourbon_Warrior said:

@Humanity said:

you're an idiot.

Your a fucking idiot

You just quoted the proper use of the contraction.

@Bourbon_Warrior said:

@Humanity said:

@Bourbon_Warrior said:

@Maginnovision said:

I liked FF13, and I liked the demo of this. Preordered this and the collectors strategy guide. Did the same with FF13... I'm sure I'll have alot of fun with it.

That must be the shortest strategy guide ever......Keep following the corridor.

Some bosses are a little tricky and having maps for the Gran Pulse section regarding C'ieth stones would also be helpful. A thorough listing of item properties for upgrading would be great. I used all my incentive chips for leveling because I had no idea that particular item was worth like 3,000 Gil in the store and could have sold a ton of them to buy turbo jets at the time. Anyway TL; DR a strategy guide would be useful; you're an idiot.

Your a fucking idiot for buying a strategy guide in the age of the internet, the first 20 hours of that game are a tutorial how fucking stupid are you?

Just because you still live at home with your parents and hate your life doesn't mean you have to jump down other peoples throats.

Some people prefer to actually own strategy guides, now go to bed before mommy gets mad.

This looks awful. I left these puzzles behind in 5th grade, and now they're just "how do I just get through this again?" annoyance.

Is there a activity where you have to avoid loan sharks you got money from to pay off your gambling debts?