In a year's time, the saga that is the Final Fantasy 13 trilogy will probably be one that people look back on and make some snide remark about while hyping up 15 before the crushing disappointment settles in. The negative comments surrounding the games have been done to death at this point, and even though I like Final Fantasy 13 the first thought I had when I finished it wasn't "Yes, I'd like to have a sequel to this." In my first part I talked about Final Fantasy 13's shortcomings and high points and now in part two I'm going to talk about its sequel Part three will be all about the narrative between 13 and 13-2 and how 13-2 is a really bad sequel. The fourth part will be about the third entry in the series...once it is released and I have finished it, of course.

I'm not sure who really wanted a sequel to Final Fantasy 13, but if I had to hazard a guess it would be Motomu Toriyama, the director of 13 and 13-2. There's kind of a good reason that Final Fantasy games don't typically have direct sequels, and it's because they've all pretty much been worse than their predecessors. 10-2 had a fun battle system but nothing else about it was enjoyable. Final Fantasy 7 had Dirge of Cerberus and Advent Children and the less said about those the better. Even Final Fantasy 4 has The After Years and that is a hunk of actual junk. But unlike Final Fantasies 4, 7, and 10, FF 13 was not loved by the majority of people who played it. Sure, a lot of mess is talked about FF7 but it all seemingly comes from people looking back; FF7 is still beloved by many. So with 13, a sequel couldn't really hurt the bad reputation that the first game had, right? Hell, if anything it'd actually be an improvement.

No. People who think that 13-2 is a better game than 13 are wrong. Fuck opinions, this is god damn science.

Final Fantasy 13-2 follows the tradition of being worse than the one that came before it, but it also holds the distinction of being kind of a better game too. The writers of 13-2 would call this a paradox. I call it an accident.

I don't pretend to know anything about making a game - I'm just some dork that likes Japanese games a whole bunch - but 13-2 feels like a game that the team behind 13 decided to make to address the complaints of 13. Kind of like what BioWare claims to be doing with Dragon Age 3, but not at all. Paradox. The fact that it was released rather quickly after 13 combined with the actual gameplay found inside adds some kind of substance to this claim. Almost as soon as you are in control the game feels like it is pulling at your arm and showing you how everything is different and better while being all smug about it.

"Oh, you didn't like that it took three hours to get to a level up screen in 13? Well check it out, one hour in and you get the Crystarium." "What was that? You didn't think it was a good idea to gate the Crystarium based on story progression? Well hey, now you have FULL ACCESS to the Crystarium at the start! Oh, and did we mention it's not as mindless as holding down X to watch the line move? Now you can totally obsess over min.maxing your nodes! Hell yeah! And just open that map, BAM, all kinds of turns, no straight line running in THIS adventure!"

Final Fantasy 13-2 is a snake oil salesmen whose pitch is that this elixir will make you forgot about Final Fantasy 13.

Much like how FF13 tricked players into thinking the game opened up in chapter 11, 13-2 tricked players into thinking it was a better game than 13. Sure, the game doesn't take its sweet time unlocking systems and within two hours you have your three man party and an unlocked battle system, but that doesn't make it a better game. It makes it a game where there's no need to gate progress because there's no need to do so. In 13, your Crystarium is gated due to the narrative; it makes sense that the Crystarium opens up more completely in chapter 10 after Dysley flat out tells you to get stronger. In 13, the story was the driving force behind the majority of actions, it was why you didn't get a level up screen until chapter 3, it was why you had two characters for a large chunk. A better game might have struck some kind of balance between gameplay and story, but locking certain systems based on progress never felt like that much of an issue. In 13-2 this system lock is a non-issue because there's no story reason for there to be an issue; the game just handwaves the issue of "Why can this future boy and this ex-l'Cie fling around spells?" with something about 'crystal residue' or something and now even normal people can use magic sometimes. No one ever does, the NPCs still walk around using regular ass guns, but hey who gives a shit when it means you've got the paradigms and the Crystarium as soon as you're in control of Serah.

Normally I wouldn't mind but it's a lot easier to swallow the progression of the characters in 13. Lightning and Snow were already accustomed to danger and fights and adapted once they got their magic, Hope specifically went with Lightning in order to grow stronger physically. In 13-2, Serah just suddenly knows how to fire a bow and arrow, swing a sword, and fling around fire and ice as if she's been doing it her whole life. This is mere SECONDS after nearly being attacked and injured by one of the weakest enemies in the game. Again, this is all just handwaved away with Serah going "If I have to" when asked if she could fight. Later on in the game she mentions that she is more comfortable fighting, but she was never uncomfortable. She was always just the same, flinging spells and swinging swords. Her time as a l'Cie was spent crying and walking on the beach before becoming a crystal so it's not like she had any combat experience prior to Noel showing up and handing her a mooglebow. Sure, this might come off as me being petty or nitpicking, but it just irked me. I'm not suggesting they totally change the battle system, I just wish it was handled better in the narrative. But then, considering how the gates were seen as a negative before, I'm not surprised by the end result.

At the same time, the battle system in 13-2 is better and feels like the logical extension of the flaws in 13's system. No longer is the game over when your controlled character dies, no more are you forced into an animation when you first swap paradigms. The battles are even faster and with the added benefit of being able to modify paradigms, the tactical options are enhanced. The simple addition of 'Cross' and 'Wide' add more flexibility to the paradigms and their roles, and being able to save three decks of six paradigms gives you more easily accessible paradigm choices, though unfortunately you cannot swap decks in the middle of battle. Battles are much more fun thanks to the changes and the swiftness at which battles happen. I liked the combat in 13. I loved it in 13-2.

Almost everything in the game feels like the result of the developers looking at all the criticisms and doing the opposite and it is apparent even in the first area, New Bodum. The first game opened with a bunch of narrow paths and straight lines, in the sequel you open the map and it's a series of turns and such, but the map makes it look bigger. It gives the illusion of more explorable paths, like it is daring the player to try and say the maps are straight lines. Map design is something I'll admit the sequel does better. Sure, the areas are more open and ripe for exploring, but at the same time you're spending the game revisiting the same areas only with a new coat of paint. It's neat exploring the Bresha Ruins. It is less neat when you go there one hundred or two hundred years in the future and the only difference is that the map is snowy and the background music is different. Somehow the game does setting worse than 13. Both games consist of a series of locations that are barely connected to each other. But at least in 13-2's favor there's a better reason for this.

13 had a noticeable lack of towns and side activities and NPCs. 13-2 attempted to rectify this by having a bunch of NPCs you could have flavor dialog with and sometimes an NPC will give you a sidequest. The sidequests in 13-2 range from boring to mildly boring. The only enjoyable ones are the ones where you are tasked with defeating an optional monster because they allowed for more time with the battle system and were also similar to the side activities in 13. The other side quests are all pretty much fetch quests. Fetch quests involving time travelling, but still fetch quests. When are fetch quests ever fun? They aren't ever. And yet, in 13-2 not only are you tasked with searching for vague items for random people, often they are hidden (because paradoxes) and you'll spend time wandering around an area looking for the faint glimmer of a hidden chest. The worst part is that these fetch quests are mandatory to get the 160 hidden collectibles that are needed for the super secret ending. There's also a casino in the game because everyone loved the Golden Saucer. I hope you didn't want to play poker or Chronobind, because you'll get a big fat "BUY THE DLC" message when you do, and then the card games aren't even playable by the main characters. Even after you buy the DLC the BUY THE DLC pop up happens. It'd be like the guy in the party camp in Dragon Age Origins sticks around reminding you that the Warden's Keep is only available in the DLC and to get there you have to go through the main menu. Enjoy your slot machines and your chocobo races. Mini games. Hooray, what a great addition. But hey, at least there are mini games, right? That's what you really want in your JRPGs.

Things like that are why I feel like 13-2 tricks people into thinking it's a better game. It adds NPCs and sidequests but both of those things don't enhance the game outside of getting another tick on your quest to 160 fragments. Take a game like Nier, its sidequests may have been lackluster but doing them got you insight into the world and its inhabitants while also developing the main cast. 13-2 doesn't really do this, it just has an NPC tell you he lost something and then you go find it and yay, here's a fragment. It adds things the first game lacked just to say that the game has them, as if the lack of those things were why the first one was so disliked. Hell, maybe that was what was disliked the most, I still don't know what people hated so much about 13 and I've heard pretty much every bit of criticism towards it; but 'lack of mini games' never seemed to be high on the list. Even the mini games are just a means to an end. On their own the side quests aren't entertaining or even all that interesting. But JRPGs have a habit of having mini games and side activities to go through and 13 was lacking so here you go, just like you always wanted, a series of fetch quests and virtual Where's Waldo. And let's all agree that the Temporal Rifts were stupid.

As I replayed 13-2 I struggled to understand why some think it is a better game than 13. The things it does better, battles and level layout, aren't enough in my eyes. But at the same time I had more fun playing 13-2 than I did 13 and if I had to replay one again right now, I'd pick 13-2 every time. It is a better playing game than 13 but it is a worse game at the same time. Paradox. I suppose it boils down to what you want in a JRPG. 13-2 is a shorter game and the earlier, ungated access to the Crystarium means you can make the game a breeze with minimal effort which makes it more fun to play. It's not as heavy a game and lends itself well to shorter sessions.

All that aside, even though I enjoy the part where I am playing 13-2 (as in the battles, mostly), I still have no idea why it needed to be made in the first place. Final Fantasy 13 did not need a sequel and 13-2 is such a bad sequel that I'm still not convinced that it is one.

The reason why 13-2 is such a bad sequel is because of the follow up in terms of narrative. As a pure gameplay thing, 13-2 is better since the battles are more fun. But as far as narrative is concerned, it's much, much worse.And if you thought the story was bad in 13, holy shit does 13-2 make 13 seem like a masterpiece in comparison. This is why I consider 13-2 to be both a better game and a worse sequel. So let's get into the story....

Next time. Because this is already getting long and no one wants to read a fucking dissertation on Final Fantasy 13 and 13-2.

As always, thanks for reading.

I liked Final Fantasy 13. I really like 13-2. I think they dropped some of the most conceptually cool things from Final Fantasy 13, but they followed through with the things they introduced much better than anything in Final Fantasy 13. Plus, the after-game content of replaying sections with the ability to find out what would happen if you could actually destroy the enemy (and not get cut-off by a cut-scene) was an incredibly fun thing to put in. I genuinely think it is a very good game in its own right (it's my personal favourite game of 2012 and all). But I can't necessarily disagree with your points (just not how I see it).

That's a totally fair view to take. I think it boils down to what the individual wants out of the game. I liked the way the battle system was improved. I just didn't like that the core of the game was based around optional stuff and hidden areas.

Yup, agree with all of this.

Alao, King.com will sue you for using the word "Saga" in the thread title!

Good read! I don't think a follow you on 13-2 feeling like its a better game but it's really not. If it feel better and plays better i feel naturally it's the better game. Now that may differ in personal opinion sure but i still think 13-2 is a better game at the end of the day. Now story and how strongly it impacts the overall game may be a factor, which i can sort of see where your coming from if thats your argument. It reminds me of bioshock 2 which has improved combat but still being the inferior game to bioshock. Mainly because story and sense of place was not topped in bioshock 2.

But for me these were never strong factors in 13 to begin with. Story or the characters was never the winning ticket for 13. Speaking of story i don't really agree with the story setting the tone for capping the leveling system. Giving full control to the player would not have really hurt the story or made it any less believeable. My opinion it was set up that way to ease people into their new battle system. Sure it would be a lot to understand if they gave you full control at the jump giving this is a major change from the status que. But treating new and old rpg players like babies for so much of the game was a mistake. It made the combat system boring once you get the hang of it. It toke away the sense of adventure and discovery when you have one than one party set up to choose from and see for yourself what works. 13 tried to hold your hand passed all that and than let you play with the tools after a long time in training wheels mode.

Now you may have a point with the side quest but i feel that more a problem with rpgs as a whole vs just 13-2. 13 did not have any at all really until you get to the end. Even then those side quest were even worse than 13-2 because they were just soulless quest givers that made you backtrack across the same roads over again. 13-2 side quest may not all be winners but they had a lttle more fun and character interaction to them. I do agree 13-2 did not need to happen and i honestly will be happy when they put the 13 world to rest. Love it or hate it, it time to move on and do something new. To me the reason 13-2 and 13-LR are here is because it cheaper than trying to start over again with a new game. Each game in the 13 series seems to cut corner more and more to increase profits margins.

13 was absolutely gating the crystarium access based on story progression. As soon as you step foot in the Ark (mentioned in game as being "a l'Cie boot camp") the game lets you unlock every role for every character because the story at that point is the characters being forced to enhance their abilities and grow strong enough to fight the fal'Cie. The way 13 is presented, having all of the characters being able to do everything from word go would negate the purpose of having them go through what is essentially a training montage in video game form. Compare to 13-2 which gives you full access to the crystarium from the jump and only gates the classes in the sense that you have to do a full lap around the area to get them because there's no need to gate it because you aren't playing a l'Cie anymore.

I'm not saying that it was done especially well in 13, but the narrative dictated the combat unlocks far more than handholding or whatnot. 13 gets called a twenty hour tutorial but that isn't the case. The game doesn't hold your hand or spend a bunch of time tutorializing the player. They let the player mess around with the six battle roles and then let the player make their own choices once the party comes together after you have experience with the roles and their role in battles.

And yes, the reason I consider 13-2 to be a worse game and a better game is because it has better battles but worse everything else. But the story is a prime reason for my dislike of 13-2.

I dunno... I feel like I'm the only one who likes both XIII and XIII-2 equally? If I was forced to pick a favorite one I'd pick XIII but I appreciated everything XIII-2 did. The story was fun and I was glad I got to see more of Serah and loved seeing Hope come back this time as an adult. I could find faults with both games if i really wanted to but... I kinda don't want to. I just really enjoy both of them. Got the Platinum in XIII-2 and almost got the platinum in XIII.

That's totally cool, they are both different games despite being in the same series. I prefer 13 more, but I've played through 13-2 more times simply because it's easier to pick up and play in short bursts. Also, 13-2 has costumes and accessories so that helps things considerably.

@donchipotle: Hey!!!! :( I did wanted a dissertation

About the side quests.... well lets be honest in no FF ever they had been good (reasons why I hated the king of them all in the sidequest xtravaganza , FF XII)

Well, I was going to have the story talked about here but as I was writing it I saw that the blog was getting way, way longer so I split it up instead. Sorry!

Really? I think that is a bit over the top. Fighting ruby dragons, bahamut, odin, and finding GFs in 8 was pretty rad. Fighting all of the weapons and finding hidden story beats in 7. Getting everyone's ultimate weapons.

In fact i stand to disagree and say final fantasy is one of the few rpgs that made the side stuff worth wild. They made your characters cooler, you learned more about them, and you get cool summons. These were things that mattered and had a tangible impact to your game.

@phantomzxro: There's also the point that the entire back half of Final Fantasy VI is made up of sidequests.

I just don't think that is a strong story tread that ties that together. You don't have to switch any character to a different role if you don't want to. Many people have brute force pass most of the game with just the starting combo rav rav com. I get that it may be a logical connection to the story saying they need to be stronger means unlocking more roles for everyone but i don't think it something that impacts the story in itself. The reason why is because all of that can be understood as something different.

Also the way i look at it, it comes down to the lesser of evils. I don't think unlocking the roles early would have made the story worse or impacted it at all. But it did in fact make the early parts of the game worse. Also i don't agree with the not hand holding, it very much hand holding because it lets you play around with the basic roles that for the most part you can't get wrong. Rav and Com roles are self sufficient in that they handle themselves and all you have to do is really hit attack, attack, special attack. The only make or break factor is switching up the mixture. The same when you role into other roles as you progress in the game. The game slowly rolls out each role without allowing the more interesting combinations.

I haven't played any FF13 game, nor do I plan to, yet I still ended up reading through both of your blogs surrounding them. Guess that speaks to how well written they are in any case :P

Plus even while I have little desire to ever play them, I'm always still kinda curious in reading opinions about them because of how mildly controversial they are, and how they always tend to spark a conversation. Final Fantasy in general is like the Japanese Mass Effect on here, in how the mere mention of the name makes the forum erupt, with just about everyone and their house plant having their own piece to say, resulting in some of the lengthier threads devoted to a single game/series.

Your write up (of FF13) also reminded me of how I thought about Vesperia, in that its story is significantly more interesting when it's a lot more personal, and instead primarily focuses on Yuri and his ethics about dealing with criminals. But then it all gets boring and predictable when ''oh right this is a JRPG'' kicks in and you're creating summons to save the world from anti-villain Who's Trying To Save The World By Killing It.org

Anywhoo, even though I was admittedly a little lost pertaining to certain specifics about the FF13 games (l'cie licei greisi arriverd'ci'), you done a pretty good in still somehow managing to make sense across a lot of it even for someone like me. So, bravo to that!

You're a really funny writer.

I will follow you.

Came really close to trying to play XIII again but I couldn't stomach it and went back to Ni No. Lightning Returns looks aight but I doubt I'll play that either. I'm just pretending not to like FF until XV comes out, then I will try to like it again and we'll see what happens.

I guess I agree that FFXIII-2 is a better game for gameplay's sake, but it's not by a whole lot. And surely I'm not the only one who thinks that half of the fun of a Final Fantasy battle is seeing the characters I like vanquishing enemies? That's why you put Sazh in your party and not Hope, right? So how am I supposed to enjoy the gameplay as much when I don't care if both of my characters have their throats slit in the next cinematic? (I would probably have been in favor of that, actually)

I still haven't finished XIII-2, not that I've given up entirely. Even though the gameplay itself is a huge improvement in most every angle, it just never got its hooks in me, I guess. Well, rather, the game seems to be actively repulsing me despite how much I want to enjoy it. I'm in agreement with your post, and you wrote it better than I ever could.

My favorite part of the game was that "Big Bo" was among the names I could choose for my Chocobo.

Also, you would probably die if you drank every time they said "paradox".

EDIT: @veektarius: I think you put your finger on another one of my issues with the game. Serah's a pretty disappointing protagonist after Lightning, and Noel never does much to outgrow his familiar archetype. Neither of them are especially captivating, and since they don't really have anyone to talk to except themselves for a majority of the game, they just don't develop well. I didn't get very attached to them anyway, and that probably effected my enjoyment of the game quite a bit.

Something I thought XIII did well, for all its faults, was good character development, and interesting conversations here and there. So I guess it was especially jarring for me jumping into XIII-2 right after replaying XIII, because it felt comparatively hollow in its advances.

I dunno, maybe it's my problem and I just don't like Serah and Noel's archetypes. I'd be interesting in hearing from someone who liked them as characters, and why.

I will grant you that 13-2 is a baffling game in that we didn't really need that game, and 13-2 has absolutely no reason for existing beyond Square realizing they spent years horribly bungling the development of an engine and they need to squeeze more money out of it or they'll go bankrupt, but 13-2, if you make peace with the wholesale ret-conning of 13's ending, is still a better story than anything 13 had.

It's easy to forget, but most of 13's story was literally just wandering from scene to scene knowing nothing, talking about nothing, and the characters hoping they would figure shit out eventually, only to never really figure shit out. If you step back and look at it, the whole thing is basically some sort of non-story. It has a plot structure unlike anything I can think of, it's pacing is just one flat line throughout the whole game, and almost none of the characters experience any real growth. Yeah, even though 13-2 is a cheap "let's look at everything people complained about and tweak it a bit" approach, that's also kind of how game development of sequels works.

13-2 at the very least has a sensible plot structure, total focus on the trials of two characters only, and a clear goal in the plot from beginning to end. It's hilarious to me that what I just said sounds like an incredible compliment, considering it's storytelling 101.

The goal at the start of the game changes to a different goal midway through and then back to the original goal. 13-2 is a very weird game and the characters involved also spend a lot of it not really knowing what they are doing until nearer to the end of it all. I can't agree with 13-2 being a better story than 13. I just can't.

@donchipotle said:

It feels weird being put in a position where I seem like I'm championing 13-2, but my statements about the quality of it's plot comes from a simple writing perspective.

13-2's characters each have clear goals from the start. The main goal (averting the Fall of Cocoon and subsequently preventing the end of days, finding what went wrong with the timeline) is communicated to the player pretty much right away with Noel's introduction. The game wastes no time meandering around, whining about how they don't know this, or don't know that, or why-hath-god-blighted these-two-great-heroes. (In fact, much of the action in 13-2 is derived from Noel and Serah furiously trying out idea, after idea, after idea, wasting very little time in the process.)

13-2 also has a main villain that, unlike most other JRPGs, is actually incredibly down to earth and personal, with entirely understandable motives. The world is much more well-realized and explored. Overall, the structure of 13-2's plot is more sensible. It's an academic point, I suppose, but there is actually a three-act structure to the events in 13-2, unlike 13. There is an Introduction, a Confrontation, and a Resolution, to each of the plot points in 2, as well as the overall plot itself.

13 throws all sense of plot structure out the window and spends thirty hours wandering around talking about how none of them know what their focus is or where they're going. I wish it was hyperbole when I say that nearly every conversation that is had in 13 is almost always about the same thing (please look up scene compilations on YouTube if you doubt me), and ends in the same way. 13 has a setup, and a resolution, and nothing in between.

At least in 13-2 you're actually making the plot move forward by overcoming various plot conflicts along the way. 13 has absolutely no layers within it's story. You could cut two thirds of 13's running time and miss no crucial information whatsoever.

That's funny because i found Serah to be a much more likable character than lightning. Lightning is cool i'll give her that but she has only one mode of emotion and given the places they go in the story i would have like her to emote a little more. Serah actually has some range of emotion that surprised me and you learn more about her that made her interesting. Lightning i still can't tell you anything about her other than she is a soldier.

She WAS a soldier!

That's like her first line of dialog, man!

What can you tell me about Serah other than that she has pink hair and likes her sister and maybe likes Snow but they're on a break?

To those talking about Lightning's stoicism, supposedly she's even more emotionless in Lightning Returns - yaaaaaaaaay. (I should point out that I like her as a character when she's playing the soldier over playing the messiah - so I'm not totally sure if I am happy or sad about this).

Well, when you've spent 500 years in crystal and are being tasked with being known as The Savior, you'd probably be a little surly and emotionless too.

Ali Hillis is so boring.

My Sister's met her, said she's very nice.

I dunno. She was alright in Shin Megami Tensei 4. And who could forget her award-worthy performances in Open Water 2 and Beverly Hills Chihuahua.

im sure she is great, but her delivery of lightning is just borrrrrrrringgg.

@donchipotle: Her performance as Palutena in Kid Icarcus: Uprising was superb. And I really don't have any issues with her portrayal as Lightning.

Oh I know what you meant. I just wanted to humble brag about being related to someone who's met her.

I think here stoicism worked in 13 as a way of bouncing off the extremes of the other characters, but if it wasn't for what they make her do in the story or they way she visually looks, she would be very forgettable (and it's likely down to the subdued nature of how Ali Hillis plays her). I've thought about maybe she constantly has a cold, and that's what makes her special - the only person in the Final Fantasy Universe to get mildly sick.

I'd like to be part of the discussion, but most baffingly, FF13 isn't on the current Final Fantasy themed PSN sale, so without a discounted entrypoint into the trilogy, I can't participate. On the upside, I'd rather play the FFIV rework for PSP on my Vita anyways.

Would I rather play as a Dark Knight, who turns from his evil ways? Or some pink haired girl and her merry emo band of teens and tweens?

I haven't played that. My exposure to Ali Hillis comes from her roles in Final Fantasy and Mass Effect with a bit of Xenosaga and Naruto on the side, and she's hardly in the latter two enough for my liking. I actually thought she was pretty good in some of her live action roles, like in The Ultimate Gift which is a not so good movie but not due to her or anything.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 is waaaay better than its predecessor. Your argument is ridiculous "Here are all of the things that are better in 13-2, BUT YOU'RE BEING TRICKED MAAAAAAAAAAN. OPEN YOUR EYES MAN!"

The only thing better is the improvements on the battle system. Everything else is just thrown in because they were missing from the first game, but they aren't done in any meaningful or particularly fun way. Randomly talking to some generic NPC just to then go and play find the hidden chest isn't a good implementation of side quests, and the fact that it's mandatory to get the secret ending just pads out the length because the game on its own is short. The game makes you go on a fetch quest to find five hidden items. That's not better. The core combat is better. Everything else is bad.

That's my point that she is nothing but a soldier. We learn nothing else about her or see any other emotion than cold and stoic with a side of overly protective sister. It could have still worked if more of the cast would have called her out on that and loosing her up.

Well we learn that she is a pretty smart student, and by the start of 13-2 she is teaching the younger kids. We also learn she has a short temper and a strict side most likely do to lightning raising her.We also see Serah grow as a character from someone still depended on lightning to being more confident in her own abilities.

Now i'm not calling her some deeply explored character not by a long shot. But i feel it colored her character and made her more human and not a one note character of just being lightning's sister.

I acknowledge that you're mostly conceding the point that Serah is not a very good character, but I just want to point out that half of the points you raised are only conveyed in dialogue in the first area (Bodiam?) and in no way does her strict nature, short temper, or experience teaching figure into the game's story.

As I replayed 13-2 I struggled to understand why some think it is a better game than 13. The things it does better, battles and level layout, aren't enough in my eyes. But at the same time I had more fun playing 13-2 than I did 13 and if I had to replay one again right now, I'd pick 13-2 every time. It is a better playing game than 13 but it is a worse game at the same time. Paradox. I suppose it boils down to what you want in a JRPG. 13-2 is a shorter game and the earlier, ungated access to the Crystarium means you can make the game a breeze with minimal effort which makes it more fun to play. It's not as heavy a game and lends itself well to shorter sessions.

In my eyes, the improvements that Square made to the battle system and crystarium are enough to make it a better game. From a story perspective, there was really no solving the madness that was the original XIII, so the fact that they threw most of it out the window and went with crazy time travel shit didn't really break anything for me. At the end of the day, the battle system is fun, the music got some inspiration from NieR, and the story didn't drag on for too long, so I believe that XIII-2 is the superior game.

P.S. Fuck your science! If my heart can't handle the idea of replaying a game (FF XIII), then I refuse to acknowledge it as the better title in a series.

P.S.S. I'm following you because we seem to share an interest in Square's nonsense. Nice read.

There is one area in the game where Serah's short temper and strict teaching comes up later on. I'm pretty sure it's an optional area as well.

I try not to be too hard on 13 and its sequel because i know the game works or clicks with some people and i can respect that. But to me the story was all over the place in 13 so i don't expect anything anymore when it comes to story in the 13 series. 13-2 story is all over the place too but it had fun with it, so you learn not to take it serious and just go along with the ride.

Lightning returns will most likely be the same with a out of control story that you will have to just go along with. To you point about Serah as you added it does come up in the story. The kids in the first area call her meany ms serah and there is side quest that also address it. Also its a running theme that she needs to depend on lightning less and stand on her own.

@veektarius

Yeah you could say I concede that point because in my opinion 90% of the whole cast are not very good characters. They are just outright bad (Young Hope & Snow) or could be promising but end up just being one note characters (lightning, Sazh, Fang). Sazh and Fang end up topping the list for me as Sazh has a decent story arc in the game and fang manage to be cool and show a bit of emotion here and there.

Lightning actually has something resembling a character arc, with some genuinely touching moments with other members of the cast, and I'd argue she's a different person at the end of the game than she is when it starts (a real hard-ass at the beginning, more open and empathic by the end of things). Nothing mind-blowing in the world of literature, sure, but I thought it was good. Admittedly, it's when she's dealing with other characters that she's at her best.

But that's where I easily prefer her over Serah, who I didn't think had particularly interesting interactions with anyone. Hers is a pretty well-worn 'kind, caring, selfless' archetype, and the ripple of her quirky 'teacher' persona didn't really do anything to spice it up. Not that she's a wholly bad character per se, but she doesn't do a lot to stand out, where I thought Lightning at least made for some interesting situations.

Obviously this is deep in the realm of personal opinion, but there you go.

High-five. Kid Icarus was full of great performances, and not nearly enough people say so~