I am among the minority of people who thought Square Enix's Final Fantasy XIII was a decent game. Flawed in its execution, it still had a lot of good ideas within that deserved fleshing out. I thought that the game could use a sequel, but at the same time felt it shouldn’t get one so as not to restrain any elements to the predecessor’s shortcomings. I decided to look forward to the next game they have been working on, Final Fantasy XIII-2 (13-2), Versus XIII, and wait for it to make up for the traditional numbered entry weak display.
Square Enix apparently thought there was enough of a cry to continue the XIII universe and is prepping a direct sequel to the first HD installment of the long running RPG series. The game is from day-one planned to be multiplatform, heading to Xbox 360 and PS3 once again. I got my hands on the Xbox 360 version demo and went through the entire bit to see if they were actually making improvements.
While teaser trailers had depicted FF13-2 lead Lightning to return, the demo put me in control a new guy named Noel (pronounced “Nole”). I was partnered with Lightning’s younger sister Serah and a Moogle. I stared at the graphic quality as it was a huge matter of debate with the previous edition of FF13. It didn’t seem like the engine had been improved for Xbox optimized fidelity. Finer points of hair were noticeably pixilated and textures appeared muddier. I later looked at the PS3 version and noticed that it did appear much smoother than the 360 version I had played. However, the build I played was in Alpha, so there is still plenty of time for SQEN to spruce up both versions. Regardless, I viewed it as an early warning sign.
I had direct control over Noel and quickly found I was now able to freely jump. There weren’t too many places that benefited from its use, with certain places marked where jumping would be necessary. Serah and Moogle followed me as I walked around and found some treasures. The town was not linear by any means. It seemed I had plenty more nooks and crannies to explore, and at times wasn’t sure which direction I should head. I took this to be a good shift from the overly-linear design of the predecessor.
The character customization menus weren’t active and I couldn’t look in my inventory, but I still thought I might gain some items useful in battle. And I did. A few potions were picked up along with a Phoenix Down. Since the demo didn’t have a difficulty level, I figured I may struggle in the first few battles. I had no idea what Paradigm combinations I would have or how character growth would be structured this time.
During exploration, I reached a check point from which I was quickly launched into a sub-boss fight I couldn’t “win”. Seeing that Noel was my character, I looked to see if I had any more advanced control over my partners; I did not. Paradigm shifting was in effect and some of the combination names weren’t familiar, but the classes were. Commando, Ravager, Medic, and Sentinel were present between my four preset arrangements. I found I didn’t actually need to switch my paradigm in the fight. The break gauge was also visible, and I was having a hard time filling it up.
After a few attacks were exchanged, my HP dipping into low levels, a cut-scene began. The first tweak to the battle system became apparent. A few quick-time events were mixed in to demonstrate enhanced battle scenes. I’m not sure if my accuracy in the QTE’s reflected in doing more damage or what effect it would have besides moving the scene forward. I wondered if I had triggered it myself or I was simply victim to circumstances.
A gunship came in and performed an air-raid on the invisible arm of beast called Atlas, ending the fight. A brief amount of dialogue explained that we have to find a way to weaken Atlas, directing me to traveling outside the town. As I walked towards a dungeon area, I had my first taste of random encounters. Unlike FF13, enemies are not always visible on the field. Instead, they now spring up in groups randomly and sit on the field for a few seconds. A new mechanic called the “Moogle Clock” begins ticking down once the enemies appear. There are three color zones on the clock as time ticks down. I am tasked with striking enemies to engage them in combat. If I strike early, the Moogle Clock will be in the green zone and my party receives a battle bonus (like starting with Haste effect). If I strike after a few seconds, the clock will be in the yellow zone, with no bonuses going to either side. Wait too long and the clock will be in the red zone, where I’m put at a disadvantage.
Once in battle, I experimented with my paradigms. When looking at the paradigm shift menu, I found that Noel and Serah were not accompanied by Moogle, but instead another monster. I had three different monsters each assigned to a class. I had a behemoth for commando, a flan for a ravager, and a tortoise for a sentinel. The monster battled along side me and built up a separate meter called “Feral Strike.” After that gauge filled, I could freely trigger the monster to begin a super powerful assault, in which I had to accomplish QTE button presses to continue the attack and deal more damage. Each monster had its own type of Feral Strike and QTE combination within.
At first, I thought the monsters were simply a placeholder for a character not yet available, but the Feral Strike meter convinced me I was dealing a legitimate mechanic (to my chagrin).
During the fights, it seemed more monsters could randomly jump in to perpetuate the battle. A few times this worried me, but I got back my paradigm shifting groove and found battles to be simple. I still had only two commands per class and relied on the auto-battle button mostly (also disappointing).
The battle ended and I would gain crystal points and few dropped items. I couldn’t use either. The battles were still rated by the 5-star system, meaning better spoils for better battle performance. While I couldn’t use any of the random items I won, they hinted at the previous style of weapon customization coming back in this game.
Continuing through the dungeon, I found a sprawling layout. When I didn’t reach my goal, I found treasure or an NPC to chat with to gain some insight to my events. I’d go into details about what they say, but my perspective on the game’s overarching premise is still vague at best. I just knew that Atlas was the main threat at this time and I had to find the secret to defeating/weakening him.
I eventually reached the next check point, coming across a glowing crystal-like object. The voice of a new character chimed in, saying that the device before me may be able to stop Atlas or at least hinder him. Before I could use it, I had to clear a “Paradox” that was preventing the device from operation.
Entering the Paradox took Noel to a new area. This area was strictly a zone for a puzzle. The puzzle required me to reach an end point while collecting all the crystals on various platforms. The catch was that each platform I stepped on would disappear after I stepped off it, meaning no backtracking. The zone had three of these puzzles for me to clear before I could exit the Paradox. I failed a few times on the last one and didn’t notice any penalty for repeated attempts. I was happy to see that FF13-2 was adding in some diversity in its gameplay that the predecessor was desperately lacking.
Once out of the Paradox, I was given the choice of how to proceed with the device. I was warned that we weren’t sure if the device would actually help. I could choose to go straight to the fight with Atlas, activate the object, or keep looking around. I could also ask my two partners (Moogle and Serah) for their opinions. I chose to activate the machine and take my chances. That was the right choice as the scene shifted to show Atlas becoming completely visible and slowing in his approach on innocent civilians. It was then up to me to go to his location and fight him.
The battle ensued, requiring clever paradigm shifting on my part to stay alive and build up the break gauge. Some time later, through a few more QTE’s, my demo ended. I was then left to ponder what I had played and how I felt about the changes.
Currently, I feel FF13-2 is a mixed bag. For what improvements are being made, the best feature of the previous game, the battle system, is receiving clichéd add-ons instead of new strategic options. Expanded exploration, actual puzzles, and player choices are good additions, if they pan out to more than just a few small areas of the game. The QTE’s and monster partners are sad sights.
The QTE’s seem like a shameless way to increase the cinematic elements of the game. The battles were already very dynamic, and more command choices would have allowed for enhanced strategy while keep players engaged having to constantly pick new moves and shift roles. Instead, I get locked into (admittedly cool looking) scripted events that do not reflect my skills as a player. It feels less interactive at this point. Perhaps if some sequences can be triggered by the player willingly, they could be a tactical element.
The Monsters seem to be locked to specific roles, although this may be different in the final game. Other preview information told me that 200 some monsters would be usable in the game. I immediately drew the comparison between this game and the Wii exclusive Tales of Symphony: Dawn of the New World. It seems that SQEN is simply adding monster hunting/collecting to the game in order to attract that crowd of gamers. The Feral Strike mechanic was interesting, like a limit break, but neither Noel or Serah had a similar mechanic in affect.
I wouldn’t mind the addition of QTE and Monster collecting if SQEN was demonstrating their application in a unique way. My play time made the game feel more like a rushed rehash aimed at getting a few more bullet points on box, rather than a thoughtful expansion of previous concepts.
Still, the preview build was in Alpha stage and the sequence being very early in the game’s progression. There is time for SQEN to add more features and refine the experience that was on offer. In comparison to the other spin-offs from main entries (Crisis Core, FF10-2), this seems like the least ambitious creation, being rushed to fill a void for games announced but not yet finished (Versus 13, Type-0). I hope more details in time will prove that the game was under-selling itself.
