Final Fantasy XIII-2 Message Board

#finalfantasy Back in 2006, Square Enix unveiled three games: Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy Agito XIII and Final Fantasy Versus XIII. All three were linked by mythos centered on crystals, and the series was dubbed "Fabula Nova Crystallis". More »

It seems to come up in every announcement of other FFXIII-2 DLC - and it's about the person on the game's box - so we're glad to finally see "Lightning's Story: Requiem of the Goddess" arrive today in North America.

In this episode, you play out a battle between Lightning and Caius, and get the opportunity to unlock Lightning for use in the main game ... which Square recommends you finish before playing the DLC. It's a bit of a catch-22. Also out today is "Snow's Story: Perpetual Battlefield," a Coliseum battle with Snow that also unlocks him.

These two episodes mark the end of Final Fantasy XIII-2 DLC, but Square is ending on a high note by releasing them alongside a set of 16 new costumes for Mog.

#finalfantasy Final Fantasy XIII-2 has debuted quite a few bits of DLC since its early-year release. They've added Sazh, Lightning, N7 armor, an octopus homage, and more, to say nothing of the various alternate costumes. More »

#3ds In the above Fire Emblem: Kakusei image, there's a character named "Lightning". In Final Fantasy XIII, there's a character named "Lightning". Hey, wait a second... More »

The long awaited Assassin's Creed outfit is now available for Final Fantasy XIII-2. As Square Enix announced last year, the outfit allows players to dress Noel in the costume of Ezio Auditore, hero of Assassin's Creed II as well as spinoffs Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood and Assassin's Creed: Revelations...

Crossover content returns to Final Fantasy XIII-2 in Japan, with the Ezio costume for Noel finally making its appearance on April 10. It's not Prada, but it'll fit. Coming along with Ezio's togs is Gilgamesh, a coliseum fighter who, like others, can be recruited.

The other downloadable coliseum battle announced for Japan is Koyo-Koyo, which is an adorable group of aliens in a flying saucer. You kill them.

Japanese magazine Famitsu has revealed that Mass Effect outfits will be available as downloadable content in Final Fantasy XIII-2. The costumes will be released on March 27th in Japan and will allow Noel and Serah to wear N7 armor based on the Mass Effect universe. This joins the Assassin's Creed crossover costume announced for Final Fantasy XIII-2 late last year, as well as several outfits recently released as DLC...

Square Enix has announced more Final Fantasy XIII-2 DLC...

Last month, IGN's Ryan Clements reviewed Final Fantasy XIII-2 and awarded it an 8.0. Editors at IGN and 1UP have had the opportunity to spend some time with the game since then and have a wide range of opinions. Here are their thoughts on Final Fantasy XIII-2's positives, negatives and everything in...

#finalfantasy Square Enix is continuing to keep the ball rolling on Final Fantasy XIII-2 DLC. Their previous entry brought Lightning and Master Sergeant Amodar to the game; the next will bring Sazh. More »

Square Enix has announced details about the next downloadable episode for Final Fantasy XIII-2...

Square Enix has announced details about the next downloadable episode for Final Fantasy XIII-2...

This is a column by Kat Bailey dedicated to the analysis of the once beloved Japanese RPG sub-genre. Tune in every Wednesday for thoughts on white-haired villains, giant robots, Infinity+1 swords, and everything else the wonderful world of JRPGs have to offer.

I'm going to sum up all of the cliches about Final Fantasy XIII in one sentence: "The battle system is pretty good, but the story is laughable." Gamasutra's Christian Nutt even went so far as to compare the direction of the series to the Star Wars prequels. I wish I could disagree.

For all that though, I'm willing to stick out Final Fantasy XIII-2's jaunt through time and space, banal anime archetypes and all. Whenever one of the cutscenes pop up, I just go and check my email. Either that, or I pick up a book. It's mostly the battles that keep me going. I'm also a big fan of putting hats on monsters, and Final Fantasy XIII-2 has that in spades.

The dirty secret is that I've always been more fascinated by RPG battle systems than the story within the game. In many ways, a character's mechanical growth is a story in and of itself. When the game begins, your character is a scrub with a wooden sword and a few potions. By the end, they can call down comets from the heavens and instigate supernovas. That's what I call a character arc.

This is a column by Kat Bailey dedicated to the analysis of the once beloved Japanese RPG sub-genre. Tune in every Wednesday for thoughts on white-haired villains, giant robots, Infinity+1 swords, and everything else the wonderful world of JRPGs have to offer.

I'm going to sum up all of the cliches about Final Fantasy XIII in one sentence: "The battle system is pretty good, but the story is laughable." Gamasutra's Christian Nutt even went so far as to compare the direction of the series to the Star Wars prequels. I wish I could disagree.

For all that though, I'm willing to stick out Final Fantasy XIII-2's jaunt through time and space, banal anime archetypes and all. Whenever one of the cutscenes pop up, I just go and check my email. Either that, or I pick up a book. It's mostly the battles that keep me going. I'm also a big fan of putting hats on monsters, and Final Fantasy XIII-2 has that in spades.

The dirty secret is that I've always been more fascinated by RPG battle systems than the story within the game. In many ways, a character's mechanical growth is a story in and of itself. When the game begins, your character is a scrub with a wooden sword and a few potions. By the end, they can call down comets from the heavens and instigate supernovas. That's what I call a character arc.

#finalfantasy Today's the day for Final Fantasy XIII-2 fans to start throwing down in the Coliseum. As we reported last week, the "Lightning and Master Sergeant Amodar" DLC is now available for download both on XBox Live and PlayStation Network. More »

Spoiler warning: This story broadly discusses the ending of Final Fantasy XIII-2. No story specifics are mentioned, but don't read any further if you're trying to avoid all knowledge of the game's ending...

Final Fantasy XIII-2 comes out today in North America, but it's already benefiting from simultaneous DLC releases with Japan. Due on Feb. 7, upcoming DLC lets players fight FFXIII protagonist Lightning, accompanied by Lt. Amoda. If you defeat her, she can join your party.

Siliconera reports that future DLC following this Lightning battle will include a costume pack and new story content (which Square Enix says will "enhance the experience and complement the narrative of FINAL FANTASY XIII-2 with storyline branches for key characters in the story," with another coliseum battle coming in mid-March. That wacky Ezio costume will be in there somewhere, as well.

#finalfantasy Used to being led about by the nose in Final Fantasy XIII? Final Fantasy XIII-2 is here, and it's nowhere near as clear-cut as the game it's making up for. Perhaps a little spoiler-free getting-started guidance is in order? More »

Rarely do the developers at Square-Enix pursue direct sequels to their main Final Fantasy installments. While spin-offs and other projects emerge often, the last direct sequel, Final Fantasy X-2, did what the long-standing series had never done before. But the developers have expressed more interest in sequels as of late. Final Fantasy XIII-2 launches today in the United States and signs point to the likelihood that Final Fantasy XIII-3 will also undergo development...

No matter where you are in space and time, superfluous belts and wispy hair will always remain constant.

You know, before the game's released that is.

"Linear." A word hurled at the original Final Fantasy XIII without relent, and rightly so. The game funneled players down a hallway for more than 20 hours while it told a provocative story of defying the gods. No matter how you felt about its battle system, you still had precious little to explore. ...

I always knew Funky Student would become a fine gentleman. Too bad he lost the 'fro.

This is a column by Jason Schreier dedicated to the analysis (and occasional mocking) of his favorite genre, the Japanese role-playing game. Whether it's because they're too antiquated or just too niche, he believes JRPGs don't get enough attention in the gaming industry today. It's time to change that.
I've been playing a lot of Final Fantasy XIII-2 lately. I can't post my full thoughts until the embargo's up (January 30), but there's one question I've been pondering ever since I popped in the disc: What's up with this dialogue?

Thanks to a lot of silly jargon and awkward phrasing, a large chunk of Final Fantasy XIII-2's conversations elevate it into the "wouldn't want anyone to watch me playing this" category, alongside titles like Star Ocean: The Last Hope and any Tales game.

"Become an arrow through time and speed your way to Serah," one of the game's characters says in the game's intro sequence. Other bits of dialogue are similarly awkward, mixing metaphors, dropping strange proper nouns and completely confusing whoever's playing (read: me).

(Another choice line: "If the paradox is eliminated, spacetime will return to normal.")

Of course, it'd be unfair to only pick on the latest Final Fantasy for this issue. Japanese role playing games -- even moreso than other game genres -- are not known for their fluid, witty dialogue. JRPG scripts are more infamous for mistranslations ("This guy are sick.") than smart or clever bits of writing.

But does it matter? Can a JRPG still be awesome even if its dialogue sucks?

PlayStation’s longest running franchise has already graced PTOM’s cover once (our November 2010 issue), but we just can’t get enough of Sweet Tooth and the rest of the demented Twisted Metal gang. As the February 14th release date of PS3’s next big exclusive nears, we visit developer Eat Sleep Play and get the lowdown on the game’s multiplayer modes. We also managed to walk away with breakdowns on vehicle strengths and weaknesses courtesy of David Jaffe himself, as well as maps and strategy tips for four locations.

The February issue also means its time for our 2011 Game of the Year awards! Time to throw out the review scores and reflect on the year’s greatest gaming experiences away from the pressures of impending deadlines. It’s one last opportunity for the PTOM crew to argue, debate, and pummel each other into submission and agreement. Sure, some of the choices might be predictable, but even we were surprised by some of the winners.

Elsewhere in the mag, we drop in and check out Radical Entertainment’s Prototype 2. The first Prototype was underappreciated and never quite found its audience, so we’re excited that the sequel’s looking bigger and better in every way. It joins an all-star lineup of previews that includes Dead or Alive 5, Silent Hill: Downpour, and Spec Ops: The Line. We’ve also got the latest and greatest on Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance as Hideo Kojima sounds off on the franchise’s past, present, and future.

The holiday rush has passed, but we’ve got the review for the New Year’s first blockbuster release: Final Fantasy XIII-2. Our crack reviewer Ryan Taljonick enjoyed the game thoroughly, but something tells me that his review might incite the year’s first controversy in our Mail section.

It’s all in the February issue of PlayStation: The Official Magazine, available on newsstands now.

After an extended holiday break, PULSE returns today with a look at some of the big games coming in 2012. From the gorgeous Final Fantasy XIII-2 scheduled at the end of this month, Twisted Metal on Valentine’s Day through Spring releases such as the highly anticipated crossover Street Fighter X Tekken, the intriguing Journey, and the ‘build and battle’ of Starhawk, we hope you enjoy these reminders of the year ahead. Christina Lee also takes a look at some of the PlayStation Vita games just over the horizon and also looks back at top game downloads of 2011 with a Top 11 list of the best.

Watch the full edition of PULSE in the “What’s New” section under the PlayStation Network icon when the PlayStation Store updates later today. Remember, you can also download in full HD or to you PSP.

#finalfantasy If you're wanting to see just how different Final Fantasy XIII-2 is from its predecessor, you finally be able to check out a demo today. The playable snippets of Square Enix's epic fantasy sequel go live on PlayStation Network and Xbox Live today. If you're not in front of a console right now, the video above shows you what to expect. More »

#finalfantasy When Final Fantasy XIII-2 launched in Japan earlier this month, it sold only half a million copies on the PS3 in its first week, which isn't near the 1.5 million copies FFXIII moved in its first week in Japan. More »

As reported yesterday, Final Fantasy XIII-2 sold 525,271 PS3 copies in Japan on its first day of availability; pretty good numbers for the sequel, and a little over 62 percent of shipped stock. But how did the Xbox 360 version do? As you might imagine, not nearly as well. According to Andriasang, the Xbox 360 version of Final Fantasy XIII-2 debuted on Japanese sales charts at number 48 selling only 10,000 units, or 30.23 percent of shipped stock...

While the Xbox 360 version of Final Fantasy XIII got some flak for not quite being up to par with the PS3 version graphically, Square-Enix seems to be appealing to 360 gamers with the impending launch of the game's direct sequel, Final Fantasy XIII-2. The publisher will be offering an exclusive weapon for those who snag a copy of the game on Xbox 360...