FINAL FANTASY XIII-2

58%
Game Brain Score Based on 2,516 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • music
FINAL FANTASY XIII-2 Game Cover
Final Fantasy XIII-2 comes with its fair share of problems, but it is an excellent game that represents a tentative step into modernity for its genre
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In Final Fantasy XIII-2, players continue the journey of Lightning and new protagonist Serah, exploring time periods to prevent a global catastrophe. Featuring an evolved battle system with monsters to capture and customize, this RPG offers diverse character development and challenging missions. With improved interface and additional quests, this sequel offers enhanced gameplay while maintaining the rich storytelling of the series.

  • PC
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Play​Station
  • Play​station 3
  • Xbox
  • Xbox 360
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

58%
Audience ScoreBased on 2,516 reviews
story409 positive mentions
optimization122 negative mentions
  • The game improves on many aspects of its predecessor, offering a more open world and faster-paced combat.
  • The soundtrack is exceptional, featuring a mix of engaging tracks that enhance the overall experience.
  • The monster-catching mechanic adds depth to gameplay, allowing for customization and strategy in battles.
  • The PC port is riddled with technical issues, including frequent crashes and poor performance even on high-end hardware.
  • Players must rely on community patches and fixes to make the game playable, which should not be necessary for a commercial release.
  • The story can be convoluted and confusing, with time travel mechanics that may frustrate players.
  • story1,537 mentions

    The story of "Final Fantasy XIII-2" is a mixed bag, with many players finding it convoluted and confusing due to its time travel mechanics and numerous plot holes. While some appreciate the emotional depth and character development, particularly regarding Serah and Noel, others criticize the narrative for feeling disjointed and lacking coherence compared to its predecessor. Overall, the game offers an engaging experience for fans of the series, but its storytelling may not resonate with everyone, especially those who prefer a more straightforward plot.

    • “The story is just as cinematic and engaging as the rest of the XIII trilogy, and I love it for that.”
    • “This time-travel mechanic not only broadens the scope of exploration but also enriches the storytelling, offering a multifaceted narrative that weaves together past, present, and future.”
    • “The plot delves into themes of fate, memory, and destiny, presenting a narrative that is both intricate and emotionally charged.”
    • “The story is a mess of time traveling shenanigans that allowed the developer to be lazy by reusing assets, enemies, maps etc. by changing colors, time of days, closing off and opening up arbitrary parts of the map and say, oh it's new!”
    • “The main thing bringing this down is the story as it’s very convoluted and has I think 1 or 2 too many elements making it feel a bit overwhelming.”
    • “The focused narrative of the first game is replaced with a meandering plot that feels disjointed and disconnected from the original story.”
  • gameplay486 mentions

    The gameplay of Final Fantasy XIII-2 is generally regarded as a significant improvement over its predecessor, featuring enhanced mechanics, a more engaging combat system, and the introduction of a monster collection feature that adds depth to party dynamics. While the time travel mechanic offers interesting exploration opportunities, it can also lead to confusion and frustration for some players. Overall, the game balances its RPG elements with a mix of linear and non-linear gameplay, providing a more varied experience, though performance issues on certain platforms have been noted.

    • “With its enhanced gameplay mechanics, deepened narrative, and rich world-building, it stands as a standout title in the Final Fantasy series.”
    • “The return of the paradigm system is complemented by the introduction of the monster collector mechanic, allowing players to recruit and train a variety of monsters to fight alongside them.”
    • “Gameplay is super fun and combat is vastly improved over its predecessor!”
    • “An attempt to pivot from FF13's story with added choices that don't really matter and a creature collector mechanic that feels poorly implemented with a lot of palette swap monsters.”
    • “The gameplay outside of combat is very tedious and rife with backtracking and reused levels.”
    • “The gameplay is much less interesting than it initially seems.”
  • music438 mentions

    The music in "Final Fantasy XIII-2" is widely praised for its exceptional quality and variety, featuring a mix of orchestral, electronic, and vocal tracks that enhance the game's atmosphere and emotional depth. Many reviewers highlight the soundtrack as a standout element, with some tracks being memorable and engaging, while others note that certain musical choices can feel out of place or overly loud, sometimes overshadowing dialogue. Overall, the soundtrack is considered one of the game's strongest aspects, contributing significantly to the overall experience.

    • “The soundtrack, once again composed by Masashi Hamauzu, is a highlight, with a score that enhances the game's atmosphere and complements the emotional highs and lows of the narrative.”
    • “The music is beautiful, the aesthetic is definitely for me, and I enjoy the aspect of capturing and training monsters to use in my team.”
    • “The music is phenomenal, the story and gameplay also a massive improvement over the first game, and addresses virtually all the complaints fans had with the first game.”
    • “The music ranges from passable to appalling (crazy chocobo is a song that never should have existed).”
    • “The only notable exception is the lack of audio options again; the music and sound effects are significantly louder than the dialogue (just like the first).”
    • “The music, acting, characters and graphics are really good.”
  • graphics312 mentions

    The graphics of Final Fantasy XIII-2 are generally praised for their beauty and detail, especially considering the game's age, with many noting that they hold up well against contemporary titles. However, the PC port suffers from optimization issues, leading to frequent crashes, frame rate drops, and limited graphical settings, which detracts from the overall experience. While some players have successfully improved performance through community fixes and mods, the lack of robust graphical options remains a significant drawback for many.

    • “Final Fantasy XIII-2 has a fantastic cast, an incredible soundtrack, and stunning visuals.”
    • “The graphics are breathtakingly beautiful, and personally, I preferred the style here to the more realistic look of FF15.”
    • “The graphics are really amazing considering it's a 2011 game; most of the locations are a sight to behold.”
    • “The graphics took a hit; the game looks like it is being played in a field of wheat, the sharpness just isn't there.”
    • “The graphics seem downgraded compared to XIII, and I'm pretty sure the game doesn't actually render in higher than 720p.”
    • “Game graphics settings are too high and demanding for the system requirements recommended.”
  • optimization303 mentions

    The optimization of the game has been widely criticized, with many users reporting severe performance issues such as stuttering, lag, and frequent crashes, regardless of their hardware specifications. Players often recommend installing community mods and making extensive tweaks to settings in order to achieve a playable experience, highlighting that the port is poorly optimized and requires significant effort to run smoothly. Overall, the game's performance is considered unacceptable, making it difficult to recommend for PC users without technical expertise.

    • “The improvements come from the overall gameplay; from redesigned drop tables and how the game calculates monster drops, to tiny optimizations in the battle system.”
    • “Note that console versions of FFXIII-2 are locked to 1080p and 30fps, so playing it on Steam with mods and fixes is much better performance-wise as you can run it at 4K with 60fps.”
    • “I found and followed the Steam community guide by Surihix and have not had any crashes or major performance issues (some minor temporary slow load-ups is about it) so far.”
    • “I can't recommend this version of the game due to very poor optimization.”
    • “The game is poorly optimized for PC and will crash repeatedly, particularly upon saving.”
    • “This is probably one of the worst ports ever made to PC; it's just incredible how badly optimized this game is.”
  • grinding121 mentions

    Overall, the grinding aspect in "Final Fantasy XIII-2" is a mixed bag. While many players appreciate the reduced grind compared to its predecessor, with faster leveling and less reliance on grinding for upgrades, others find the game still requires significant effort for monster materials and post-game content. The balance between enjoyable gameplay and tedious backtracking or farming for specific items can lead to frustration, making the experience feel uneven for some players.

    • “I spent more time playing this game, but it felt like less of a drag, and there was no grinding.”
    • “No grinding for tiny (but necessary) upgrades.”
    • “The actual story is relatively simple and more of a vessel for the interesting themes, and during the latter half, the game becomes extremely tedious as in without a guide this game would be over 75 hours long levels of tedious.”
    • “The game took me thirty hours to beat; I spent a few hours grinding one companion to max level, but there's easily another 20 hours of completionist gameplay here.”
    • “I can almost 100% guarantee you that no one will complete this game without a walkthrough or a love for grinding.”
  • stability95 mentions

    The stability of the PC port is widely criticized, with numerous users reporting frequent crashes, freezes, and various bugs that hinder gameplay. Many players have found that the game requires extensive troubleshooting and the installation of community patches to function properly, while others have experienced minimal issues. Overall, the consensus is that the game is enjoyable but plagued by significant stability problems, making it difficult to recommend the Steam version without modifications.

    • “Don't know what everybody's crying about, I'm not crashing, I've had no glitches, it's all here and intact.”
    • “PC port runs great once you apply the 64-bit memory patch!”
    • “I see a lot of complaints about the game running horribly, it runs great for me, I have the shadows running second from the highest setting and I'm getting great frame rate.”
    • “I like this game, but in 2024, years after the initial release, this port is still a buggy mess.”
    • “The game crashes all the time, and when I googled it, turns out it's been buggy as hell for years.”
    • “It's a buggy mess.”
  • emotional31 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by its intricate narrative that explores themes of fate, memory, and personal relationships, resulting in a deeply touching experience for players. The character-driven stories, particularly those of new protagonists Noel and Serah, alongside the antagonist Caius, evoke strong emotional responses, enhanced by a poignant soundtrack. While some players find the writing mediocre and the story convoluted, many appreciate the emotional highs and heartfelt moments that resonate throughout the gameplay.

    • “The plot delves into themes of fate, memory, and destiny, presenting a narrative that is both intricate and emotionally charged.”
    • “The game's focus on personal stories and relationships enhances the overall emotional impact.”
    • “Said emotional throughline is focused around three of this game’s new characters: Noel Kriess, Caius Ballad, and Yeul, and made me tear up numerous times.”
    • “The story is boring and filled with a lot of unexplained elements that just seem to be accepted without any context.”
    • “I felt no emotional connection to the characters; their struggles felt superficial and unengaging.”
    • “The attempts at emotional depth fell flat, leaving me feeling indifferent to the outcomes.”
  • character development30 mentions

    Character development in the game is a mixed bag, with some players praising the evolution of characters like Serah and Noel, while others criticize the stagnation of returning characters from the previous installment. Although the game offers a more customizable progression system, many feel that the storytelling and character arcs do not reach the heights set by its predecessor, leading to disappointment in the overall character development experience. Despite these critiques, some players still find moments of depth and complexity, particularly with new characters like Alyssa.

    • “The character development is particularly notable, with Serah and Noel evolving through their trials and interactions, adding depth and complexity to their journey.”
    • “This game has an amazing storyline, and great in-depth character development.”
    • “At least this is my consensus?!... oh, and the pros to this game; excellent character development, storyline, graphics, diverse gameplay, multi-purpose gaming (separate gaming abilities; strategy, action, adventure, etc.), and I've been told it has great replay qualities to continue your character development and alternative realities.”
    • “This means that it can be easy to lose track of what the deal is with any given episode, and that there can't be any meaningful character development for the two leads.”
    • “The world and lore is magnificently developed, however with poor storytelling and even poorer character development.”
    • “It was fun and I did throw a bunch of hours into the game collecting almost all the fragments and getting the various endings, but the poor story, poor character development, and lame ending are all major turn offs.”
  • humor30 mentions

    The humor in the game is reminiscent of early 2000s anime dubs, featuring a mix of absurd situations, quirky dialogue, and comedic character interactions that often elicit genuine laughter. Players appreciate the inclusion of funny side quests, humorous dialogue choices, and amusing character antics, despite some critiques regarding pacing and graphical issues. Overall, the game successfully blends humor with its narrative and gameplay elements, providing a lighthearted experience amidst its more serious themes.

    • “If you can, search for an example of the game's 'story so far' summary, it's hilarious.”
    • “With alternate paradox endings to unlock, funny dialogue choices to make (Serah gushing about Snow being totally cool in the first chapter is utterly hilarious), throwing your moogle to reach hard-to-get-to treasure, messing up the weather in Archylte Steppe, and having your chocobo flash enemies its butt to make them angry, FFXIII-2 has a truckload of things to keep you busy!”
    • “I found myself literally laughing out loud manically at some points in the story as the characters tried to explain what was happening.”
    • “Painfully unfunny Japanese jokes.”
  • replayability26 mentions

    Overall, the game's replayability is significantly enhanced compared to its predecessor, offering multiple endings, side quests, and exploration opportunities that encourage players to revisit the experience. While some reviews note a lack of replay value unless players are particularly invested in the game, many highlight the abundance of content and character combinations that contribute to a more engaging replay experience. The improvements in gameplay mechanics and the addition of collectible elements further bolster its replayability, making it a more enjoyable and varied experience for players.

    • “The inclusion of these elements provides ample opportunities for players to delve deeper into the game's world and characters, adding value and replayability.”
    • “The replayability is guaranteed, to get extra items, to explore the maps, to accomplish secondary missions, and so on.”
    • “There is also a lot of replay value in this game because of the alternate endings, side quests, and monster taming.”
    • “However, there is no replayability value, unless you love the game.”
    • “Battlesystem is ok in terms of visuals, but I don't like it much personally (because it's button-masher), very low replay value because of story and hidden leveling stats.”
    • “The first one doesn't offer much of a replay value while this has stuff to grind for and has a Pokémon 'gotta catch 'em all' feel when it comes to your 3rd party member.”
  • atmosphere17 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its beautiful soundtrack, composed by Masashi Hamauzu, which enhances the emotional depth of the narrative and creates a soothing experience. While some players appreciate the vibrant and immersive world design that effectively conveys different time periods, others feel that the shift to a trance-type music detracts from the overall atmosphere compared to its predecessor. Overall, the game is noted for its ability to evoke strong emotions and provide an engaging, atmospheric adventure.

    • “The soundtrack, once again composed by Masashi Hamauzu, is a highlight, with a score that enhances the game's atmosphere and complements the emotional highs and lows of the narrative.”
    • “The level design really has an emphasis on creating the perfect atmosphere for the situation; it's amazing how well they managed to convey each time period of the same location so uniquely.”
    • “There's beautiful orchestral tracks, well-written vocals, and context-appropriate background music that help drive the atmosphere of each and every situation.”
    • “They didn't even know who would be the 3rd party member, so they were like 'f$#k it, we will add Pokémon to this mistake.' Don't get me wrong, the game is an improvement from the last one; it is somewhat less linear than the last, but it has to do with time traveling, and that is the worst offense in making places look new. All the places you go to will look the same but in a different atmosphere because you revisit places in different time zones.”
    • “It just doesn't match the atmosphere of Final Fantasy XIII-2.”
    • “Turn your brain off, don't think too much about what's happening, take in the atmosphere and relax whilst listening to the phenomenally good soundtrack.”
  • monetization4 mentions

    The monetization of the game has been widely criticized as a low-effort cash grab, with reviewers expressing frustration over its perceived lack of quality and the feeling that it prioritizes profit over player experience.

    • “This game was a pure cash grab in true Square Enix form.”
    • “Good god, what a broken mess cash grabbing!”
    • “It doesn't deserve extra for the low-effort cash grab.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

69% average critic score

Buy FINAL FANTASY XIII-2

Play time

7hMedian play time
21hAverage play time
28hMain story
72hCompletionist
3-34hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 31 analyzed playthroughs

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