So like XIII I also platinumed XIII-2.
So firstly, I still hate the fact they retconned the ending from XIII just as much as I did when I first played XIII-2 back in 2011 on the PS3.
However, I do really enjoy the introduction of Noel, Caius, Yeul and their whole storyline, so it kind of balances out? But not really because all the characters from XIII are relegated to DLC or short cameos which is infuriating as you had to watch them go through hell in the previous game to being non-existent in this game.
But enough about the characters. The gameplay itself has massive QoL improvements over XIII which make it a lot less infuriating to play, there aren't really any bosses where you can get stun locked to death because of RNG like there was in XIII. The monster mechanic I'm sure is fun but I honestly didn't pay any attention to it until post-game, I think I did the final boss with the first Zwergdroid monster they give you lmao and even post-game I just googled what the best monsters were and levelled the Golden Chocobo, Yashini and a RAV monster.
The music is mainly reused XIII songs however what new music there is in XIII-2 really shines out, Noel and Yeul's themes especially.
The story............. Not that I didn't care about it, it was just lacking something for me, I enjoy the time-mechanics mainly for the fact it negates having to do a NG+ due to the seal gate mechanic. However time travel in the story itself is kinda zzzzz. It really gives me "middle book syndrome" where it's just a bridge between the first and third game and nothing super interesting happens? On a micro level I really enjoy Noel and Serah's interactions but the story on a macro level was just pretty dull, Serah wants to find Lightning, Lightning is off serving Etro, blah blah blah it just wasn't particularly gripping, the only gripping thing was the inter-conflict between Noel and Caius and finding out their backstory etc.
I do however like the impact of the very end cinematic which I won't say what due to spoilers, however the cinematic ending is ruined by a big TO BE CONTUNED (literally).
Post game. This game was a lot more enjoyable to platinum. It was a lot faster I suppose is the main thing. It really felt more of a "mop everything up" post-game whereas XIII's post-game was more of a "Oh I now have access to do all of these things" post-game. If that makes sense? Anyway I vastly preferred the mop everything up kinda post-game.
I suppose TL;DR:
Story IMO is worse than XIII and it retcons XIII's ending which I felt was hard-won by the lovely XIII cast. Gameplay is improved upon compared to XIII with many QoL changes implemented.
I don't remember much about LR when I first played it so we'll see if "middle-book syndrome" that XIII-2 suffers from will pay off or not...
So firstly, I still hate the fact they retconned the ending from XIII just as much as I did when I first played XIII-2 back in 2011 on the PS3.
However, I do really enjoy the introduction of Noel, Caius, Yeul and their whole storyline, so it kind of balances out? But not really because all the characters from XIII are relegated to DLC or short cameos which is infuriating as you had to watch them go through hell in the previous game to being non-existent in this game.
But enough about the characters. The gameplay itself has massive QoL improvements over XIII which make it a lot less infuriating to play, there aren't really any bosses where you can get stun locked to death because of RNG like there was in XIII. The monster mechanic I'm sure is fun but I honestly didn't pay any attention to it until post-game, I think I did the final boss with the first Zwergdroid monster they give you lmao and even post-game I just googled what the best monsters were and levelled the Golden Chocobo, Yashini and a RAV monster.
The music is mainly reused XIII songs however what new music there is in XIII-2 really shines out, Noel and Yeul's themes especially.
The story............. Not that I didn't care about it, it was just lacking something for me, I enjoy the time-mechanics mainly for the fact it negates having to do a NG+ due to the seal gate mechanic. However time travel in the story itself is kinda zzzzz. It really gives me "middle book syndrome" where it's just a bridge between the first and third game and nothing super interesting happens? On a micro level I really enjoy Noel and Serah's interactions but the story on a macro level was just pretty dull, Serah wants to find Lightning, Lightning is off serving Etro, blah blah blah it just wasn't particularly gripping, the only gripping thing was the inter-conflict between Noel and Caius and finding out their backstory etc.
I do however like the impact of the very end cinematic which I won't say what due to spoilers, however the cinematic ending is ruined by a big TO BE CONTUNED (literally).
Post game. This game was a lot more enjoyable to platinum. It was a lot faster I suppose is the main thing. It really felt more of a "mop everything up" post-game whereas XIII's post-game was more of a "Oh I now have access to do all of these things" post-game. If that makes sense? Anyway I vastly preferred the mop everything up kinda post-game.
I suppose TL;DR:
Story IMO is worse than XIII and it retcons XIII's ending which I felt was hard-won by the lovely XIII cast. Gameplay is improved upon compared to XIII with many QoL changes implemented.
I don't remember much about LR when I first played it so we'll see if "middle-book syndrome" that XIII-2 suffers from will pay off or not...