This game was the perfect "I have 20 minutes before work let me sit down and chill until I need to leave" game.

Hence why it took me a month to slowly play through.

It was thoroughly enjoyable, both in the relaxed gameplay and in the story it told.

A perfect game for when you just want something to not have to think very hard about and relax with!

This game was the perfect "I'm away from my PC for a weekend, let me play something on my Switch" game.

The puzzles were unique, and by the end sufficiently challenging in how to solve them.

The perfect game for if you've only got a few hours and want to play something from start to finish.

I got to the point where I was using a guide to get the extra endings that I'd not yet achieved through my normal gameplay.

I will definitely come back and finish the endings that I've not yet achieved but just not at this time, I liked playing through multiple times to see what endings I could get myself but when I had to start using a guide it kinda killed it for me I guess, for now. This game to me was really chill and I really enjoyed the concept so I will definitely be back... I think ironically I just had a bit too much of this game all at once which led me to dropping it.

I got quite far into Disgaea, I believe when I last played I'd just completed chapter 10.

I thoroughly enjoyed the story and the characters.

I also really enjoyed creating my mage army that goes "Eh-heh!" whenever they cast spells (I can still hear it exactly even though I've not played in over 2 months)

There's no specific reason for me shelving this title, rather real life got in the way and now it's been over 2 months since I last played and would rather move onto other games for a while but I'm sure I will eventually come back to this one to either finish it off or to start again.

Excited to come back to this title one day as I bought all the Disgaea games in a bundle and I'm aware that the QoL improves with each one which I'm excited to experience.

THIS GAME IS THE COMFIEST GAME OF ALL TIME AHHHHH

It was so cute and sweet! The soundtrack was an absolute standout, even if you don't play this game I recommend listening to soundtrack on youtube/spotify.

The gameplay is super comfy and chill, you just fly around small islands, will definitely be added to my games I just wanna chill with in the evening list.

The story was really enjoyable and the characters especially so. I personally didn't find any of the dialogue cringe or unnatural.

The only downside is the combat isn't great, it's playable but it's not great. But also I appreciate that this game is more about having a fun time than having amazing combat.

Will most definitely play again!

Much like when I first played Lightning Returns, the time mechanic just does not vibe with me. I know realistically they give you more than enough time and that NG+ carries enough stuff over that the time mechanic becomes such a non-issue but I don't play games to feel rushed lmao.

Also I found all the characters just ????????? nothing like the characters when we first met them back in the first or even second game. They seemed like watered down versions of themselves and just so vague?

I really like the environments, especially the Dead Dunes and the whole "people haven't aged in 500 years so children have been children for 500 years but also people can't die" was a really cool concept.

Fang made a comment like "fighting together again just like the old times!" and it was just like the devs were worried to put any references in from the first game because it was 3 years before this one, I would have like something more specific like "haha hey remember when we were being hunted through Palumpolum?"

I dunno, it just didn't vibe with me, much like the first time I played it so for now I will move onto other games, maybe in the future when I can be bothered to download the mod that removes the time mechanic I'll replay it.

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, as the saying goes, typically the first Final Fantasy game you play will end up as your all-time favourite. For me that is no exception, I first played FFXIII when it released on PS3 back in 2010, so replaying it over a decade later on PC was a really fun and nostalgic experience, I even went so far as to platinum the game, something which I never did on the PS3 version.

Does this game have the best battle system or the best story? No at all. Although I love the paradigm system, it feels very rudimentary even when you learn that every second paradigm switch your characters will get a full ATB gauge, in fact, once you know about ATB cancel the system becomes even more rudimentary.

As for the story, it's so very bare-bones but I love it dearly despite that, or perhaps, because of that. There's just something about this cast of characters forced into this situation in which they have no choice but to battle it out until the very end that tugs on my heart strings, especially Hope, I dunno, I just feel for the poor kid.

I am also a staunch Vanille-supporter because I was 15 when I first played this game and I very much related to her "let's just run away" attitude lmao.

ANYWAY as for the platinum, is it worth getting? Not unless you have a second monitor to watch about 5 days worth of stuff on while you grind out C'eith missions, gil, materials for upgrades etc. Honestly the only reason I got the platinum was because I remember how badly 15 year old me wanted it, so I just did it to honour my past self.

In conclusion, I am whole-heartedly aware that my love for this game comes from the fact it is my first FF game and therefore is extremely nostalgic for me coupled with the fact that 15 year old me empathised with both Hope and Vanille and at the time I did thoroughly enjoy the story. If you played literally any FF game before XIII it will fall extremely short of the mark however, to me, it will always be my favourite.

I bought this game when it was 50% off on the New Year sale on PS Store.

I'm glad I bought it at half price but it still sadly felt too expensive for the experience I got.

Since I am mostly a story-driven gamer, this one fell flat. All the characters are just two-dimensional and none of them feel like they have any real drive.

The only saving grace is that once you get access to more companions and spells the gameplay is rather enjoyable.

Honestly after finishing one of the endings I have zero desire to go and play through what the other endings are just because I have 0 attachments to these characters or this story which is a real shame.

So I think I will just call it there for this game.

Overall, I wanted to really like this game, however, it is the most mid-tier game I have ever played and would only recommend you play it if you find it on sale for £20 or less and that would be the combat alone.

Giving this game 3 stars as the story (imo) was pretty weak and that's what carried this series for the past 2 games.

The 3 stars are mainly for the character interactions and how fun I find the combat.

I don't have much to say unfortunately, I'm excited to move onto the Crossbell and Cold Steel games to see how they evolve the series!

I would say overall you could probably skip this game and read a summery and move straight on from Trails Second to the Crossbell games.

Absolutely loved this game.

The characters and their "forced together because we're in the same situation" hit me the same as in XC1.

The combat was the most engaging yet, taking elements from both XC1 and XC2.

The story I was enthralled with and I loved seeing how it connected to the previous games.

This is the first game where I've finished and then immediately wanted to replay it, however I think I will hold off until all the DLC has released and then play it all again through.

A must play, especially if you've played either XC1 or XC2.

The environments and music, like the previous two games, were outstanding and breath-taking.

This DLC was 1000x better than the base game.

The improved combat feels so much more fluid, coupled with the more stream-lined UI made this experience the ultimate XC2 experience. It makes the base game look slow and clunky in comparison.

The side quests felt as though they had a lot more meat on their bones and the story gave me more emotional investment than the base game.

I had such a wonderful experience with the DLC and it's a shame that some of the QoL changes weren't added to the base game such as the collectables telling you what you will get from collecting at that spot.

A must-play if you even remotely enjoyed the XC2 base game.

I feel like this game fell slightly short of XC1 DE. The cast of characters, although loveable (especially Zeke and Pandoria, they stole the show for me) did not hit me quite as hard as the semi 'found family' trope with the cast of XC1. This might just be due to the slightly less serious nature of the characters and story, though.

The environments have a lot more depth to them in exploration than those of XC1, however I do feel like XC1 still wins in the pure design of the areas.

The music, again, is phenomenal and I never got bored of a piece.

The story... Even though I only finished the game yesterday, if you asked me to tell you what the story was about I would only be able to give you vague "uhh they wanted to go to Elysium... Malos bad...." I just felt that there wasn't much substance there which was a little bit of a let-down coming off of the back of XC1. However, the way the story slowly weaves its way to connect to XC1 is wonderful and I'm very excited to play through the Golden Country DLC next and then onto XC3!

Also, blades are a cool idea but the gacha mechanic is very zzzzzzzzz, at least have a pity system.