Final Fantasy XIII-2

Ready to save the world?  Again?  If you’re a diehard fan, you’ve already proven yourself against Exdeath, Kefka, Sephiroth, Ultimecia, Kuja, Sin, Seymour, and plenty of other Final Fantasy antagonists.  Last month, we brought you details on the next highly anticipated game in the series – XIII-2 – and here we are, already at the week of its release in North America and Europe.Reviews have been filtering in with everyone taking a stand one way or the other – whether XIII-2 is a worthy sequel to XIII.  Many articles and blogs cite the ways in which XIII-2 made improvements upon its predecessor, particularly with more freedom, side quests, and mini-games.  The negativity of fans regarding a lack of such freedom in XIII led Square Enix to showcase traditional RPG aspects (like mini-games) in XIII-2’s trailers in order to regain the confidence of Final Fantasy fans who felt jipped on the last installment of the series.Although XIII-2 feels more like an actual Final Fantasy game due to the elimination of complete linearity, the storytelling aspect is still harshly criticized.  One review states, “Storytelling, sadly, remains the one place where ‘XIII-2’ stumbles as much as (if not more than) ‘XIII’.”  Another article says, “You get the distinct feeling that Square Enix has lost its way with the franchise, especially in the story telling department.  The game is littered with moments throughout that just don’t add up.”  For those of you who started playing the Final Fantasy series with newer installments in the series, it may be difficult to understand why fans are such tough critics of the story.  The story is what makes a Final Fantasy game.  Back when graphics equaled highly pixilated images, it was the story that drove you forward, compelling you to play for 40+ hours.  Of course gameplay and side quests were entertaining, but RPG’s are revered for their storytelling abilities.