I feel like the Final Fantasy series has lost a lot of it's power with the fans over the past few years. To many, XIII was a major disappointment and after all the criticism it has received, Square Enix for the second time in FF history, has decided to release a sequel to it's numbered series. With a lot on the line coming into this game, I am proud to say, that Final Fantasy is still proving why it is one of the biggest franchises in gaming.

Concept

FF XIII-2 was pretty much created to give all the fans the proper XIII. Improving on their amazing battle system with little tweaks that feel as if they should have always been their and with that said, it will be very hard to go back to XIII. But besides gameplay-wise, they truly listened to the fans on this one. They created a non-linear game that honestly feels at sometimes overwhelming with content. You are now able to chose where you want to go in the world through the time gates that can change the past, present and future, which create paradoxes, changing the story and endings. Finding everything in the game can go way past it's regular 25 hour story as you go back and find all the different paradoxes. That also brings me to the story, which many complain about and let me tell you, it really is not bad. Yes, the story goes all over the place doing absolutely everything it can to confuse the player with paradoxes and how changing the future also changes the past. Paradoxes are the excuse to do anything they desire with this story which at sometimes is pretty funny, but playing through this, they may have failed with the time travel, but I felt the character development was excellent. As the game goes on, Learning about the main characters, Serah and Noel, I honestly felt for them. SQE really gave them a personality and made them living people which most games over look now. The people you meet in this game all have personalities that you will remember. The games character development is the drive to continue and that is rare nowadays!

Graphics

The graphics are phenomenal! I have to say, the CG cutscenes are absolutely beautiful and pushed the limit of any computer animation I have seen. As sad as it is that they cut down on them this time around, the in game engine is just as gorgeous, which is awesome due to the many cutscenes their are in this game. The game looks real gorgeous with a lot of action occurring on the screen when in battles. A little frame rate drops here and their, but nothing game ruining and hardly noticeable. With gorgeous environments and detailed character models, this is one of the prettiest games released this generation, and it's using the engine from XIII from 2009!

Sound

This is where the FF series stands out from others. This game decided to go with a variety of different songs, from pop to hardcore, it's very strange to see this all put into a game like this, but what's even stranger is that it all works! It feels like every song was built around the environments and monsters you encounter. It all just works, but what really makes the music stand out is the instrumental work. Beautiful as always. Not just the music, but the voice acting is surprisingly not something your gonna wanna cut your ears off to. Noel and Serah were handled perfectly, including the rest of the bunch.... even Hope! Who is not a little kid anymore rambling on! 

Gameplay

This right here is the best part of the whole game and is now a standard to JRPG's. The battle system is perfect! Keeping JRPG elements, but increasing the intensity and making it a fast paced battle, adding an action feel with a great sense of reward when you create massive damaging moves. The CP leveling up system works well, giving it a clean and organized feel. Same goes to the rest of the game. It just feels very fresh and user friendly which is great for newcomers. Adding a pokemon type monster collecting feature to this game, where you can level up and use monsters you obtain by playing through battles gives another reason to continue playing, as it becomes fun to level up your monsters and collect them all. Some of the best gameplay and battle system out there are all packed in this title.

Overall, I have to say their is so much to talk about with this game as I covered just the basics. It's such a massive and ambitious title with so much to do and explore. Going back to find all of the fragments with many side quests to complete and endings to find, this is a title that your going to be playing for a long time. If you were skeptical about this sequel, let me reassure you it would be your best interest to pick this up immediately. 2012 is just starting and we have found a contender for Game of the Year!

Concept 10

Graphics 10

Sound 10

Gameplay 10