Is FF XIII-2 Really Necessary?

[Tails 6,690]

The title pretty much says it all. Was FF XIII-2 really necessary for Square-Enix to make? I, for one, don't think it was even necessary to make a sequel to XIII considering how a lot of people hated FF XIII. However, I do admit that the story in XIII is great and the ending was just perfect. But then they had to screw with the ending and make a sequel out of it. Honestly, I don't see why it was even necessary to even make the sequel if XIII's ending was just fine. if anything, I think all Square did was just add more to things in XIII-2 that wasn't even necessary story-wise. I mean XIII's ending was perfect. No cliff-hangers or anything. it was just fine the way is was. But now look, Square made an unnecessary game, with a new unnecessary character (Noel), and made an unecessary ending that left people wanting to know more and demand a XIII-3. Imo, I don;t think Square should have made XIII-2 because now people want XIII-3.Plus, they decided to make alternate endings in the game that don't even connect to the true ending at all. Which is why the plot in XIII-2 is even worse than XIII. A game with multiple endings in it is going to be bad plot-wise. I learned that from playing Shadow the Hedgehog and StarFox Command. And to tell you the truth, I don't like Noel all that much. He feels like a random FF character to me. He feels like another "Silver the Hedgehog" to tell you the truth.

Edited September 6, 2012 by Tails

[darkchaser 788]

i agree FF13 had a good ending. Everything was tied together at the end. They were all happy and nothing left hanging. Also agree on Noel i just did not care for him or serah.

[teh lazy prince Xylek 1,559]

if they ended FF13-2 with it being the last in the FF 13 series i think it would have been necessary

[King Riku 2,063]

Who cares if it was necessary? It's here and you can't change it. Just don't play it and go on as if FFXIII was the end.

[Tails 6,690]

Who cares if it was necessary? It's here and you can't change it. Just don't play it and go on as if FFXIII was the end.

 

I'm just posting my opinion. I have played XIII-2 and I admit it's better than XIII gameplay wise but I say it's unecessary because it just feels like there wasn't much effort put into the story. Just saying.

[dusk 910]

Well, it would have been fine for me if they wouldn't have made XIII-2, but I can't understand why they couldn't end XIII-2 without cliffhanger.. ending was kinda excuse for Lightning's return.. This is just my opnion though.

[King Riku 2,063]

I'm just posting my opinion. I have played XIII-2 and I admit it's better than XIII gameplay wise but I say it's unecessary because it just feels like there wasn't much effort put into the story. Just saying.

 

I thought the actual events involving Lightning were pretty good, and the gameplay was great, but I wish they'd made Noel a bit different. I could never stand Serah in the first place. I agree that the story wasn't all that it could have been.

[Queen Tery 4,591]

Story-wise yes it was unnecessary. However, now that they made 13-2, Lightning Returns is now necessary. lol

[Emo/Yami 37]

XIII-2 didn't seem 100% necessary to me considering how the story ended in XIII (Corrupt government overthrown, everyone except for the two Pulsians are returned to normal and happy) and was continued (Time-Travel madness!), but at least Square tried to satisfy the fans that did want a sequel and fixed many of the issues present in the original. Ironically, because of the sequel that some wanted and some did not's ending, the next game is actually necessary and will probably result in a lot of whining/ happiness from the gaming community.

[AnHeiressofaSOLDIER 358]

To be honest, this game is the perfect example as to why I think if you didn't have loose ends to tie up, don't make a sequel to something. Because then if you do, it just seems really random, unnecessary, and annoying (because you had to screw around with plot points in the original to make it tie-in somehow).

 

That being said, I do like XIII-2. I like the story of Yeul and some of the darker elements to it. Were they to succeed in saving everyone, the party would have doomed Yeul to an eternity of death. I like that they actually put some sacrifice into the game, and made Noel, Serah, and Lightning have to choose between the greater good and Yeul. And, yes, I somewhat like the irony that Serah is fated to die like Yeul (the girl she kind of threw under the bus). Actually, I like the Seeress idea in general. I also, like most people, really like Caius, as he is a truly inspiring and heart-wrenching villain. And of course, anything Lightning does is generally awesome, and she didn't disappoint in this game. It was also nice to learn more about the Maker, etc. And I will just come out and say I am a Noel fan, and was really impressed by his plight.

 

However, I still have major issues with this game. It really ticked me off (mostly the annoying ending), and hopefully XIII-3 will fix it, but meh. My main complaint about this game isn't just that it ruined everyone's happy ending, but that by doing that it got rid of the main thing that made me love FFXIII: Hope. In all of the first game, the characters were pretty much completely screwed, but they never gave up hope that they could save Cocoon and maybe even themselves. They never turned against Cocoon, and I really admired that. In the end, they miraculously succeed in their endeavors, and showed that if you try hard enough, you can accomplish miracles. XIII-2, on the other hand, is completely depressing, and goes on to say there is no hope. Seriously, many of the characters say that way too often. And, once again, though it'll be fixed in XIII-3 (and most likely make all of my complaints in XIII-2 worth it, because I do like this series), it's still really annoying.

 

XIII-2's main problem is that it was really only made to cater to the people who complained about the first one. And, yeah, the gameplay's better, and everything feels more FF-esque, but to do that, they had to get rid of things that made the first game what it was. So basically, to try and please the fans who didn't like it, they had to displease the fans who did like it. And despite this game being all about Serah and "developing" her, I actually liked her better in FFXIII. Maybe because she became a little Mary-Sue like in XIII-2, or maybe because she was a little more shallow, but I actually liked her better in FFXIII. In some ways, she seems like a different character to me, but I don't know why. However, I do like Serah, and there were many moments in XIII-2 when I really did love her (like when she sacrificed herself to save the world). I just wish that the Snow/Serah stuff was executed better.

 

In all honesty, that's XIII-2's problem right there, but then it was also XIII's. It had great ideas and potential, but wasn't executed that well. For instance, I was really hoping for there to be a ton of Snow/Serah and Serah/Lightning flashbacks in this game, but no dice. I had thought that in some ways XIII-2 would be about Serah saving Snow and Light (in contrast to XIII), and while it sort of went there, I feel like XIII-2 didn't do a lot of things it set out to do. I was also sort of off put that Serah always refers to Lightning as, well, Lightning. Don't you think she'd call her Claire every now and then, and make it more personal?

 

Wow. This is really wrong and really sort of contradictory. Umm, let me try to sum up my feelings and end this. I loved FFXIII despite its flaws, and it's actually become my favorite FF. While I do think that XIII-2 was unnecessary, if XIII-3 fixes all that it messed up, then I'll really love the series as a whole. As I said before, I do like XIII-2, but just wish it was done better. (Seriously. We needed to see more of the main cast and not freakin' Mog), I just wish that when Square chose to do XIII-2, they would have done it for the people who loved FFXIII. Not the ones who hated it. If they had, that might have fixed all their problems right there.

Edited September 6, 2012 by DenizenofTwilight

[hatok 6,413]

Of course it's unnecessary. they retconned the ending. It doesn't get much more clear than that

But XIII-2 is so much better that I don't care

[Nora Valkyrie 461]

Why does everyone hate Serah and Noel?

I loved them! I thought it was a rather cool idea for the game. I mean THEY LOOK LIKE A OLDER AMU AND IKUTO! (sorry Shugo Chara fan thought.....)

But I like FF-13 and -2

Now do I wish they would've finished FFV13 then make this? Yes......

But overall I think it was a game worth playing.

[Jilly Shears 2,144]

Short answer: no

 

Long answer: It's funner and less of a straight line for 30 hours like its predecessor, but still no.

[kingdomlanelover 494]

That's true, 13-2 was just a way to give back to the fans gameplay wise, but I did enjoy the story a little too. I do feel like Square could have done more with the story, but at least 13-3 looks promising.