While it’s hard to draw a bead on whether or not Final Fantasy XIII-2 will be a significant upgrade from its predecessor, the visuals continue to impress. Square-Enix has released three new images from the game showing off Hope with a Moogle (has anyone ever been curious about the relation between Moogles and Harry Potter‘s Muggles?), some flashy set decor in Academia and a slot machine action in the Casino.
Final Fantasy XIII-2 will add on more quicktime events and give gamers live triggers, which present four choices for more additional information.
Although the story remains somewhat linear, how you choose to defeat villains like Atlas (by using a special “device” or fighting him head on) will effect certain aspects of the game. It’s all very unclear at this point even after several previews. However, Square-Enix has stated that the game will “open up” by Chapter 2 and players will have “two path options” by Chapter 3. NPC soldiers will also have side missions so that you can gain additional XP.
The real new addition to the game is that gamers can collect up to 150 monsters to be used in their battle party. It’s kind of Final Fantasy with Pokemon “gotta catch ‘em all” fever. Gamers can name monsters and customize their monsters with items or accessories. If you want to outfit your monster with a funky watermelon hat, you can.
There are also puzzle sections, where gamers must walk along platforms to collect crystals. When you do, the platform that you just walked over will disintegrate. So the lack of backtracking does present some modest difficulty if you choose the wrong path.
One more modification is the weather effects system. Weather is more closely tied to key moments in the story. So that sandstorms and rain will effect gameplay.
Final Fantasy XIII-2 will be available on PS3 and Xbox 360 in early 2012. It is expected to launch on Jan 31.
Preorder Final Fantasy XIII-2 on PS3:
Preorder Final Fantasy XIII-2 on Xbox 360: