So, FFXIII-2

[FanGameRevolver]

They are really fun, I managed to complete them all awhile ago, but since they are random I can see them being enjoyable again and again. Hell, the temporal rifts could have been their own expansive puzzle game really.

They became a lot funner and easier once I realized that you were actually given an adequate amount of time, (and by that I mean how you can Pause and look at the puzzle w/out being timed of course...).

I also ended up deciding to get XIII because of this game. Probably a mistake, but I really enjoyed this sequel alot, and just wanted more of it.

So far...Yeah...I can see why this found some mixed reviews, but its not completely awful...

...I'll get around to playing XIII-1...

...eventually.

...maybe.

Also...

Snow's size/age compared to Serah's makes me feel awkward...

[Serephim]

They are really fun, I managed to complete them all awhile ago, but since they are random I can see them being enjoyable again and again. Hell, the temporal rifts could have been their own expansive puzzle game really.

They became a lot funner and easier once I realized that you were actually given an adequate amount of time, (and by that I mean how you can Pause and look at the puzzle w/out being timed of course...).

I also ended up deciding to get XIII because of this game. Probably a mistake, but I really enjoyed this sequel alot, and just wanted more of it.

So far...Yeah...I can see why this found some mixed reviews, but its not completely awful...

...I'll get around to playing XIII-1...

...eventually.

...maybe.

Also...

Snow's size/age compared to Serah's makes me feel awkward...

I think it bothers everybody, probably because of how young they seem to make Serah look. She was already much smaller than Snow, and in XIII-2 they gave her an outfit that made her look even younger. Serah really got ZERO screen time in XIII-1 before they took away all her clothing and turned her to crystal in like, the first 15 minutes of the game....So i really didn't know what to think when this game came out and she was the MC (when it so obviously should have been Hope or someone, but we all know why that isn't the case now). Of course i dont mind in the slightest now, since i actually enjoyed playing with her way more than Lightning.

XIII is enjoyable just so long as you're enjoying the story. If you aren't enjoying the story, you probably wont be able to finish the game. I say that because i beat the game a long time ago (preordered when it came out) and put over 100 hours into the side content. I tried to replay the game over again. Could not do it for the life of me. Knowing what was coming next gave me nothing to look forward to, mainly because the most interesting thing about FFXIII was finding out what was going to happen to the characters next.

Edit:

I think im gonna go buy the OST to this game. The vocal tracks have crept up and grown onto me something serious.

And i find it hilarious everyone i know refers to the heavy metal boss music as "Devil/Fantasy May Cry", because the OST credits Shootie HG for the song, which is the same guy who did the DMC3 music. Which is really funny, because when i first played DMC3 i hated the fucking music, but eventually it grew on me so heavy that i opened up to the genre. Which is the same way the "Limit Break!" song has ended up.

So technically, it IS devil may cry xD

[FanGameRevolver]

I beat Long Gui, who's hilariously easy once you give serah a bunch of HP+ accesories and buffs. I managed 92,000 damage with noel in the battle as well,...HNgGGH so close...

I took down Raspitil, which was an interesting fight. You dont get any fragments, but he drops a fair bit of Gil and exp (25,000 exp, and roughly 250 worth of gil and scarletites)

But god dammit I had yomi down to only a few health, and then...OH SHIT EVERBODY DIED-ED.

[Serephim]

Yeah its safest to just SEN/SEN/SEN Wicked Whirl. It'll wreck your party like nobody's business, especially if you're on full offensive paradigms.

If you think that's bad, try getting Long Gui to a mere 200k HP left, have him stand up (resistance maxes me to like 1k damage even at 999.99% so you HAVE to drop him again), and kill me with ultima because i didn't heal after he fell lol

[FanGameRevolver]

oh yeah, beat Yomi

...after grinding to the cap,

...and the bitch was still hard.

I fought Long Gui again, Took him down in under 10 minutes, and got the Giant's fist achievement in the process while using odin weapons.

considering I didn't have all the fragments, and there are better weapons (for the time being) I could achieve this much easier in the future.

I snagged a few more achievements as well. But for some reason the xbox gamerpics aren't unlocking for me like they should, anybody else having issues unlocking the extra goodies?

Now I just have these last two fragments and I've got the controller jammed in place for the slot machine fragment currently.

[Serephim]

Whats an Odin weapon :0

I just got Serah's "goddess" weapon, which is the first weapon side from the genji bow to actually have its own model. (Not the one that gives the 6th ATB though.)

Crapload of Magic, neato visual effect on sword impact, badass sound effect on bow shot

[FanGameRevolver]

The odin weapons are supposed to the strongest weapons, only with raw stats, and only under a certain situation.

Spoilered guide to obtaining the weapons and how they work

The strength of the Odin weapons depends on how many fragments you have collected. I'm not sure what the exact equation is to find its strength, Currently there are stronger Post story weapons I could get from the shop, But I have no idea where to find the materials to build them.

I'm also assuming the Odin weapons get a big boost for 100% as well, since they are supposed to be the strongest based on raw stat boosts.

But basically the weapons are only worth collecting if you have a bunch of fragments.

You can get them both as early as the end of chapter 4.

-While handing over the graviton Cores, Hope will mention a weapon he's working on that's powered by the fragments, but he needs a certain material called a "Chaos Crystal" (because of the timing of this, I don't know if you need to close the gate in order to finish this)

-At this point proceed to Serendipity, and buy the chaos crystal. (This awards you with a fragment)

-Return to Academia 4XX and talk to hope, he'll begin working on them, saying they will be done shortly.

-Not sure if something has to be done to be able to pick them up, as they were available immediately for me.

-Just simply talk to somebody at the desk to choose between the two items. It doesn't really matter which one you pick unless you are seriously short on gil.

-Next Return to serendipity, where you will find and buy the other weapon.

If you are having trouble affording a Chaos Crystal and the weapon be sure to sell your Gold nuggets and Scarletites as they are pretty valuable and useless.

I currently have 150+ fragments, and the weapons are both nearing 140 phys and 140 Mag. Aparently they can reach 220 though, but they have no special attributes. The ATB, Stagger, and Odin weapons are all great choices though. Just different pros and cons.

Edit-to get the gamerpics (and I guess PS3 themes too) go to the extras on the title menu from there you can install your unlocked gamerpics.

[FanGameRevolver]

Well I did it. I got them all.

Extended ending was like, 30 seconds and revealed nothing new, or interesting for that matter. Those last two fragments were complete assholes, Really not worth your time.

Currently doing chocobo races for dat last achievement with the hilarious 2x speed fragment skill. (might as well finish what I started I guess).

Edit- Got it

Going to see if I can't 5 star Yomi later as well.

[FanGameRevolver]

I got dat Sazh DLC, and the Lightning and Amodar DLC.

Lightning and Amodar are awesome opponents but I haven't got their crystals yet.

The Sazh DLC seems to just be a collection of minigames.

You need to collect fortune coins, which are awarded for various tasks.

You can search for choco-chicks and return them to choca-boca-lina, you need to chase them or make live-trigger decisions to get them to join you,

There are two different card tables, though I only sat at one of them not realizing this.

One of them is just simply texas hold em Poker. It works, but the AI is a little wonky, and Sazh doesn't always give the best advice to the player.

The other one is a new game I have yet to try, it seems to involve some sort of clock, that the winner of each round gets to control, but im not sure how that all works yet.

[Serephim]

oh that came out already?

So it isn't a new episode or anything? Like, with combat and such?

[FanGameRevolver]

It's out on XBL at least, My PSN buddies can't seem to find any existence of the new DLC.

There's a brief story introduction, more or less to give a reason for everything rather then "Expand" the existing story.

Here let me sum up the introduction and you tell me if it makes any sense at all:

"OH SHIT MAN I GOT PULLED INTO A TIME HOLE, WHERE THE FUCK IS MY SON? Guess I just need to win our future...by playing poker!"

Considering Sazh's stats are "???" I'm going to assume there's no combat. I'll try and finish it off tonight, and see if there's anything more to it.

Yeah...that was it. The conclusion to the chocobocalina sidequest, and the completion of the extra quest were both somewhat interesting, but it didn't really expand much.

Chronoblind is hella-fun though, I'm thinking of making my own clock board, and challenging my friends to a game.

Chronoblind Rules:

Basically its a high card wins type of game.

Players start with five cards each.

There are thirteen spots the clocks arm can land on. Its starts on a random position each round, decided by a draw. Whichever Spot it lands on is the trump number, and automatically wins (except if an ace was played, the ace is the lowest card, unless sombody played the trump number, then ace automatically wins).

If you win the showdown you can move the clock hand the number of spaces as on the winning card. (if you won with a ten you would move it ten spaces for example)

Every time the hands pass XIII, the clock is "charged" meaning everybody adds the same number of coins to their Stacks (of which there are four per player).

If there is a tie, the hand doesn't move, but the clock is charged.

Charging is the only way to add to the pot.

After the clock hands move, you place 1 coin on the number you played. (if you played a ten you would place a coin on the ten space on the clock for example) The card you played is discarded, and replaced with a new card.

When the clock lands on a space with coins on it (before coins are added) you can "Clockout" when you clock out you win all the coins on the clock, and a number of stacks from each player, equal to the number of coins on that spot. (for example, if there are 8 coins on the clock, 2 of which are on the space the clock hand landed on, you would win the 8 coins on the clock, and two stacks from each player.

After somebody clocksout, or busts, The round is over, and play restarts.

Most rounds will go very quickly and end with small pots and only one stack being taken from each player,

but Once you get in control, it plays like the hands of time Temporal rift minigame, due to the fact that combos work very much the same way. You can Charge the clock many times this way, and aim to win multiple stacks. However at any moment a player can throwdown an ace or tie, and break your combo.

[Serephim]

I was originally...well, actually sort of pissed that there's no combat with Sazh.

And then i realized it was 4:00AM and i was still losing money in poker, learning chronobind and playing with chocobo chicks.

I really do hope the future DLC has a bit more...substance to it? But FFXIII-2's minigames are amazing, which is good because the game itself is somewhat short. Chronobind was a neat little breath of fresh air. Now they should add a netplay Poker/Chronobind/Chocobo racing mode.

Its a great addition, the two games they added are almost as addictive as Chocobo Racing.

Well, Sazh was the only other character aside from Snow who could have been Combat eligible, seeing as Fang and Vanille are gone and Hope is a serious plot point.

Hopefully, the next episode will cover Snow and his escapades, including how he apparently found another Fal'Cie to make him an all-powerful Giant Flan launching l'cie again.

[FanGameRevolver]

You never know though, they could always have some events happen before or after Noel and Serah begin their quest.

I mean this is a game about space-time travel after all. Almost anything is possible.

Also. DAMN this is an insane Long Gui battle:

[Serephim]

This surprises me alot lol.

If they can do the next battle, i'll be very, very surprised. People claim they can but i've never seen a video of it.

Like pretty much every FF game, it's probably definitely possible.

[FanGameRevolver]

That Golden Chocobo pwns holy crap.

THat Sentinel Is Pretty OP with its Healing-buffing link, I used it for most of the game.

And I don't know man, how can a low level party survive the Gigaflares and Megaflares. I just dont see it. That final boss can hit for some 3K and that attack hits everyone...

...Of course...You could always beat him before he uses the attack...

[ila]

Chrono Bind is amazing. I want to play it more.

[Flaria Icaria]

You guys made me wants to buy the game when the money comes in or leftover if I can. D: Curses. I haven't played FF games in a long time, only FF7 or 8 and 10, I believe.

[Serephim]

That Golden Chocobo pwns holy crap.

THat Sentinel Is Pretty OP with its Healing-buffing link, I used it for most of the game.

And I don't know man, how can a low level party survive the Gigaflares and Megaflares. I just dont see it. That final boss can hit for some 3K and that attack hits everyone...

...Of course...You could always beat him before he uses the attack...

You cant.

Apparently, there's a feral link that atually can cast Auto-life on you. It's required for a few things in an NCU apparently.

[Serephim]

Did anyone get the most recent DLC battle?

This bitch is annoying as hell. I really commend square for making bosses that test more than just your stats.

It's a shame XIII was so lazy and killed her off before you got your chance to fight her on your own. But i guess if she was anything like she was on this one, she'd be literally impossible to defeat until the end of the game...but i think we all would have preferred they replaced one of those gay barfagulous bosses with Jihl. After the first one, the rest just got old.

[FanGameRevolver]

I haven't. I actually borrowed my copy away.

And yes, Barthandalus was such an uninteresting villain. Caius is fucking great antagonist on the other hand.

In the meantime I finished the original XIII, which didn't take nearly as long as everybody said it would. After completing and reading through the Datalog(namely the Analects), I gotta say, I'm surprised and impressed at all the hidden bits that hint at the sequel.

There very small bits, but they are are very critical.

Goddess Etro is mentioned several times as "her providence" and her gifts are briefly touched upon.

The doorway is mentioned.

Valhalla is mentioned as "the beyond".

Yuel is mentioned.

Even The ending scene of XIII-2 is described almost in a sort of vague yet detailed Datalogue bit, that is unlocked upon completing every mark hidden in the faultwarrens along with the Yomi-clone in that game.

Here is Game text I'm discussing from XIII to save you effort:

The goddess[Etro] pitied mortals, destined as they were to die, and so She deigned to intervene in the hour of their greatest peril. She averted cataclysm that was to be, and put to rest the ones who would have robbed so many of what time fate had ordained.

-Sermons of the Seeress Padra Nsu-Yeul.

This next one is the most interesting and I'm putting it in spoiler tags because it does potentially contain spoilers, and I'll be relating it to events in XIII-2, and translating portions of it with the games mythology and events so its not as fucking vague. And yes. This is surprisingly from XIII. NOT XIII-2.

Children of Hallowed Pulse scour earth, searching substance for the Door.

Those of Fell Lindzei harvest souls, combing ether for the same. So have I seen.

[Pulse L'Cie are tasked to find the doorway of souls, those souls of the fallen Cocoon, serve the same purpose.]

The Door, once shut, was locked away, with despair its secret key; sacrifice, the one hope of seeing it unsealed.

[The Doorway to Vahalla is shut, the only way to open is a mass sacrifice]

When the twilight of the gods at last descends upon this world, what emerges from the unseeable expanse [Valhalla] beyond that Door will be but music, and that devoid of words: the lamentations of the Goddess Etro, as She sobs Her song of grief.

-- Author unknown [Most likely Yuel]

They say the fal'Cie made the Arks in preparation for the battle against the menace that lurks beyond. Where is this 'beyond' of which they speak? Do they mean Cocoon, and the demons that dwell within? If so, they are mistaken. The legends of the Arks date far before that sphere was even crafted, whispers even hint at Arks displaced around the time of cocoons creation, spirited away to be hidden in its shell.

What, then, is the 'menace'? What distant threat confronts us, and to what purpose? The gods vanished from this place. Are they now residents of the 'beyond'?

on the nature of Fal'Cie

It is very possible that the menace beyond is the forces of chaos.

One of the crucial points in Xiii, is the discovery of the thirteenth ark. Furthering the fact that the Arks are here, and they tend to displace towards areas with people, almost as if to protect them from the menace.

Diving even deeper into the XIII story we find that The Mythology states the The Creator of The Creator, (Mwynn) had come to Valhalla, but was eventually Killed by the "Chaos."

The Chaos was created in Valhalla due to the creation of of Fal'Cie in the real or "Visible world."

"Bhunivelze"(The Creator mentioned in XIII and the son of Mwynn) killed Mwynn but later believed that Mwynn cursed the world so that it would die. In order to search for a way to stop the end of the world, Fal'Cie Lindzei, Fal'Cie Pulse, and Fal'Cie Etro, were created by Bhunivelze (thus creating chaos).

Realizing that Etro resembled Mwynn, Etro was given no powers, Etro killed herself becoming the Goddess Etro, and she began to empathize with and empower humans in the visible world from Valhalla, giving them hearts powered by chaos. And stepping in to create miracles.

Lindzei and Pulse were tasked with opening the gate to Valhalla in order to find a way to save the world. To this end, Lindzei created Cocoon. It would harvest enough human souls so that when it fell, it would open the gate to Valhalla.

Lindzei, Pulse and Bhunivelze have since vanished. Though its stated that Bhunivelze would sleep until the end of time. Something that has somehow been reached.

Holy fuck am I curious as to how the end of the XIII series is going to play out now.

[Serephim]

FFXIII-2's most amazing aspect storywise to me was how amazingly shameless the entire Etro Goddess plotpoint was sneaked into the game. It WAS pretty obvious that they were thinking of it, but seeing as XIII's movie-like linearity gave no time to micromanaging its story details like the others, it fell on deaf ears. I never paid any attention to that stuff because i did not think it was in any way important at all who Yuel or Etro was.

The only, and i do mean ONLY thing i remember from XIII that even slightly hints at Etro's existence was the revealing of the reason behind Orphan wanting to suicide. It was always made obvious that the Cocoon Fal'cie were not the only gods on the planet, but Etro's existence was only slightly hinted at (indirectly) by the mention of a greater god's power who would intervene should too many people die at once.

[Serephim]

oh fuck oh fuck

oh fuck

[DimensionWarped]

Ok, NOW I need to get this game. Ultros and Chupon? Ridiculous.

[Serephim]

It's DLC, just so you know.

But i haven't gotten a DLC battle yet that wasn't interesting. I expected to blow through Nabaat. Didn't happen.

The only issue with XIII-2 right now is that the only real challenges i can face right now ARE the DLC battles. You can obtain their crystals after battle, but all it does is make endgame even more easy than it already is for me.

The first REAL storymode DLC needs to vastly increase the amount of marks and the level cap and stuff. Square DID say the Lightning DLC was doing something to the battle system. Whatever that means.

[ila]

So, you guys been keeping up on the DLC battles lately? I still haven't beat Ultros yet, and the same goes with Pupu and Gilgamesh.

Gilgamesh

He starts out as a typical single target fight where he rolls around and uses guns, but like most battles after you beat the initial segment he suddenly gets a massive strength boost and pulls out his swords. Also at the end of his stagger period he restores all 10 million of his HP. I think the trick is to inflict wound damage on him during his stagger. Haven't tried yet though.

Pupu

Pupu is my favorite fight so far. The whole time you're trying to mitigate damage while knocking down this damn UFO that keeps summoning Pupu to fight you. The pupu hit hard, especially when they decide to synchronize their magic. If you do manage to take down the UFO, it spits out a full party of Pupu and crashes on your party causing lots of damage. Then the pupu start casting Meteor. I have yet to beat this one either.