Final Fantasy XIII-2: Interview and Break Down

{sidebar id=1}AbleGamers' own Marco Pasqua had a chance to interview a representative for Final Fantasy XIII-2, the direct sequel to last year's single-player Final Fantasy. He was shown a few scenes from the upcoming RPG as well, and now I'm here to relay his gathered information to you.

Lightning is back with an all new adventure, complete with new characters. Serah also returns from the first game with a Moogle, one of Final Fantasy's staple characters. Serah's Moogle can transform into either a bow or sword, depending on what the situation calls for. Noah, introduced in the E3 demo, is a strong fighter who utilizes two swords in combat.  Many ideas from the first game are set to return here as well, including the Paradigm shifting system. For those unfamiliar, a Paradigm is essentially a job class for the characters that is able to be changed on the fly during battle. Doing so only takes a few button presses and then battle continues as normal. During battle, players can select an "Auto-Battle" feature which will set a series of attacks for the character to use with a single button press. All battles take place in real time, but the Auto-Battle option only requires a single button press from time to time, making the game far from hectic or "button mashy."

Another useful option that is carried over from the first game is the ability to avoid minor battles. Since battles are initiated by physically running into the monster on the map, the player can just as easily run around enemies and avoid fights completely, at the cost of experience. I should note that this may create future instances where your character is not leveled up enough to take on a scripted boss battle, forcing you to "grind" for experience. There were no difficulty options within the first game and they may crop up for the sequel, but I wouldn't bet money on it. You can also get an upper hand at the start of a battle by "jumping" onto the enemy by timing a button press when a circle, coined the "Mog Clock," underneath the monster is green. The problem is that not only is this a timed button press, but the circle also turns yellow when there is no advantage and red when the monster will gain an advantage in the battle. This is bad news for both colorblind gamers and those who are unable to perform quick, timed button presses.

One new addition to the battles themselves is what they are calling "Cinematic Action Sequences" or as we know them, quick-time events. I'll prime this by saying that these are not game-breaking quick-time events, but instead side additions. For example, sometimes during a battle you will be prompted to hit a button, move a joystick, or mash a button in order to take less damage or deal more damage. Failing to do so will not lose the battle, but it will make the battle more difficult.

Overall, Final Fantasy XIII-2 is looking to be less accessible than the original game. Quick-time events and red/yellow/green color dials aren't sounding too good from an accessibility standpoint. The closed captioning seems the same, however, complete with the name of whoever is speaking accompanying the dialogue. We'll see just how everything plays out when the game is released early next year.