Final Fantasy is a legendary video game series and you can expect that every game in the franchise will turn out to be very good. From all of the (main, aka numbered) games that I’ve played, I can say that they’re all Great. Not just good or very good, but great! Final Fantasy XIII was a solid game and I dare say that it may even beat FFVII. Could the sequel be as good, since Lightning is no longer the main character?

Well, the game starts off with one of the greatest cutscenes of all time! I dare say that it Is the greatest cutscene of all time. Lightning and Caius have an epic (Quicktime) battle where buildings are being destroyed and Valhalla is on the brink of ruin. Not only was I thrilled to see a really cool villain, (The first major threat since Sephiroth) but the series was definitely getting more climatic. This was the perfect way to start off the game and you got to play as Lightning. who’s far superior to Serah

How did Lightning become a warrior of Valhalla? Well, since she made the ultimate sacrifice in FFXIII, it makes sense that Etro would want her to be the leader. Considering how powerful Caius and his army of monsters are, it’s good that Lightning is there. It’s also nice to see the monsters from the first game, take on Caius’s army. It was definitely intense. Interrupting this battle is Noel, who falls from the sky. After seeing how useless he was in the fight, Lightning just ditches him in a portal and proceeds to fight. Unfortunately, the plot continues from Noel’s point of view.

This Is a Final Fantasy game, so I’m not going to take the time to explain everything. The plot would take many paragraphs and it’s something that you should experience firsthand. That being said, I will talk a little more about the plot since that was all just the (Epic) protloge.

After her resurrection from FFXIII, Serah is now at a peaceful village with some minor characters from the first game. She’s now a teacher and she works to make the world a better place. Lightning’s Moogle can become a Bow and Arrow which Serah uses to defend herself. The world is pretty crazy and aliens appear out of nowhere. It would seem as if the world was ending! Noel comes to help, but he just adds more questions to the mix.

Serah and Noel must travel across time and space so that they can undo the evils that Caius has wrought. The time stream is very dilluted and things are happening that shouldn’t have. Along the way Hope decides to go to sleep for 500 years in a time travel test. I just figured that I’d throw that out there since the original FFXIII characters don’t really do anything in this game. They travel to many worlds and see futures as they may have been. They also get to travel to the past, the only weird part is…Lightning is gone! She’s not in the past anymore and she’s not in any of the futures. Caius must have done something!

The climax of the game is definitely awesome and is one of the best in Video Game History! Caius makes for a perfect villain and he basically embodies darkness itself. Plus, if he has truly destroyed Lightning…can anyone defeat him? Odin…..let’s just say that he went up against the wrong Bahamut!

The game only took around 21 hours, but it will feel like a lot more. That’s definitely in a good way and you experience a lot of plot. Throughout the game you will have traveled to dozens of planets and I recommend trying out the Chocobo races. There are many weapons to get and once you have the Ultima, you’ll be good to go. Choosing what battle formations to use can be a critical part of the game.

The gameplay is pretty good and basically plays out like the first game. This time you only have two humans at a time, but you get a monster to help out as well. The leveling up system is definitely intense and you can get up to level 600! I got Serah and Noel to around level 305 before I completed the game. Getting level ups isn’t very hard so you won’t need to worry about that. There are fragments to be found throughout the game and they do pay off. You can buy items for a lower cost and get more EXP per battle. Who wouldn’t want to get those fragments!?

There is a Lot to do in this game once you complete it, so you may find yourself playing this game for many hours once you have finished it. It sounds like a lot of fun and once I’ve finished most of the games in my backlog, I may go back to finish it all. The game’s a lot of fun and the gameplay never gets old, so why not right?

The music in this game is also very good. The theme against the minions is a cool rock song for some of the battles and the climax is filled with a lot of good songs. The last song is pretty great because it’s very emotional and fits the ending. The ending is also a spectacular ending and one that should be put in the record books. Not only does one of the two main heroes die, but there’s an after credits scene. Let’s just say that one of the characters didn’t have a change of heart!

I’m psyched for the sequel because there’s a lot of potential. The remaining hero seems to have turned into a villain and it may be time for Lightning to become the hero once again. The next game is called “Lightning Returns” after all! Serah and Noel were decent heroes, but I am definitely ready for a new lead. Aside from Lightning, Noel, and Caius, the rest of the cast wasn’t extremely interesting. The monsters were epic, but none of the human characters were really cool. I don’t really mind since they can be ignored for most of the game.

I should also mention the graphics. I doubt this will surprise anyone, but the graphics are some of the best that I’ve ever seen in a game. Imagine the Advent Chidren film, but in 2013 and set in an apocalyptic time. The intro reminded me of Cloud’s fight against Sephiroth and it was definitely similar. Another hero against a hero who turned into a villain. There are definitely a lot of parallels in the games.

I highly recommend getting this game. It’s one of the best games I’ve played and it has passed Kingdom Hearts II for my favorite RPG of all time. This is one game that you definitely will not want to miss. You don’t even need to get the original game first since this one works as a stand alone, but you will appreciate the cameos more if you do get the first one. This game definitely increases the danger and epicness of the game and is the best Final Fantasy game to date. I’m not sure if the final game in the trilogy can possibly top this one, but it is Final Fantasy, so I won’t deny that it has a chance. When a game has the best intro, one of the best endings, and possibly the greatest after credits scene, how can you not buy it!?

Overall 9/10