Square Enix has returned with another Final Fantasy game. In Final Fantasy XIII-2 the protagonists, Noel and Serah, are in search for the missing Lightning, protagonist of Final Fantasy XIII.

The game play for Final Fantasy XIII-2 remains relatively the same as Final Fantasy XIII. Final Fantasy XIII-2 utilizes a similar Active Time Battle and Paradigm Shift system found in Final Fantasy XIII. However the way the party encounters monsters has changed. When the player runs towards a monster, battle no longer begins immediately. Instead, a timer starts to count down. If the player attacks the monster fast enough, the player will be given a pre-emptive attack at the start of the battle. Another new addition to Final Fantasy XIII-2’s game play is the inclusion of Quick Time Events within a battle. In the demo, midway through the fight against Atlus, Noel would jump up towards the giant’s arm and the game would initiate a Quick Time Event where the player is prompted to press a button on the controller. If the player is successful in pressing the prompted button, Noel would deal heavy damage on Atlus. During the demo, the Quick Time Events seemed reminiscent to my experience playing Resident Evil 4. If the player does not press the correct button prompts fast enough, the player would be rewarded with a Game Over screen. Fortunately, I was able to press the Quick Time Event buttons fast enough to avoid potential disaster.

Moogles make a larger appearance in Final Fantasy XIII-2 than they did in the prequel. In the demo, a moogle is seen following Serah. At times, the moogle would speak its thoughts and if the player desires they can ask the moogle for its opinion on the situation. The moogle has the ability to transform into a weapon for Serah when they encounter a monster. Additionally, the moogle has the ability to seek out treasure by forming a purple clock-like radius when prompted by the player. The introduction of a cartoonish moogle in Final Fantasy XIII-2 seemed a bit out of place in the game’s vivid environment. However one can easily argue that a realistic looking moogle would be plain scary.