Final Fantasy XIII-2 demo

A playable demo of Final Fantasy XIII-2 was released on PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade on January 10, 2012 in North America and on January 11, 2012 in Europe. The demo is free to download and requires 1.778 GB of free space for the PlayStation 3, and 1.29 GB for Xbox 360.

The demo is similar to the one that was available to play at certain gaming conventions, but features more content from the final game.

Story
Serah Farron, Mog, and Noel Kreiss arrive in the Bresha Ruins in -005 AF- after departing from New Bodhum in -003 AF-. Serah introduces Noel to Cocoon when a giant arm emerges from a nearby rift and attacks. Noel protects Serah from the towering opponent, and they take it down together. After battle, PSICOM airships arrive and slay the beast for good.

Serah, Mog, and Noel are tasked by Alyssa Zaidelle, Academy employee, with defeating Atlas, who appeared in the ruins. Along the way, the party defeats a Cait Sith and Zwerg Sandroid, which they recruit to their party, and Mog speaks for the very first time, telling them about the Paradigm Pack system. Later, Alyssa informs the party that a device which appeared alongside Atlas has been detected. The party decides to use it. Near the device, Atlas absorbs them into a Temporal Rift, within which they resolve an anomaly to escape. The party uses the mysterious device to weaken Atlas and slay it by destroying the crystal atop its head. Then, the Bresha Ruins return to their former glory.

Gameplay
The demo starts off with a boss fight against Paradox Alpha. Noel is the default party leader, and the player has the option to view a tutorial on the Paradigm shift system at the start of the battle. The default Paradigm deck for the fight is Double Trouble-X (COM, COM), Slash & Burn (RAV, COM), War & Peace (COM, MED), and Twin Shields (SEN, SEN), Double Trouble-X serving as the starting Paradigm.

After Noel and Serah defeat Paradox Alpha by depleting its HP and successfully executing the required Cinematic Actions, gameplay automatically resumes in the Bresha Ruins -005 AF- Excavation Site, where Noel is the default party leader. If the player checks the main menu at this point, Noel is shown at level 07, and Serah is at level 06. The player can also check the main menu's other features at any time from this point onward.

The player has complete freedom within this area and time, and as such may talk to non-player characters, such as Chocolina, and collect treasure from the floating treasure spheres dotting the map. Shortly after leaving the area, a battle ensues which which unlocks the Monsters section of the menu and the Paradigm Pack, the ability to select which monsters will aid Serah and Noel in battle.

Three Sidequests are available in the demo. One pits the party against a Cie'th found in the ruins, one requires the party to find two missing capsules, and one, available only after a certain point, makes use of Mog's treasure hunting skills to retrieve a set of notes from a paradox.

An example of the Live Trigger event takes place midway through the demo, allowing the player to choose to take advice from other characters or make their own decision. Some time after this, depending on the player's decision, the party may get trapped in a paradox and must solve the puzzle, involving crystals that must be collected and floor tiles that disappear after stepping on them, in order to escape and resolve the paradox.

The demo ends with a battle against Atlas, which is incredibly difficult to win if the player does not first weaken him. As with the initial boss battle of the demo, Cinematic Actions are required in order to defeat Atlas, ending the demo.

Excavation Site

 * Paradox Alpha (Boss)

Echoes of the Past

 * Atlas (Boss)
 * Cait Sith, Zwerg Scandroid
 * Cait Sith x2
 * Cait Sith,Uridimmu x2
 * Hoplite
 * Hoplite x3
 * Meonekton, Nekton x2
 * Nekton x3
 * Nekton x4
 * Garchimacera x2, Uridimmu
 * Garchimacera x3
 * Garchimacera x4
 * Gremlin x3
 * Pulsework Soldier
 * Pulsework Soldier, Cait Sith x2
 * Pulsework Knight
 * Pulsework Knight, Cait Sith x2
 * Dendrobium, Gremlin x2
 * Dendrobium
 * Dendrobium, Uridimmu

Trailer
An exclusive trailer for Final Fantasy XIII-2 is unlocked by finishing the demo and plays automatically after the player defeats Atlas and returns the Bresha Ruins to their former glory. It begins with Lightning fighting Chaos Bahamut atop Odin in Valhalla, and it then proceeds to show her facing off against her fated rival, Caius Ballad. Never-before-seen gameplay footage of Lightning fighting Chaos Bahamut on her own version of the Eidolon plays, and various gameplay clips are shown, such as exploration of the Bresha Ruins, the battle against Paradox Alpha, using the Historia Crux, a battle against a Chocobo, Chocobo racing, Serah solving an anomaly in a Temporal Rift, a battle against Zenobia, Feral Links Ultimate Grudge and Spinning Step, a battle against Twilight Odin, and Serah using her Full ATB Skill, Ultima Arrow. Another scene from the fight between Lightning and Caius is depicted, and the game's logo appears on the screen as the two leap at each other and a Cinematic Action begins. Omega then makes a brief appearance, and the game's North American and European release dates appear on the screen immediately afterwards, concluding the trailer.