Final Fantasy XIII-2

Final Fantasy XIII-2 is the direct sequel to Final Fantasy XIII, a part of the Fabula Nova Crystallis: Final Fantasy series. It was developed by Square Enix and. The game takes place three years after the events of Final Fantasy XIII, and depicts the story of Serah Farron's journey across time and space to prevent the end of the world while searching for her missing sister, Lightning.

Gameplay
Final Fantasy XIII-2 retains the Command Synergy Battle and Paradigm Shift systems from its predecessor and the battle system is simply a more evolved form of Final Fantasy XIII's battle system. One new gameplay element, called the Mog Clock, has been added, where the player must attack monsters on the field before the time is up to get the upper hand in the ensuing battle. When the player attacks a monster, the screen lights up and the scene switches to a battlefield, marking the start of a battle. Non-player characters (such as the remnant PSICOM operatives) will react to the monsters that appear in the field and weaken them before a fight. Another new feature is the Paradigm Tune, which enables the player to customize how the AI-controlled party members use their abilities in battle. Though the player still controls one out of a three-member party, they will be able to initiate the Change Leader option to switch the party member they control during battle. The defeat of the human characters in the party results in a game over.

Characters will grow via a revamped Crystarium System, and they will have levels unlike the previous game. These levels are gained by moving through the Crystarium. Each character's Crystarium is no longer in the form of tiers, but now takes the shape of their respective weapon, and includes all possible Paradigm Roles on a singular Crystarium, similar to the Sphere Grid from Final Fantasy X. As a player advances through the Crystarium, they may choose which Paradigm Role to level up and gain bonus stat increases alongside level increases. Characters will also learn different attacks at certain levels throughout their Paradigm Role growth. Unlike Final Fantasy XIII, there is no cap on how much a character may grow in the Crystarium at any given time. The weather or Climate Type in an area will affect battles, and at one time an uncontrollable guest will join. Summoned Monsters will return, but not be in the same form as those in the original game, as the characters are no longer l'Cie.

Monsters can be caught, trained, and used as party members through the Paradigm Pack component. Three monsters can be held at a time, and depending on the role that a player shifts to in the Paradigm, the monsters will automatically switch to the chosen role. Players can customize a monster's stats via leveling up through items and accessories can be given to monsters to change their appearance. By usage of the new Feral Link system, characters have been shown to be able to access unique special abilities from the monsters in the party by pressing a combination of buttons once a synchronization gauge has filled. Certain enemy monsters will be able to do a new form of damage called Wound Damage, which lowers a party member's max HP during battle and cannot be healed, giving further incentive to defeat enemies quickly as possible as wound damage accumulates and max HP drops.

Players will be given timed button presses similar to the the Reaction Commands of Kingdom Hearts during Cinematic Action sequences to gain the upper hand in battle and event scenes. There are also "Live" sequences, or real time cutscenes that occur to progress the story, meaning the player maintains control of their character although the camera is focused elsewhere. Another new element, called the Live Trigger, allows the player to choose their response in a conversation with a character by deciding on the sentence. The player character will also be able to engage in conversations with NPCs with speech bubbles above them, and the other characters in the party will wander the area getting into conversations on their own. A new dungeon minigame system has been added called Temporal Rifts where the player must guide the character through the various puzzles, and grab crystals along the path within a certain amount of time with the option to retry the puzzle if things become difficult.

Another new gameplay element is the Historia Crux feature, the time travel system in the game that can be accessed through the use of gates throughout areas on the field. The gates are activated by finding special Artefacts in hidden treasure chests using Mog, and by resetting the gates, Noel and Serah can redo their adventures. Using Historia Crux, the player will be able to choose the location or era to travel to. There will be a "gate matrix," where players will select their next location based on the game's AF (After the Fall of Cocoon) timeline. Players will also be able to access the save and main menus through gates.

The equipment system in the game is rather unique. Each character has four different slots for equipment and a maximum load that they can carry. These points up any way the player would like to, for defensive gear or stat boosting accessories, but cannot exceed the limit. Monsters which are in the party can be renamed and equip decorative items, such as tails, which change how they look in battle. They grow by purchasing items, unlike the other characters who use the Crystarium. Players can buy some of these weapons, armor, items, and monster training goods from the merchant, Chocolina.

The game will have a new area called Serendipity, an amusement park center complete with a casino and minigames such as Chocobo Racing and Slots, which has been compared to the Gold Saucer in Final Fantasy VII. The game will retain the missions from Final Fantasy XIII as well as alternate sidequests from various NPCs in which the player must find and retrieve specific items, for example. Unlike those in Final Fantasy XIII, these will be available from an early point in the game.

Unlike the original game, Final Fantasy XIII-2 will feature difficulty modes of gameplay: Normal and Easy mode, which can be changed at any time. There is also the option to save the game at any point throughout the story from the main menu although the game has the Autosave function. The game has multiple endings and the main quest can be played multiple times, but director Motomu Toriyama looked for an alternate means of achieving this besides a "New Game+" feature; this will be done by allowing players to reset the Historia Crux gates, and therefore take them back to the beginning of that time period. Players will have the ability to do this at any time, though certain content and endings will be unavailable until after the main quest has been completed at least once.

Setting
As a result of Cocoon's fall at the end of Final Fantasy XIII, some of its surviving citizens now reside on Gran Pulse, and the world has adopted a new dating system since the fall of Cocoon ("AF" or "After Fall"). In the three years since, new towns and cities have been established. While searching for Lightning, Serah and Noel will travel to old and new places on Pulse and in Cocoon.

As they travel through time, some locations from XIII will show change in appearance. Eden is no longer the capital and the Sanctum is no more. The city of Academia is the new capital, and the new provisional government is run by the Academy, a scientific expedition group wishing to use human technology to build a world that doesn't rely on the fal'Cie.

Playing as Lightning, there is a mysterious new world called Valhalla, the realm of death and chaos at the edge of time in the distant future, ruled by the Goddess Etro.

Plot
At the end of Final Fantasy XIII -Episode i-, Lightning, who felt there was still something threatening the newly acquired peace, finds herself being captured and dragged into the Historia Crux by chaos due to the effects of Etro releasing her and the others (except Fang and Vanille) from crystal stasis. She awakens in Valhalla and goes into Etro's temple. Being able to see all of time from Valhalla, Lightning looks into the future. She then receives a suit of armor and becomes the protector of the dying goddess.

By the year 2 AF, many former residents of Cocoon have created settlements on Gran Pulse like the village of New Bodhum near the crystallized structure, and believe Lightning to be dead or crystallized with Fang and Vanille; but only her sister, Serah, knows that she is still alive. Snow tells Serah that he believes her, and promises that he will look for Lightning and bring her home, but a year goes by and he goes missing as well.

Inside Etro's temple, Lightning speaks with the goddess about Valhalla being gripped by a mysterious sadness. Meanwhile, a man in purple named Caius Ballad lays the lifeless body of a young girl named Yeul to rest in the ocean. Angered, he summons an army of monsters and challenges Lightning to battle. She confronts Caius with her own army of summoned monsters and the Eidolons. They eventually meet each other and clash swords before Caius transforms into the entity, Chaos Bahamut. He swipes at Lightning and sends her flying over Valhalla.

Falling from the sky over the beach, Lightning manages to land safely on Odin in his Gestalt Mode, but is promptly pursued by Chaos Bahamut. Riding Odin, Lightning battles Chaos Bahamut, leading him into the city. Dodging Chaos Bahamut's attacks, she manages to defeat him with an attack from behind, but gets caught off guard by Caius's surprise attack. Lightning is saved by Odin, and Caius reappears in his human form. As they clash blades and fire magic at each other, Lightning eventually manages to bury Caius under fallen debris. Then she notices Etro's Gate over the temple and sees a familiar figure falling from the sky towards Valhalla. She recognizes it as the young man she had previously seen in a vision, Noel Kreiss.

Summoning Bahamut, she saves him from his fall but Caius returns as Chaos Bahamut to continue to their fight. Unable to leave Valhalla unprotected, Lightning asks Noel to find Serah and help her reach Valhalla as he is the only one who can do it. She summons a gift for Noel to give to Serah, but Caius reappears and summons a meteor over Etro's temple before transforming to escape. Summoning Odin, Lightning thrusts herself into the meteor as it crushes the temple. Then Noel leaps into the time gate below to find Serah.

One night, Serah has a dream about Lightning's battle with Caius and Noel coming to New Bodhum to help her. Then after a strange crystalline meteor falls from the sky, she awakens to find that her clothes have mysteriously changed. As she heads outside to the shouts of NORA, Serah sees the village transformed into a wasteland. When the village reverts bac to normal, it seems that time has stopped and New Bodhum has fallen under attack by mysterious monsters. Once time resumes, Serah finds herself amidst the chaos. When she is attacked, Serah is saved by Noel. With little time to talk, Noel hands Serah a weapon, enabling her to fight off the monsters with him.

Afterwards, Serah's weapon transforms into her new moogle companion named Mog. Noel says Mog is a gift for her from Lightning, causing Serah to question whether or not her dream was real. At the crash site of the meteor, Noel reveals to Serah that he is from 700 years in the future and that Lightning is waiting for her. He offers to take Serah to her, but the members of NORA remain skeptical. Placing Serah's hand on the meteorite that fell near New Bodhum, Noel shows them it is really a time gate, of which Lightning is waiting on the other side in Valhalla. The next day, Noel and Serah use Mog to search around the village for an artefact that will let them use the gate.

After finding it, Noel reveals to Serah that he is from a distant future where all of humanity was slowly wiped out until he was the only one left, and how he became the last hope for his friends and family. Joined by Noel and Mog, Serah leaves her home to find her sister. However, unknown to them, they are being watched by Caius and his companion, Yeul.

Together, they travel through the Historia Crux to the Bresha Ruins in Cocoon two years in the future at 5 AF. They battle an invisible giant called Paradox Alpha, later revealed to be Atlas. However, Serah and Noel are arrested by soldiers for being in a restricted area. They are freed by Academy scientist, Alyssa Zaidelle, who asks them for their help in defeating Atlas before he causes the site to be shut down, as she is in search of something in the ruins. Noel and Serah eventually find Atlas, now in his true form, in another part of the ruins. Alyssa informs them of a device possible of controlling Atlas appearing in the ruins. When they find the device, Atlas's hand pulls them into a paradox.

After solving the Temporal Rift, they activate the device and weaken Atlas. By destroying the crystal on top of Atlas's head, Noel and Serah defeat him, and restore the Bresha Ruins to their former glory. Serah and Noel then find what Alyssa was looking for, a grave belonging to her friend who died in the Purge, and is glad to see that her own name is not on the grave. Alyssa then reveals she often dreams of dying in the Purge even though she survived it, and wonders if she did die and her current life is really an illusion. After hearing Alyssa's story, Serah laments how the Purge was her fault for being made a l'Cie in the first place.

Serah, Mog and Noel then travel to Yaschas Massif in the year 10 AF, which is darkened by an eclipse. Noel says that 200 years before his time, the fal'Cie Fenrir appeared and blocked the sun, sending the world into eternal darkness. Serah then figures that Fenrir appearing in 10 AF is because of a paradox. After finding their way through the area, the two find the Paddra ruins and are forbidden entry before being attacked by Aloeidai.

After defeating Aloeidai, they are saved by Academy leader, Hope Estheim, and they meet an older Alyssa who is now Hope's assistant. They learn from Hope and Alyssa about the Farseers, a nation led by a seeress named Yeul, who had foretold the city's destruction, causing conflict amongst its people. With the ancient device called the Oracle Drive, they see images of the events from the year 0 AF, and Lightning in Valhalla. Using the new artefact they got from Hope, Serah, Mog and Noel then go through another time gate to solve the paradox causing the eclipse and affecting the Oracle Drive.

They wind up in Oerba during the year 200 AF. There, they find that most of the town has been sucked into a black hole caused by the past and future merging together. After restoring the town by solving the numerous Temporal Rifts. After that, they find another Oracle Drive at the old schoolhouse that projects images of Serah's reunion with Lightning. Then they encounter Caius and Yeul.

Caius reveals to them that Yeul doesn't exist as a single person, that she has been watching them through her visions, and how he seeks to punish them for tampering with the timeline. Afterwards, Yeul and Caius leave Oerba, before Noel and Serah use the artefact they left behind to leave themselves. As they have solved the paradox in Oerba, they have also solved the paradox in Yaschas Massif. Serah and Noel arrive in an alternate version of the Yaschas Massif in the year 10 AF, also known as 1X AF. They meet another Yeul, who says that she and Serah are the same in how they can show others the way. Hope and Alyssa are still at the ruins, and the four reunite, even though Hope and Alyssa didn't remember meeting them before.

Hope then shows a recording from Yeul, which shows clear images of Lightning battling with Caius in Valhalla, and Cocoon falling to Pulse. Hope concludes that he will have the Academy prepare for the time when Cocoon will fall to try to minimize the damage and number of casualties, while Serah and Noel continue to solve the paradoxes. After Serah and Noel leave, Yeul dies in Caius's arms before he takes her body away. Serah and Noel end up in the Void Beyond, where they briefly explore before returning to the Historia Crux.

They go to the Sunleth Waterscape in 300 AF, where they find Snow battling a giant flan called Royal Ripeness. Upon defeating it however, it begins to regenerate, causing the party to retreat. After Noel demands Snow to explain why he left Serah and is now fighting in the future, Snow reveals that Lightning appeared to him in a dream, asking him to protect Cocoon's pillar, and in turn, Fang and Vanille. Following a trail of Miniflan, they find two artefacts to use in solving the paradox causing Royal Ripeness to grow. Noel, Mog, and Serah first go to the Coliseum, and obtain the White Hole Fragment from the Arbiter of Time.

Then they go to the Archylte Steppe at ??? AF, where they learn from a group of hunters that the Faeryl is sucking flan into its mouth, causing them to appear at Sunleth. Defeating the Faeryl, the trio receives the Black Hole fragment, returns to Sunleth, only to find Snow missing. They find him fighting the Mutantomato before they fight and defeat it together. Noel then reprimands Snow for his recklessness and charging in the way he did rather than waiting for help. Snow apologizes to Noel and asks him to look after Serah for him.

When Snow begins glowing, Noel says it is because the paradox has been resolved and things that shouldn't exist in this time are disappearing. Serah then notices a l'Cie brand on Snow's arm before he fades away. Noel says that Snow may have asked to become a l'Cie in order to get the power to protect his friends and carry out his task.

Next, the trio emerges in the Void Beyond again, and decides to take a break. Noel tells Serah that a group of Farseers must have had a girl with the same appearance, voice, and powers, and they were always called Yeul. Then they end up in the city of Academia in 400 AF, a highly advanced city under the control of a Proto fal'Cie. The fal'Cie spots Serah and Noel and then begins transforming citizens into Cie'th without hesitation.

Serah, Noel and Mog attempt to find out what is going on and run into Caius, who tells them they are contradictions in the timeline and that he has every reason to eliminate them. He also tells them that they met in a tower 200 years earlier and that they died there after learning the forbidden history sealed inside. Now that they are here, alive and well, they have caused a paradox. He then leaves them with a band of Cie'th. After they defeat them, Serah, Noel and Mog give chase to Caius, but he disappears every time they catch up to him.

Finally, they run into Yeul, who gets attacked by several Cie'th including Zenobia. After Serah and Noel defeat Zenobia, Yeul tells Noel about her vision of death before Serah realizes that Yeul is dying because of them causing a paradox. But she also tells them that Caius was never in the city and dies, leaving them an artefact. Serah, Noel and Mog then use a nearby gate to travel to Augusta Tower in 200 AF.

In the tower, they notice Caius ascending its levels along the way. They also find out that the entire tower's staff are artificial duplicates, and they meet a duplicate of Alyssa, who reveals to them the forbidden history from the year 13 AF. During that time, when Augusta Tower was built as part of the "Proto Fal'Cie Project", the tower's AI rebelled against its creators and killed everyone, including Hope and Alyssa.

Afterwards, the AI constructed the Proto fal'Cie and created duplicates to cover the massacre. Serah, Noel and Mog make their way to the top floor. There, they meet the same Yeul from Oerba, who gives them an artefact. Yeul reveals to them that Caius is immortal and knows the entire timeline from remembering the seeress's visions. Yeul says that Lightning's disappearance from Gran Pulse was caused by the future being changed and if Serah and Noel continue to solve the paradoxes, then the past will return to the way Serah remembers it. She also reveals that the Caius whom they encountered in Academia was a fake created by the sentient AI, and that they saw the real Caius in the tower. Serah and Noel then venture into the core at Yeul's insistence to defeat the AI. Then Yeul sees into the future and dies with a smile on her face. Caius arrives, mourns for Yeul, and vows to remember her pain and takes her away.

Meanwhile, Serah and Noel arrive to the tower's core and they encounter the Proto fal'Cie Adam, which is using the AI and a paradox to keep itself functional. Serah and Noel witness this as they attempt to defeat it, but it is reincarnated every time they do. As a last resort, Serah attempts to shout at Hope in the past for creating the Proto fal'Cie. Surprisingly, her yelling reaches out to Hope and the Proto fal'Cie disappears permanently as she is trying to charge it but Noel catches her before she falls. Having resolved the paradox, Serah has yet another vision. The trio then continues on their journey.

Serah, Noel and Hope end up in Academia in a new timeline at 4XX AF, where everything is well, now that the Proto fal'Cie is gone. They are greeted by Hope and Alyssa who used Hope's invention called a time capsule to get to Academia in this time period without aging in the process. Back at 13 AF, Hope had begun the "New Cocoon Project," in order to create a new Cocoon after the old one is destroyed when the crystal pillar collapses in the future. To succeed in this, Hope requires five Graviton Cores hidden throughout the timeline.

Serah and Noel retrieve these and Alyssa gives them an artefact to open the new time gate back in town. Hope and Alyssa meet them at the gate and see them off, promising to meet again in the future. When Serah and Noel go through the gate, Alyssa smirkingly watches them, something only Mog notices. But Mog goes after them, he and Serah get separated from Noel in the Historia Crux. Afterwards, Alyssa reveals that she got the artefact from Caius and that she tricked them into the gate, because she won't exist in the corrected timeline.

They end up in the Void Beyond, where Noel is stabbed by Caius. Serah goes on alone with Mog and meets several Yeuls from different time periods. Each Yeul tells Serah certain truths about her, the l'Cie who saved Cocoon, and history's change. These all end in revelation that like Yeul, Serah has the "Eyes of Etro," the ability to see the future granted by the goddess herself. Finally, the last Yeul warns Serah that as she changes the timeline, she brings herself closer to death. Yeul turns out to be an illusion made by Caius, and Serah is forced to fight him. He tells her that as the result of Etro freeing her and the other l'Cie from their fate, the lives of the Yeuls throughout time were in turn cut short. He now plans to send everything back to Valhalla and save Yeul, even if it means destroying time itself. But in the end, Caius stabs Serah in the back, causing chaos to burst from her body.

Afterwards Serah, wearing her old clothes, is awakened in New Bodhum by the NORA members. Serah is confused about everything. She heads into NORA House and finds Snow. It seems that she is now in a dream, where everything is the way she wants them to be. She is married to Snow and Lightning never disappeared. Serah refuses to accept this, although she was close to accepting it when the fake Lightning attempted to convince her.

Finally, she hears a familiar voice giving her words of encouragement and she encounters Vanille again and meets Fang for the first time, who reveal that they came to help her get out from her eternal dream. They also tell her that Noel needs her help to escape from his own dream. Leaving a spacetime distortion for Serah, Vanille and Fang return back to their dream inside Cocoon's pillar. Serah then heads into the distortion to find Noel and save him.

Like Serah before, Noel too, is caught inside his own dream world, in his home of the Dying World at 700 AF. Serah follows Noel and witnesses his conversation with Caius. Caius tells Noel that he must kill him in order to become Yeul's next Guardian and receive his Heart of Chaos, which is a manifestation of Etro. Should it stop beating, the goddess will die, the chaos of Valhalla will be unleashed into the world, and time will be destroyed. But Noel refuses and Caius then defeats him in battle before leaving for Valhalla, in an attempt to slay the goddess Etro in order to free Yeul from her fate.

Afterwards, Serah witnesses Noel talking to Yeul. Yeul has a vision of the future and she dies in his embrace, promising him they will meet again someday. Noel then goes after Caius and gets caught in a distortion which would lead him to Valhalla. But Serah catches up to him and helps Noel awaken from his dream.

Serah is willing to continue their journey, but Noel is reluctant, because he now knows why Yeul died. Every time a seeress has a vision of the future, a piece of her life will also vanish, and if she has a vision strong enough, she will die. Because Serah has the same ability, she too is in danger of dying the same way. But Serah is willing to take that risk in order to save the future. Serah and Noel return to where Yeul died, and the Oracle Drive shows her vision of Noel fighting to save the future. A distortion appears and Mog returns back to normal. Mog reveals to them that Caius was once a Pulse l'Cie with the Focus of Yeul's protection, until Etro saved him and made him immortal. Noel and Serah realize that Caius has been plotting for centuries, using his tremendous power and knowledge of Yeul's visions to destroy history. Then they continue through the distortion.

The trio ends up in New Bodhum in 700 AF, where the village is now a desolate wasteland. Here, they finally meet Lightning, who explains everything that happened to her and what Caius is attempting. He is trying to cause Cocoon's destruction in order to open Etro's Gate, which would cause chaos to erupt from the Unseen Realm. Chaos would then engulf the world, turning it into a place where time, life, and death don't normally exist. To prevent this, he must be stopped in both Valhalla and in the real world.

Since Lightning can't do this alone, she needs help from Serah and Noel. She tells them that in the year 500 AF, Hope will launch the new Cocoon and Caius will attempt to bring it and the old Cocoon down in one fell swoop. Mog then reveals them a new gate to take them to 500 AF and Lightning then leaves, with Serah asking if they will be able to be together again when this is over. Lightning only smiles and replies, "One thing at a time, Serah."

Serah, Noel and Mog arrive at Academia at 500 AF, the time of the prophecy, but the city is now a labyrinth of chaos and the populace has been evacuated to Hope's new Cocoon. As they journey through the area, they hear Yeul's voice warning them not to kill Etro. Reaching Academy headquarters, Caius attacks them as Chaos Bahamut and with summoned monsters, but they are again saved by Hope. Then they give chase to Caius with an airship piloted by Sazh Katzroy, and Serah and Noel fight him as Chaos Bahamut and himself. He eventually manages to transform and fly into a wormhole which leads to Valhalla. Hope is eager to go after him, but Serah and Noel insist that he must protect Vanille, Fang, and his new Cocoon.

Serah, Noel and Mog jump into the wormhole and encounter Caius in Valhalla. They manage to defeat him but he still swears to stop Yeul's continual cycle of dying and being reborn by destroying Etro. Noel attempts to convince him that destruction won't make her happy, and that Yeul kept returning out of her own will because she wanted to be with him. Angrily, Caius attacks Noel but is beaten, causing him to transform into his ultimate form, Jet Bahamut. He blasts at Serah and Noel, forcing them to fall into an abyss but Lightning saves them, urging them to keep hope alive. Afterwards, they fight him again and defeat him.

Then Caius finally says that in order to save Yeul, he must die. He tries to provoke Noel to do this, even by saying that he killed Lightning. Noel still refuses and Caius eventually lunges at Serah. Noel intervenes and is about to stab Caius through his heart but he stops right before he does. But Caius then takes the blade and forces it through his heart. With Caius dead and the final paradox resolved, the timeline is now fixed, and Serah, Noel, and Mog return to 500 AF.

Possible Endings
There are nine possible endings in Final Fantasy XIII-2:

Canon Ending

 * After Caius is defeated, Serah, Noel and Mog return to Pulse at 500 AF, where the new Cocoon named "Bhunivelze" rises into the sky. After Serah thanks Noel, she has a vision, then abruptly dies. Noel weeps for her as Hope arrives from Academia to greet them. Hope asks Noel why Serah is dead since they both returned fine, and Noel tells him why it happened: Serah was a seeress just like Yeul, and a seeress is forced to see the future whether or not they want to. This may very well end in the seeress's death and that's what happened to Serah. Then the world suddenly goes dark and Mog grows weak, saying that the goddess is gone. Noel remembers Caius's warning about Etro and the Heart of Chaos to them saying that if the heart stops beating the goddess will die once again meaning that the goddess may have died before. Bhunivelze and everything on Pulse begin to emit chaos as a giant seal opens in the sky. Valhalla appears within the world with Etro's temple somehow intact, and a crystallized Lightning is seen sitting on the goddess's throne. The words "To be continued..." are the last screen. This ending could refer to the "End of time", which is when Bhunivelze is supposed to awaken.
 * After obtaining all the paradox endings and 160 Fragments, a secret ending, "The Goddess is Dead", plays after the end credits. It shows Caius in the Void Beyond, sitting on Etro's throne from which he leaves and uses Ragnarok, causing chaos to emerge, wanting to create a new world without Etro where Yeul doesn't die. This scene also alters the opening scene where Caius is seemingly shown talking to the player.

Paradox Endings

 * A Giant Mistake: Both sides of the Pulsian civil war, which will eventually bring down Cocoon's pillar, unleash an army of Atlases on the Archylte Steppe. Serah and Noel are trapped in the middle of the war, and resolve to take down each one. The last shot is of a downed Atlas with both Serah and Noel's weapons lodged in an unbroken crystal atop the beast's head.
 * Mischievous Mog's Marvelous Plan with Flan: Noel and Serah use magic to disguise themselves as Microchu and Miniflan in order to remain unnoticed while they prepare a poisonous flan to kill the evil Royal Ripeness, who has taken over the Sunleth Waterscape and wants to transform Cocoon into a world of monsters.
 * Vanille's Truth: Serah and Noel find a crystallized Vanille in Oerba, and promise to find Fang for her (it should be noted this ending occurs in a timeline when Final Fantasy XIII never occurred).
 * Test Subjects: Serah and Noel are modified by the Proto fal'Cie Adam to serve as guards in Augusta Tower. They briefly wonder what they were supposed to be doing before their memories were erased, which prompts Adam to wonder whether there are paradoxical aspects in the "souls" of every human.
 * The Future is Hope: Snow appears in Academia 4XX AF with a security detail that arrests Alyssa, stopping her from tricking Serah and Noel into going into Caius's trap. Snow also warns Hope of his imminent assassination and tells Noel to stay behind to guard him, before flying off with Serah and Mog on Shiva as Noel and Hope look on. He states he has 13 crystals to find throughout time. An interesting thing is that Bhunivelze was in the sky of Academia.
 * Beneath a Timeless Sky: Serah, Noel and Yeul are trapped in New Bodhum in 700 AF, looking for a way out. Yeul can no longer see the future due to the timeline's collapse. While they search, a meteorite lands outside the town, much like in 3 AF, and they quickly run off to investigate.
 * Fate and Freedom: Serah remains in her eternal dream with Lightning, Snow, and the members of NORA in New Bodhum, though she feels it will never be perfect without Noel and Mog, both of whom she can only faintly remember.
 * Heir to Chaos: Noel replaces Caius as the new Guardian of Time, and floats through the Historia Crux.

Playable Characters

 * Serah Farron (セラ・ファロン) - The main protagonist of the game. She is Lightning's younger sister, Snow's fiancée, and the only one out of her friends to know Lightning still exists. Gaining the ability to have visions of the future, Serah journeys with Noel to find and save her sister. Her weapon is a bow that can transform into a sword, though its true form is that of her moogle companion Mog.
 * Noel Kreiss (ノエル・クライス) - The main male protagonist of the game. Noel comes from the Dying World at 700 AF, where he is the last surviving human in a world that faced destruction. After a chance encounter with Lightning, he travels into the past to find her sister, Serah. He sets off with her to save Lightning in the hopes of changing the future. He uses two swords that are able to combine to form a spear in battle.

Temporary Playable Characters

 * Lightning (ライトニング) - The narrator of the game. Having been attacked by the emerging chaos and subsequently taken to Valhalla, Lightning is no longer believed to be alive by anyone except Serah. In reality, she has become a knight, protecting the Goddess Etro in Valhalla while being confronted by Caius. She now wields a new gunblade resembling a combination of her Blazefire Saber and a traditional sword.

Guest Characters

 * Snow Villiers (スノウ・ヴィリアース) - Snow left to search for Lightning two years after her disappearance, but is nowhere to be found at the time Serah set out on her own search. He appears as an uncontrollable guest character in the Sunleth Waterscape at 300 AF.

Antagonist

 * Caius Ballad (カイアス・バラッド) - A mysterious man from the future who is an important figure in both Noel's past and Serah's future. He is of equal strength to Lightning and is said to be on a similar mission to hers, and will be in her way as she tries to complete her own. Caius also has the ability harness his inner chaos to transform into Chaos Bahamut. He travels with his companion Yeul as they pursue Noel and Serah. Caius is the immortal guardian of the timeline, and able to retain memory of all timeline events. As a result, he intends to dispose of all 'contradictions' in it, namely Noel and Serah, believing them to be enemies.

Other Characters

 * Mog (モーグリ) - Serah's new moogle companion and a gift from Lightning. Instead of a traditional moogle's pom-pom, Mog's pom-pom is a glowing crystal. He carries a rod adorned with a clock, and can transform into Serah's weapon. He is a treasure hunter and will reveal invisible treasure chests within dungeons. He can access treasure in out-of-reach places by being thrown by the player. He also uses his magic to execute the Mog Clock pre-battle system.
 * Hope Estheim (ホープ・エストハイム) - Hope appears as a 24-year-old young man, and the leader of the Academy, researching the world's history and looking for a new energy source for Cocoon in the absence of the fal'Cie. He is aware of Noel and Serah's travels through time because of his research, and helps them in their search for Lightning. He also wants to change history in order to improve the world and bring back the people dear to him.
 * Paddra Nsu-Yeul (ユール) - A young Pulsian seeress who is blessed with the ability to see the future. However, the gift comes with the price that she would die and be reborn in the next generaton. She was previously mentioned in Final Fantasy XIII, as the author of the fourth and ninth Analects.
 * Alyssa Zaidelle (アリサ・ザイデル) - A young girl who is part of the Academy and Hope's trusted assistant. They work together to understand the nature of paradoxes and help Noel and Serah in their journey to change the future. Continuously, the story hints that Alyssa has something to hide about her past.
 * NORA (ノラ) - Snow's friends: Gadot, Lebreau, Maqui and Yuj have stayed with Serah during their years on Pulse while resuming their occupation as New Bodhum's neighborhood watch group.
 * PSICOM (サイコム) - The military corps from Cocoon now handle monster extermination on Pulse to protect the new cities that the citizens are building, and look over the rebuilding of the formerly floating world.
 * Sazh Katzroy and Dajh Katzroy- Sazh is currently engaged in activities to improve Gran Pulse. Hope states that Sazh and Dajh disappeared a few years since Serah left with Noel. Sazh is stated to possibly be in an upcoming storyline DLC.
 * Oerba Dia Vanille and Oerba Yun Fang: A pair of l'Cie from Pulse who aided Lightning and the others in defeating Orphan before they sacrificed themselves to create the crystal pillar to hold Cocoon up. However, it would turn out that their act was only delaying the fall that would happen centuries later. Though mentioned, Vanille and Fang physically appear before Serah to help her leave her dream.

Music
Composers of the original game, Masashi Hamauzu and Mitsuto Suzuki, return joined by Naoshi Mizuta, composer of Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light and Final Fantasy XI. The game's main theme in the Japanese PlayStation 3 version is "Yakusoku no Basho," sung by Mai Fukui. An English version of the theme, called "New World", sung by Filipina artist Charice Pempengco, is used in the Japanese Xbox 360 and Western releases of the game.

The soundtrack was released on December 14th, 2011. It includes the standard and limited edition. Standard version soundtrack spans over four discs, while the limited edition has a bonus DVD packed with two trailers, the trailer shown at E3 2001 (Japanese voices version), and the game's Final Trailer (Special Music Edition). The standard edition retails for 3990¥, and the limited edition is 4880¥. A selection of songs from the game are to be available with the Limited Collector's Edition of Final Fantasy XIII-2 in Europe and the entire soundtrack is to be available to those who purchase the Crystal Edition in Europe or the Collector's Edition in North America. However, neither shall include "New World" by Charice.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 includes music from Final Fantasy XIII.

Development
Hints at a sequel to Final Fantasy XIII were first given when Square Enix stated they would be willing to create a direct sequel if the fans want it. They also said the first installment had enough cut content to fill a new game. Late 2010, in an interview from the Final Fantasy XIII Ultimania Omega, Motomu Toriyama proclaimed the idea to make a story where Lightning "ends up happy in the end." Furthermore, an autographed postcard was personally sent by Tetsuya Nomura to members of the Japanese Square Enix Members community, with an artwork of Lightning and a message saying "She must not be forgotten." Later, Square Enix registered the domain for the game. The game was officially announced at the "Square Enix 1st Production Department Premiere" event on January 18, 2011.

Toriyama has said in an interview with Famitsu the main reason they decided to make a sequel is that there was demand throughout the world and because the development staff wanted to portray Lightning's character further, to give her a clear conclusion. Toriyama said that other than Lightning finding true happiness, the aftereffects of Fang and Vanille's sacrifice on her and the other characters are another central theme in the game. He has even compared the light and dark appearances of Lightning and Caius respectively to those of an angel and the devil, but warned not to jump to conclusions about which one is which. Toriyama has said that the traveling system has been completely redone since Final Fantasy XIII, as the team was trying to create a "truly living world, with lots of people living all the way to the far corners of the game". The game is more fantasy-oriented as opposed to the futuristic feel of its predecessor and focuses on the Farron sisters as opposed to how the first game focuses on the love story between Snow and Serah, although hinting that a new relationship will be present during Serah's journey through time. As opposed to the story of Final Fantasy XIII, where Lightning is on a quest to save Serah, the story of Final Fantasy XIII-2 is the reverse, with Serah trying to save Lightning. The story of Final Fantasy XIII-2 also explores their relationship as sisters, and how they are similar yet different in their own ways.

Following player feedback on the linear, story-driven gameplay of Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XIII-2 focuses on player-driven gameplay with a more open world that players can explore widely, triggering events as they find them. In all the different types of gameplay presented, the developers' goal has been to make the player the main focus and instigator, and the game design to promote the player progressing through the story rather than just passively watching. Toriyama compared this mindset to the differences between Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2 - the latter builds on the world and story of the former and thus can have a stronger focus on gameplay.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 uses different types of art styles and art director Isamu Kamikokuryo has said that even with the world has been reduced close to ruin after the events of Final Fantasy XIII, he was careful in expressing the serious tone of the story and the world when compared to the first game's beautiful but manufactured setting. Kamikokuryu further said that the character designs are built from the scenario and setting and the new designs for Lightning and Serah are reflected within the environments where they begin their journey.

Players who own Final Fantasy XIII save data will unlock an additional wallpaper (PS3) or gamer picture (Xbox 360) for the save file. Downloadable content will be released after the game and will contain additional weapons, costumes and monsters. Kitase assures players that the content will allow for even longer play. Post-release downloads also include a "Final Fantasy XIII Lost Report" which will be distributed through the game's official site and offer a look back at Final Fantasy XIII's story through Rygdea and Yaag Rosch's perspectives.

Both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game only need one disc. In an interview with the magazine, director Motomu Toriyama says that the game actually has the same amount of volume as Final Fantasy XIII and the reason they're able to fit the game in less space this time is that the event scenes are real time rather than prerendered. Kitase has also stated that there will be a downloadable version for Xbox 360, but it is unknown whether or not there will also be one for PlayStation 3.

In addition to the Square Enix staff, Tri-Ace staff were involved with the development of Final Fantasy XIII-2, helping out on the game with aspects of game design, art and programming.

Sequel
Square Enix registered a domain name for Final Fantasy XIII-3 on September 7, 2011. No development plans have been announced as of yet. A representative of Square Enix, however, notes that the filing is to protect the Final Fantasy XIII IP and is not indicative of a new title.

Downloadable Content
The game will feature downloadable content in the form of downloadable outfits, equipment, scenarios, recruitable monsters and minigames.

Japanese release
A Final Fantasy XIII-2 bundle was released in Japan on December 15th, 2011 with a black 320GB PlayStation 3 Slim with an image of Lightning. Square Enix also released two new books in Japan on the game's release date of December 15th. The first is a postcard book priced at ¥1,260 that has 24 CG illustrations featuring characters like Lightning, Serah, Noel, and Caius, as well as an eight-page character introduction. The second is a 232-page book priced at ¥1,470, titled FINAL FANTASY XIII-2 Fragments Before, which takes place immediately before the events of the game and contains several stories revolving around characters such as Serah, Snow, Noel, and Rygdea and Bartholomew Estheim:
 * Serah: Memories of the year AF 0.
 * New Bodhum: A story of the year AF 3.
 * Snow: The story of his departure.
 * Rygdea & Bartholomew: The creation of a provisional government, and the secret history of the founding of the Academy.
 * Noel: The end of the world, a period of uncertainty.

The game's story will be continued in FINAL FANTASY XIII-2 Fragments After.

Square Enix teamed up with Morinaga to promote Final Fantasy XIII-2 in Japan; Morinaga's popular Potelong snack will, for a limited time, feature Final Fantasy XIII-2 themed packaging. To promote the game's release, AKB48 member, Yuko Oshima, was appointed the leader of a group of thirteen official test players.

North American release
The North American collector's edition, sold for $79.99 was available in limited quantities at GameStop, Amazon and Best Buy, and included:
 * Packaging featuring artwork by Yoshitaka Amano.
 * The 4-disc Original Soundtrack. Although this excludes both "Yakusoku no Basho" and "New World", it includes a bonus track on Disc 4, Omega's Battle Theme.
 * A collection of concept artwork containing "a variety of never-before-seen illustrations, environments and more".

These retailers also had their own pre-order bonus: Gamestop had an alternate costume for Serah (with PowerUp Rewards members also receiving a Genji Bow for her); Amazon had Omega as a coliseum boss/crucible monster, and Best Buy had a hardcover book entitled "FINAL FANTASY XIII -Episode i-", a story written by Jun Eishima that ties together the events between the predecessor and the game.

Ultimate Prize winners of the Word to Your Moogle tour receive a pink and white PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 featuring Mog.

European and Australian release
It has been confirmed that Europe and Australia will get three different editions of Final Fantasy XIII-2. The Limited Collector’s Edition, with recommended retail price of £59,99/68€, will include the game; a composer selected soundtrack CD, an artbook, six postcards featuring CG artwork of main characters; and a high definition lenticular art print of Lightning.

The Crystal Edition, with recommended retail price of £79,99/91€, includes all of the items above, although the composer selected soundtrack is replaced with the 4-disc Final Fantasy XIII-2 Original Soundtrack (this soundtrack will include all background music from the game, but not the theme song "New World".) Also included is a T-shirt from the that will not be available for purchase elsewhere. The Crystal Edition will be a strictly limited edition and will be packaged in a presentation box.

The Nordic Edition will include the game and four additional downloadable pieces of content; an alternate costume for both Serah and Noel; a unique weapon for Noel, with a special look and gameplay effects; and a recruitable monster battle: Omega, the famous Final Fantasy boss monster, and if the player wins they gain a chance  to recruit Omega to join the party (around 7% chance after defeat - the same applies for the lightning dlc).

Preorder extras for Europe and Australia have also been released, available for customers preordering from certain retail outlets. The preorder extras include:
 * An exclusive steelbook case, a downloadable content pack, the "Fight In Style" pack, which contains a new recruitable monster (Omega) and alternate costumes for both Serah and Noel, Final Fantasy XIII -Episode i-, a novella that fills the gaps between Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy XIII-2, and three lithograph artcards, available from Game.co.uk.
 * A code which allows one to obtain the unique downloadable weapon Muramasa for Noel, with a special look and boosts chain bonuses, available from Amazon.co.uk.

Asian releases
Multiple Asian editions of Final Fantasy XIII-2 for PlayStaion 3 and Xbox 360 have been released. Asian Japanese versions (Japanese voice & texts) for both consoles released On December 15, 2011 and all other versions were released on January 31, 2012 for Asian regions (Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia, etc). Like its predecessor, the version features Japanese voice overs and both Chinese and English subtitles are available. Bundled and limited versions are also available.


 * PS3 Japanese Version (Japanese Voice & Subtitles)
 * PS3 English Version (English Voice & Subtitles) (8 post cards included for pre-order bonus)
 * PS3 Chinese + English Version (Japanese Voice, Chinese/English Subtitles) (8 post cards included for pre-order bonus)
 * PS3 Chinese + English PS3 Bundle Version (Japanese Voice, Chinese/English Subtitles), which includes the game disc and:
 * PS3 FINAL FANTASY XIII-2 LIGHTNING EDITION Ver.2 Console
 * 2 DLC codes for Serah's Outfit: Summoner's Garb and Noel's Outfit: Battle Attire (first print limited offer)
 * A mini clear poster (randomly given out of 8 designs)
 * 1-disc Original Soundtrack -SPECIAL Package- (selected tracks)
 * 8 post cards (pre-order bonus)
 * Xbox360 Japanese Version (Japanese Voice & Subtitles)
 * Xbox360 Chinese + English Version (Japanese Voice, Chinese/English Subtitles), which includes the game disc and:
 * A table calendar
 * 2 DLC codes for Serah's Outfit: Summoner's Garb and Noel's Outfit: Battle Attire (first print limited offer)
 * X360 Chinese + English Version Limited Edition (Japanese Voice, Chinese/English Subtitles), which includes the game disc and:
 * A table calendar
 * 2 DLC codes for Serah's Outfit: Summoner's Garb and Noel's Outfit: Battle Attire (first print limited offer)
 * 1 mini clear poster (randomly given out of 8 designs)
 * 1-disc Original Soundtrack -SPECIAL Package- (selected tracks)
 * 8 post cards

Reception
Japanese magazine Famitsu gave the game a perfect 40 score with each of the four reviewers giving the game a 10. This marks Final Fantasy XIII-2 as the second Final Fantasy game to receive a perfect score from the said magazine, the first one being Final Fantasy XII. gave the game an S score, the highest score in their scale.

Western reviewers are more critical of the game. It received an 8.0 from. The reviewer commended the significant improvement it has over the original although criticized the progression of the story. He also noted that the characters didn't have any clear motivations other than to save Lightning. gave the game a 9 out of 10 score. The magazine pointed out its improvement over XIII in most aspects of the game especially the explorations.

The PS3 version of the game received a 79/100 from, while the Xbox 360 version received an 79/100 from the same reviewer. This makes Final Fantasy XIII-2 the offline numbered Final Fantasy title with the lowest Metacritic score (not counting the remakes of Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy II and Final Fantasy III), lower than Final Fantasy XIII, which received an 83/100.

Demo
A playable demo of the game was released on January 10th in North America, and on January 11th in Europe, on PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade.

Staff
The staff behind Final Fantasy XIII-2 are as follows:
 * Producer: Yoshinori Kitase
 * Director: Motomu Toriyama
 * Scenario: Daisuke Watanabe
 * Art Director: Isamu Kamikokuryo
 * Character Design (Playable Character Faces): Tetsuya Nomura
 * Character Design (Playable Character Costumes and Non-Playable Characters): Isamu Kamikokuryo, Nao Ikeda, Yusuke Naora, Hideo Minaba
 * Battle System Director: Yusuke Matsui
 * Composers: Masashi Hamauzu, Mitsuto Suzuki, Naoshi Mizuta
 * Image Illustrator and Title Logo Designer: Yoshitaka Amano
 * Additional Work on Game Design, Art and Programming: tri-Ace

Voice Cast
Additional Voices (English version):

Andrew Kishino, Anna Vocino, Annie Mumolo, April Stewart, Ben Diskin, Cam Clarke, Candi Milo, Charlie Adler, Chris Cox, Chris Edgerly, Chris Parson, Christy Carlson Romano, Cindy Robinson, Colleen O'Shaughnessey, Daisy Torme, Daran Norris, Dave Boat, Debi Derryberry, Dwight Schultz, Eden Riegel, Eliza Jane Schneider, Fred Tatasciore, Gideon Emery, Grant George, Gregg Berger, Hedy Burress, Henry Dittman, Hope Levy, Hynden Welch, Jamieson Price, Janice Kawaye, Jason Spisak, JB Blanc, Jessica DiCicco, Jim Meskimen, Joe Cappelletti, John DeMita, Julia Fletcher, Karen Strassman, Kari Wahlgren, Kate Higgins, Keith Ferguson, Keith Silverstein, Kim Mai Guest, Kirk Thornton, Kyle Hebert, Laura Napoli, Marc Worden, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Masasa Moyo, Matt King, Megan Hollingshead, Michael Sinterniklaas, Michael Sorich, Michael Yurchak, Michelle Ruff, Mikey Kelley, Neil Kaplan, Nick Jameson, Nika Futterman, Nolan North, Patrick Seitz, Phil Procter, Quinton Flynn, Robbie Rist, Robin Becker, Roger Craig Smith, S. Scott Bullock, Sam Riegal, Scott Menville, Stephanie Sheh, Steve Staley, Steve Van Wormer, Tara Platt, Tish Hicks, Travis Willingham, Vanessa Marshall, Vic Mignogna, Wally Wingert, Wendee Lee, Yuri Lowenthal, Zeus Mendoza

Sales
During its first week of release in Japan, Final Fantasy XIII-2 sold 524,000 copies with the PlayStation 3 version topping the charts. The Xbox 360 sold far fewer copies due to the low number of Xbox 360 customers in Japan. First week sales in Japan were much poorer than for Final Fantasy XIII, which sold 1.5 million units in its first week. By the end of 2011, the game sold 697,146 units, becoming the fifth bestselling game from Japan in 2011.

Trivia

 * In the collector's edition of The Complete Official Guide by Piggyback Interactive, lead writer Daisuke Watanabe confirmed that what happened to Lightning in Final Fantasy XIII-2's ending will be explained in a future DLC.
 * Final Fantasy XIII-2 marks the first time Hideo Minaba has done character design in a numbered Final Fantasy since Final Fantasy IX.
 * The object in the bottom-left of the in-battle HUD resembles the early Overclock concept seen in Final Fantasy XIII's E3 2006 trailer.
 * The moogles in Final Fantasy XIII-2 are different than the ones seen in the original game because another artist, Toshitaka Matsuda, was chosen to design them for this title.
 * The idea of monsters fighting in the player's party was previously used in International Version of Final Fantasy X-2, where monsters can be recruited and used in battle with its "Creature Create" system.
 * Final Fantasy XIII-2 is the second game in the series to have two sisters as playable characters, the first being Final Fantasy V.
 * Final Fantasy XIII-2 is the sixth game in the series to involve time travel as a major plot element, after Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy XI, Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift, and Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy.
 * Final Fantasy XIII-2 is similar to the logo of Final Fantasy X-2 by having the game's number in larger size (" FINAL FANTASY X-2" and " FINAL FANTASY XIII-2") and having single-colored characters in battle poses.
 * According to an interview with Isamu Kamikokuryo about the art direction, the colors pink and purple came up a lot, and consequently, they are the colors in the logo.
 * The icon that indicates party leader resembles the one from Final Fantasy XII.
 * Final Fantasy XIII-2's NA release date lands on the same day Final Fantasy VII was released for the first time in Japan.