First Glance: Final Fantasy XIII-2

So I've spent only a few hours with Final Fantasy XIII-2 however the surface improvements are already popping up in a number of ways. First thing I noticed was the game now auto-saves in specific spots which is great. Also the ability to pause the game and save anywhere is available which is a great addition although should have already been a thing in the previous game seeing as thats well... modern game design.

The combat seems largely unchanged although the ability to "tune" Paradigms exists now. "Tuning" paradigms allows you to indirectly influence what your AI partners will do in the role you've selected for them for a paradigm. For instance...you can have magic casters focus on AOE attacks or make them focus fire on a single enemy. A tool that might end up being helpful in later battles. The graphics are still fairly stunning although the frame rate does seem to be hovering in the high 20's (I'm playing the PS3 version). Still, not a deal breaker.

The other major change I've noticed right off the get go is the Crystarium System is slightly changed. No longer do each role have its own Crystarium "timeline" of sorts. You have a specific cost for the next section of the crystarium and you choose which role you want to upgrade. This means that the crystarium is even more linear and you don't get to choose your abilities. On the bright side this could influence people to make distinct "builds" of characters instead of just willy nilly dumping into everything.

Have not gotten to the monster section of the game yet. Still very very early on. I'll post further updates and possibly a review in the future. Now back to the land of androgyny!