In an about-face from recent activities, I’ve been playing a relatively mainstream game today in the form of Final Fantasy XIII-2. Despite being a big release, however, one could put forward the argument that the Final Fantasy series is actually becoming somewhat niche again thanks to mixed opinions on the more recent titles.

Said mixed opinions are largely due to the fact that here is a series that is absolutely not afraid to reinvent itself every so often — with varying results.

Up until Final Fantasy IX, you pretty much knew what you were getting — a traditional-style JRPG with random battles. Sure, each one had its own unique ability system, some of which worked better than others (FFV‘s Job system was a highlight for many, while FFVIII‘s ridiculously abstract Junction system was both needlessly overcomplicated and far too easy to game) but for the most part, you could rely on the fact that you’d have a lengthy quest involving dungeons, towns, a world map, an airship and eleventy bajillion random battles along the way which, from FFIV onwards, used the series’ iconic Active Time Battle system, offering gameplay somewhere between real-time and turn-based.

It was said prior to FFIX‘s launch, however, that that particular game would be the last “traditional” Final Fantasy title. And in many ways, that game did feel like a farewell to the series, featuring numerous references to all the previous entries in the franchise, a great story, some lovable characters and an utterly bewildering finale. It was also to be the last Final Fantasy to grace the PS1.

Final Fantasy X, the first entry in the series to arrive on the PlayStation 2, shook things up. While it was still fundamentally an RPG with random battles, a lot of elements which people had taken for granted had changed completely. Gone was the traditional experience and levels progression system, replaced with the Sphere Grid, a flexible system that allowed for a degree of character customization — or a lot of character customization if you elected to play in the “Advanced” mode. Also gone was the traditional world map, with the whole game structured as one continuous journey through the world rather than jaunts through key locations punctuated with running across a peculiarly-scaled map screen. Also gone was the Active Time Battle system, replaced by a more cerebral turn-based system in which players could manipulate turn order with the use of certain abilities. It was a neat system, but Active Time Battle returned with Final Fantasy X-2 — itself a departure for the series by being the first ever direct sequel to a previous Final Fantasy game.

Final Fantasy X-2 was great. Some people hated it for the fact that its tone and attitude was so different to that of its predecessor which, despite all its changes, told a pretty good tale, despite having one of the most irritating main characters the franchise has ever seen. Some people hated it for the fact it was as camp as a row of pink tents. Some people didn’t even give it a chance after seeing the seriously cheesy intro sequence. But beneath the girlish nonsense lay a deep JRPG with an excellent character development system that combined elements of FFX‘s Sphere Grid and FFV‘s Job system.

Then came Final Fantasy XI, which was an MMO. This caused even series mainstays to shy away, and also proved that Square Enix had a lot to learn about making MMOs. It was difficult, progress was painfully slow and its tech was rather janky — due in part to the fact it was a cross-platform release on PC and PS2 (and later Xbox 360). But somehow despite this it was still recognisable as a Final Fantasy on some level — particularly once you started getting into the story missions and boss fights. You’d be forgiven if you skipped this one, however, as it required a time investment that many players aren’t able or willing to give. That said, it’s still going relatively strong today, meaning there must be something there that people like.

Final Fantasy XII reinvented the series once again, taking a few lessons from Final Fantasy XI and applying them to a single-player game. Ditching the concept of random battles altogether, Final Fantasy XII took place in an open world divided into zones, much like an MMO, and saw combat taking place on the field. There was a far greater focus on exploration and freedom than in any previous Final Fantasy game (except, arguably, the very first one, which pretty much plonked you down in the world and told you to get on with it with nary a hint of coherent plot) and, for the first time in the mainline single player series, the game focused far more on game mechanics than plot. This wasn’t a bad thing — it was great fun to play, and the new systems worked brilliantly — but the plot was rather lacking, ending up as a rather poor imitation of Star Wars without the space combat. It just wasn’t a very interesting story, which caused it to suffer. This, coupled with the fact that the game was so fundamentally different to what people thought Final Fantasy was — despite the fact it had been continually reinventing itself since X — caused many people to treat it with a degree of caution. The soundtrack was a bit rubbish, too — a big deal in a series that was known for its stirring, memorable music.

And then came Final Fantasy XIII, the first “next-gen” Final Fantasy. Conscious of the fact that some JRPG fans had shied away from the Westernness of XII, XIII took on a much more traditional JRPG structure. It was linear for the most part, it featured battles which took place on a separate screen, it had a levelling system somewhat reminiscent of FFX‘s Sphere Grid and it had a strong cast of characters participating in a plot best described as “bewildering”. It was certainly a spectacle to watch, and remains one of the best-looking games of all time to this day. Unfortunately, its extreme linearity coupled with the fact that it was still throwing tutorial messages at you by the time you were a good 20 hours into it caused many people to, again, respond negatively to it.

Now enter Final Fantasy XIII-2, a game where Square Enix seem to think they’ve learned from the mistakes of the past. And in some senses they have done — gone is the straight line corridor design of XIII and in are much more open-plan areas which require exploration to discover all their secrets, for example. But in some senses, they’ve taken a few steps backward, too — the plot, for one, which is complete nonsense, even for a Final Fantasy game. There’s a lot of time travel, though it’s not until a good while into the game that you start to see this used in an interesting manner with parallel timelines and whatnot. Chrono Trigger it ain’t. For the most part, it’s used as a bit of a lazy excuse for whatever disastrous event is afflicting the next location you go to — it’s always “a paradox”, and dealing with it usually involved beating the snot out of some giant monster. 16 hours in and this format is starting to change up a bit, though, so I’m hoping for a bit more variety later in the game. (Yes, obligatory disclaimer here: I haven’t finished it yet.)

There’s a few technical issues which mar the experience, too. While XIII was criticised somewhat for its relative lack of character interaction, it did at least have properly-directed and blocked scenes for all the important conversations. XIII-2 occasionally takes the lazy way out, with characters standing woodenly in place and flapping their mouths at each other. This wouldn’t be so bad were it not for the fact that the character you aren’t controlling at the time you initiate the conversation freezes in place when the conversation starts, meaning that if they’re in a position where they block the camera, the entire cutscene might be watched through their back. And sure, Serah has a nice bum, but it’s nice to see the faces of people you’re talking to.

All that said, these considerations don’t stop XIII-2 from being an enjoyable game. They stop it from being a truly great, essential purchase game, but they certainly don’t stop it from being fun. The battle system is straightforward and satisfying (if a little easy for the most part) and there is certainly plenty to do — and usually plenty of options for things to do at any one time rather than forcing the player down a linear path, too. There’s a lot to like and a bit to dislike. If you hated XIII, it’s worth a look to see the changes that have been made. If you hate Final Fantasy or JRPGS in general, it’s probably not going to change your mind. If you’re one of the relatively few people who enjoyed XIII, you’ll enjoy the new (if batshit crazy) plot with numerous guest appearances from recognizable characters. And if you passed up playing XIII because of its mixed reviews, you can still get an enjoyable experience out of this thanks to its “Beginner’s Primer” feature as well as numerous explicit explanations of past events throughout the course of the game.

Were I to believe in review scores (which I don’t, really) I would give it a solid 7. Good, not great. Worth playing, but not essential. Flawed, but enjoyable.