Incoming 2012: Final Fantasy XIII-2

What we know:

Final Fantasy XIII-2 is a Japanese role playing game, developed and published by Square Enix, which aims at solving the variety of issues that plagued the lackluster Final Fantasy XIII, which appeared back in 2009.

The action takes place three years after the last game, with its protagonist, Lightning, disappearing. As such, her sister, Serah, alongside an all-new character, Noel Kreiss, must go searching for her.

Square Enix already mentioned that the story in the new title will be more touching, focusing on the love between Serah and Lightning, although classic RPG mechanics like multiple endings or various outcomes being decided by the actions of the player, are still present.

Plenty of changes were made to the game as opposed to its predecessor, with the Japanese company gathering all the feedback from XIII players while trying to make the new XIII-2 that much better.

As such, the combat system, which still uses a combination between the Active Time Battle and the Paradigm Shift systems seen in the previous game, has been tweaked. Players can also take part in quick time events called Cinematic Actions, which will quickly turn the tides of almost any battle.

For that extra dose of diversity, players can now tame monsters and use them in their party, while the new Feral Link system allows the animals to pull off special attacks.

What’s really special about XIII-2, however, is the new Historia Crux system which, according to Square Enix, should help players skip over more tedious portions of the game and jump right into the action of the main story. As such, if some players don’t have enough time to spend with the game, they can use special portals to travel through various locations and periods, even hundreds of years into the future or the past, and see what consequences their actions had on the environment or the non-playable characters.

Why it matters:

Final Fantasy XIII was eagerly awaited by legions of fans but only ended up disappointing them. Now, Square Enix seems to have addressed many of the complaints with XIII-2, so fans should at least give it the benefit of the doubt.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 is out for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on January 31, in North America, and February 3, in Europe.

The full Incoming 2012 series of articles can be read on Softpedia right here.