Final Fantasy XIII-2 is generally regarded as a superior game in comparison to its predecessor. As well as being an open apology to disappointed fans, Square Enix is also using XIII-2 as a platform to push DLC to the series, a process that will probably become the norm for the franchise moving forward. With the first few batches of DLC, it is worth looking at how worthwhile the DLC is to the game and its replay value.
Lightning and Amodar Battle is aptly named. The name is exactly what it is. Instead of branching out the story or expanding on the universe, this is simply a coliseum battle between the pairings of Noel and Serah and Lighting and Lt. Amodar. You begin fighting Lighting on her own, and after beating her down for a few minutes, she is joined by the goliath Lt. Amodar.
There is nothing exceptional about the battle. It plays exactly like every other battle, and while there is a novelty of fighting Lightning, nothing really happens. If you defeat Lighting and Amodar, you are allowed to use them as monsters in your party. They are great additions, but given that, in order to actually obtain them, you need to have beaten the game for the most part; they aren’t very useful additions.
One interesting feature to the DLC was for those that download it before visiting the coliseum for the first time. During the main story, taking a trip to the coliseum is vital to the main story. If you download the DLC first, that quest piece actually breaks and will trap you, so beware.
What saves Lighting and Amodar from being a slap in the face is the price. $2.99 is a small enough price point that the lack of content is almost acceptable. Even without much to add to the game, a few dollars for new characters and a new boss battle might be worth it to some people. I still don’t know if that fun was worth it, but at such a small price I wasn’t totally disappointed. What should be of concern is the strategy for DLC going forward. If this is any indication of what will be on offer, then I think any interest will drop off quick. The battle system in the series is easily the best part, and it is great to build on that, but Final Fantasy fans want stories. There is a huge world to play with, and a whole cast of characters to use to fill in the blanks between the two games. Hopefully they move in that direction instead of offering a distilled, one dimensional experience.
Review
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Battling a favorite character is great. | Terrible amount of content for DLC. No added replay value. |
| Rating |
