The success of a role-playing game is often determined by it's story. Every great role-playing game has a great story that engages their audience. The Final Fantasy series has always been known as one of the top tier role-playing games in the world, but lately that statement is proving to not be accurate. The series' last entry, Final Fantasy XIII, suffered from a story that confused many fans, while those who understood the story didn't care about it. After getting my hands on a demo of it's sequel, Final Fantasy XIII-2, I'm tempted to say Square Enix has finally found a story that works.

The demo started with a quote from Lightning, before revealing Serah and a new character, Noel, emerging from a crytal-like portal into a rebuilt Cocoon city. Almost not a second after their arrival, a giant hand, from an invisible giant monster called Atlas, forces the heroes into battle. After the fight, the game skips ahead to another time, when the heroes are forced to return. While searching for another portal similar to the one they emerged from Atlas reappears outside the city, this time with more than just a hand available.

There were elements within my demo that had me more engaged in the fifteen minutes I played, then I ever was in it's predecessor's storyline. The most striking change was the addition of player choices. As if taking a note directly from Bioware, the game offered the choice to either fight Atlas head on, acquire an item that would help the characters reach their goal, or ask for the opinions of his partners. While my choice of fighting Atlas didn't go well, I hope this is a prominent feature in the game and not a special option that only appeared at this instant. Giving the player a choice in their storyline has worked well for Bioware, and would give the series the facelift their stories need. There was also hints that the storyline will involve time-traveling. Noel makes a remark about the monsters in “this time,” which may suggest that our heroes will be surfing through Cocoon's historical past and future. Time-traveling storylines can be hard to manage, but it's the kind of risk that the series needs to take.

Serah and Noel's platonic chemistry seems a lot more intriguing than the dynamic between past Final Fantasy characters, however that may have to do with the fact of Square Enix not revealing if Snow will be in the game; causing a certain level of mystique surrounding whether her relationship with Noel could end up being romantic. Either way, Noel is a welcomed addition, as he is far less annoying than Snow. Plus he actually fights with a weapon, unlike Serah's last hippy love interest. Serah herself seemed to be a more complex character this time around, her turmoil effectively shown in subtle ways during the demo. Although, I could have just been blinded by the awesome bow her character wields. Bows can make any character feel more complex...

If there's one aspect you can always rely on to be perfect in a Final Fantasy game is for the graphics to be the best of it's generation. Final Fantasy XIII-2 is no exception. It's hard to believe Square Enix could surpass the visuals established in it's predecessor, but there were many times where the in-game footage could be mistaken for the CGI cinematics. The graphics also aid the new atmosphere created for Cocoon. While the previous game felt more utopian in most areas, Final Fantasy XIII-2 does a great job at making the tone feel dystopian.

The controls haven't changed that much from the previous installment. Most of the controls for the battles were kept. A few minor changes were made for when players are roaming around as the characters, including the ability to jump at free will. Hopefully Final Fantasy XIII-3 will give players the option to boogie...

While a majority of the actual gameplay hasn't changed that much, the most notable change is the reoccurring presence of button prompts. The first boss battle featured instances where I had to slide the left analog stick, hold the A button, and tap the A button repeatedly. While this could have also been another one-time instance, it actually made me feel more engaged in the battle then I was with most of the boss battles in the previous game. Button prompts also help make the boss battles more concise, and as anybody who played Final Fantasy XIII will tell you; there were some boss battles that went on for far too long. Hopefully, the addition of a stronger button prompt presence will control the length of battles.

The final noteworthy change was the addition of an aggro meter that appears under your character. Players can finally determine if an enemy is planning to attack them, or if they are friendly enough to be able to pass them. It's a convenient feature that I wish was in the first game, but there were also a lot of moments in Final Fantasy XIII-2 where enemies appeared out of nowhere, literally, instead of having predetermined spawning points. One would think that having enemies appear randomly in front of the character would contradict the whole reason for having an aggro meter. Hopefully this annoyance is only a momentary story-device, and that the majority of enemy appearances are in the same manner as the first game.

It's hard to tell what features will be used for the entirety of the game, and which were only there for that particularly level, or for demonstration purposes. The disappointment of Final Fantasy XIII has made it clear that Square Enix needs an entry into the series that can remind us of how engaging a Final Fantasy story can be. After playing the demo, it would seem that Final Fantasy XIII-2 is heading in the right direction.