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Why does mankind defy its fate?
In the world where I once existed, time's path is no longer certain...
Final Fantasy XIII-2 is the direct sequel to Final Fantasy XIII, a part of the Fabula Nova Crystallis: Final Fantasy series. It was developed by Square Enix and tri-Ace.[1] The game takes place three years after the events of Final Fantasy XIII, and depicts the story of Serah Farron's journey across time and space to prevent the end of the world while searching for her missing sister, Lightning.
Final Fantasy XIII-2 retains the Command Synergy Battle and Paradigm Shift systems from its predecessor and the battle system is simply a more evolved form of Final Fantasy XIII's battle system. One new gameplay element, called the Mog Clock, has been added, where the player must attack monsters on the field before the time is up to get the upper hand in the ensuing battle. When the player attacks a monster, the screen lights up and the scene switches to a battlefield, marking the start of a battle. Non-player characters (such as the remnant PSICOM operatives) react to the monsters that appear in the field but don't affect any battles that may ensue. Another new feature is the Paradigm Tune, which enables the player to customize how the AI-controlled party members use their abilities in battle. Though the player still controls one out of a three-member party, they are able to initiate the Change Leader option to switch the party member they control during battle. If the current party leader is KO'd, the party leader is automatically switched to the other human character. The defeat of the human characters in the party results in a game over.
Characters grow via a revamped Crystarium System, and they have levels unlike the previous game. These levels are gained by moving through the Crystarium. Each character's Crystarium is no longer in the form of tiers, but now takes the shape of their respective weapon, and includes all possible Paradigm Roles on a singular Crystarium, similar to the Sphere Grid from Final Fantasy X. As a player advances through the Crystarium, they may choose which Paradigm Role to level up and gain bonus stat increases alongside level increases. Characters also learn different attacks at certain levels throughout their Paradigm Role growth. Unlike Final Fantasy XIII, there is no cap on how much a character may grow in the Crystarium at any given time. The weather or Climate Type in an area affects battles, and at one time an uncontrollable guest joins. Summoned Monsters return, but not be in the same form as those in the original game, as the characters are no longer l'Cie.
Monsters can be caught, trained, and used as party members through the Paradigm Pack component. Three monsters can be held at a time, and automatically switch to the role that a player shifts to in the Paradigm. Players can customize a monster's stats via leveling up through items and accessories can be given to monsters to change their appearance. By usage of the new Feral Link system, characters have been shown to be able to access unique special abilities from the monsters in the party by pressing a combination of buttons once a synchronization gauge has filled. Certain enemy monsters are able to do a new form of damage called Wound Damage, which lowers a party member's max HP during battle and cannot be healed, giving further incentive to defeat enemies quickly as possible as wound damage accumulates and max HP drops.
Players are given timed button presses similar to the the Reaction Commands of Kingdom Hearts during Cinematic Action sequences to gain the upper hand in battle and event scenes. There are also "Live" sequences, or real time cutscenes that occur to progress the story, meaning the player maintains control of their character although the camera is focused elsewhere. Another new element, called the Live Trigger, allows the player to choose their response in a conversation with a character by deciding on the sentence. The player character is also be able to engage in conversations with NPCs with speech bubbles above them, and the other characters in the party wander the area getting into conversations on their own. A new dungeon minigame system has been added called Temporal Rifts where the player must guide the character through the various puzzles, and grab crystals along the path within a certain amount of time with the option to retry the puzzle if things become difficult.
Another new gameplay element is the Historia Crux feature, the time travel system in the game that can be accessed through the use of gates throughout areas on the field. The gates are activated by finding special Artefacts in hidden treasure chests using Mog, and by resetting the gates, Noel and Serah can redo their adventures. Using Historia Crux, the player is able to choose the location or era to travel to. There is a "gate matrix," where players select their next location based on the game's AF (After the Fall of Cocoon) timeline. Players are also able to access the save and main menus through gates.
The equipment system in the game is rather unique. Each character has four different slots for equipment and a maximum load that they can carry. These points up any way the player would like to, for defensive gear or stat boosting accessories, but cannot exceed the limit. Monsters which are in the party can be renamed and equip decorative items, such as tails, which change how they look in battle. They grow by purchasing items, unlike the other characters who use the Crystarium. Players can buy some of these weapons, armor, items, and monster training goods from the merchant, Chocolina.
The game has a new area called Serendipity, an amusement park center complete with a casino and minigames such as Chocobo Racing and Slots, which has been compared to the Gold Saucer in Final Fantasy VII. The game retains the missions from Final Fantasy XIII as well as alternate sidequests from various NPCs in which the player must find and retrieve specific items, for example. Unlike those in Final Fantasy XIII, these are available from an early point in the game.
Unlike the original game, Final Fantasy XIII-2 features difficulty modes of gameplay: Normal and Easy mode, which can be changed at any time. There is also the option to save the game at any point throughout the story from the main menu, and the game automatically saves the game periodically with the Autosave function. Director Motomu Toriyama created an alternate means of playing through the game's multiple endings; players are allowed to reset the Historia Crux gates, returning them to the beginning of the current time period. The "New Game+" feature is retained as well; although players have the ability to reset the gates at any time, new content and endings become available once the main quest has been completed.
She embraced her destiny and fought the false gods who would enslave mankind.
It was a battle that changed the world. A brave few defeated the fal'Cie and saved mankind from destruction. Without the power of the gods to hold it aloft, Cocoon fell from the sky, and the cradle of humanity became locked in a frozen embrace with Gran Pulse, realm of monsters.
The tyranny of the gods was lifted, and a new age began.
But she did not see the new dawn. She disappeared, at the very moment of her triumph.
They all believed she was gone forever, never to return. Everyone, that is, except Serah Farron. She clung to a different truth.
Three years have passed.
One clear night, a meteorite strikes Gran Pulse and shatters the peace of the new era. Spacetime becomes distorted and terrible monsters attack through the rifts in the fabric of time.
In the chaos that ensues, Serah is saved from death by a young stranger called Noel. He says he is a hunter who has crossed time and space to find her.
"Come with me", he says. "We will travel the timeline and find your sister".
Lightning! Could she be alive? Could her beloved sister really be in that world of chaos and death, fighting to save a dying goddess.
It does not take long for Serah to make her fateful decision.
She accepts the weapon that Lightning has gifted her, and resolves to follow this stranger into the future...
As a result of Cocoon's fall at the end of Final Fantasy XIII, some of its surviving citizens now reside on Gran Pulse, and the world has adopted a new dating system since the fall of Cocoon ("AF" or "After Fall"). In the three years since, new towns and cities have been established. While searching for Lightning, Serah and Noel travel to old and new places on Pulse and in Cocoon.
As they travel through time, some locations from Final Fantasy XIII change in appearance. Eden is no longer the capital and the Sanctum is no more. The city of Academia is the new capital, and the new provisional government is run by the Academy, a scientific expedition group wishing to use human technology to build a world that doesn't rely on the fal'Cie.
Playing as Lightning, there is a mysterious new world called Valhalla, the realm of death and chaos at the edge of time in the distant future, ruled by the goddess Etro.
At the end of Final Fantasy XIII -Episode i-, Lightning, who felt there was still something threatening the newly acquired peace, finds herself being captured and dragged into the Historia Crux by chaos due to the effects of Etro releasing her and the others (except Fang and Vanille) from crystal stasis. She awakens in Valhalla and goes into Etro's temple. Being able to see all of time from Valhalla, Lightning looks into the future and receives a suit of armor becoming the protector of the dying goddess. As a result of Lightning being written out of history, many now believe her to be either dead or crystallized with Fang and Vanille within the crystal pillar; but only her sister, Serah, remembers reuniting with her after Cocoon fell and knows that she is still alive.
By the year 2 AF, many former residents of Cocoon have created settlements on Gran Pulse like the village of New Bodhum near the crystallized structure, and some have gained the ability to wield magic. After recently moving in together, Snow tells Serah that he believes her, and promises to look for Lightning and bring her home so that he and Serah can finally get married, but a year goes by and he goes missing as well.
Inside Etro's temple in Valhalla, Lightning looks out from the balcony and has a vision of a boy in the Historia Crux. Meanwhile, a man in purple named Caius Ballad lays the lifeless body of a young girl named Yeul to rest in the ocean of chaos. Angered, he summons an army of monsters and challenges Lightning to battle. She confronts Caius with her own army of summoned monsters and Eidolons. They eventually meet each other and clash swords before Caius transforms into Chaos Bahamut. He swipes at Lightning and sends her flying over Valhalla.
Falling from the sky over the beach, Lightning manages to land safely on Odin in his Gestalt Mode, but is promptly pursued by Chaos Bahamut. Riding Odin, Lightning battles Chaos Bahamut, leading him into the city. Dodging Chaos Bahamut's attacks, she manages to defeat him with an attack from behind, but gets caught off guard by Caius's surprise attack. Lightning is saved by Odin, and Caius reappears in his human form. As they clash blades and fire magic at each other, Lightning eventually manages to bury Caius under fallen debris. Then she notices Etro's Gate over the temple and sees a familiar figure falling from the sky towards Valhalla. She recognizes it as the young man she had seen in her vision, Noel Kreiss.
Summoning Bahamut, she saves him from his fall but Caius returns as Chaos Bahamut to continue their fight. Lightning asks Noel to find Serah and help her reach Valhalla as he is the only one who can do it. She summons a moogle named Mog as a gift for Noel to give to Serah, but Caius reappears and summons a meteor over Etro's temple before transforming to escape. Summoning Odin, Lightning thrusts herself into the meteor's path as it crushes the temple. Noel leaps into the Time Gate below to find Serah in the past.
In New Bodhum 3 AF Serah has a dream about Lightning's battle with Caius and Noel coming to New Bodhum to help her. After a crystalline meteor falls from the sky, she awakens to find that her clothes have mysteriously changed. As she heads outside to the shouts of NORA, Serah sees the village transformed into a wasteland. When the village reverts back to normal, it seems that time has stopped and New Bodhum has fallen under attack by mysterious monsters. Once time resumes, Serah finds herself amidst the chaos. When she is attacked, Serah is saved by Noel. With little time to talk, Noel hands Serah a weapon, enabling her to fight off the monsters with him.
Afterwards, Serah's weapon transforms into her new moogle companion. Noel says Mog is a gift for her from Lightning, causing Serah to question whether or not her dream was real. At the meteor's crash site Noel reveals to Serah that he is from 700 years in the future, and that Lightning is waiting for her in a place called Valhalla. He offers to take Serah to her, but the members of NORA remain skeptical. Placing Serah's hand on the meteorite that fell near New Bodhum, Noel shows them it is really a Time Gate.
The next day, Noel and Serah use Mog to search around the village for an artefact that will let them use the gate. After finding it, Noel reveals to Serah that he is from a distant future where all of humanity was slowly wiped out until he was the only one left. Joined by Noel and Mog, Serah leaves her home to find her sister, but unknown to both of them, they are being watched by Caius and his companion, Yeul.
Noel and Serah travel through the Historia Crux to the Bresha Ruins in Cocoon two years in the future at 5 AF. They battle an invisible giant called Paradox Alpha, later revealed to be Atlas. Serah and Noel are arrested by soldiers for being in a restricted area, but they are freed by Academy scientist, Alyssa Zaidelle. Alyssa asks them for their help in defeating Atlas before it will cause the site to be shut down, as she is in search of something in the ruins. Noel and Serah eventually find Atlas, now in his true form, in another part of the ruins. Alyssa informs them of a device possible of controlling Atlas appearing in the ruins. When Serah and Noel find the device, Atlas's hand pulls them into a paradox.
After solving the Temporal Rift, they activate the device and weaken Atlas. By destroying the crystal on top of Atlas's head, Noel and Serah defeat him, and restore the Bresha Ruins to their former glory. Serah and Noel find what Alyssa was looking for, a grave belonging to her friend who died in the Purge, and is glad to see that her own name is not on the grave. Alyssa reveals she often dreams of dying in the Purge even though she survived it, and wonders if she did die and her current life is really an illusion. After hearing Alyssa's story, Serah laments how the Purge was her fault for being made a l'Cie in the first place.
Serah, Mog and Noel travel to the Yaschas Massif in the year 10 AF, which is darkened by an eclipse. Noel says that 500 years before his time, the fal'Cie Fenrir appeared and blocked the sun, sending the world into darkness. Serah figures that Fenrir appearing in 10 AF is due to a paradox. After finding their way through the area, the two find the Paddra ruins and are forbidden entry before being attacked by Aloeidai.
After defeating Aloeidai, they are saved by Academy leader, Hope Estheim, and they meet an older Alyssa who is now Hope's assistant. They learn from Hope and Alyssa about the Farseers, a nation led by a seeress named Yeul, who had foretold the city's destruction, causing conflict among its people. With the ancient device called the Oracle Drive, they see images of the events from the year 0 AF, and Lightning in Valhalla. Using the new artefact they got from Hope, Serah, Mog and Noel go through another Time Gate to solve the paradox causing the eclipse that is affecting the Oracle Drive.
They wind up in Oerba during the year 200 AF where they find most of the town sucked into a black hole caused by the past and future merging together. After restoring the town by solving the numerous Temporal Rifts, they find another Oracle Drive at the old schoolhouse that projects images of Serah's reunion with Lightning, but end up being apprehended by Caius and Yeul.
Caius reveals that there are more than one Yeul across different eras, that she has been watching them through her visions, and that he seeks to punish them for tampering with the timeline. Afterwards, Yeul and Caius leave Oerba, and Noel and Serah use the artefact they left behind to leave themselves. As they have solved the paradox in Oerba, they have also solved the paradox in Yaschas Massif. Serah and Noel arrive in an alternate version of the Yaschas Massif in the year 10 AF, also known as 1X AF. They meet another Yeul, who says that she and Serah are the same in how they can show others the way. Hope and Alyssa are still at the ruins, and the four reunite, even though Hope and Alyssa don't remember meeting them before.
Hope shows a recording from Yeul, which shows clear images of Lightning battling Caius in Valhalla, and Cocoon's crystal pillar crumbling, causing Cocoon to fall. Hope concludes that he will have the Academy prepare for the time when Cocoon will fall to try to minimize the damage and number of casualties, while Serah and Noel continue to solve the paradoxes. After Serah and Noel leave, Yeul dies in Caius's arms before he takes her body away. Serah and Noel end up in the Void Beyond, where they briefly explore before returning to the Historia Crux.
They go to the Sunleth Waterscape in 300 AF, where they find Snow battling a giant flan called Royal Ripeness. Upon defeating it however, it begins to regenerate, causing the party to retreat. After Noel demands Snow to explain why he left Serah and is now fighting in the future, Snow reveals that Lightning appeared to him in a dream, asking him to protect Cocoon's pillar, and in turn, Fang and Vanille. Following a trail of Miniflan, they find two artefacts to use in solving the paradox causing Royal Ripeness to grow. Noel, Mog, and Serah first go to the Coliseum, and obtain the White Hole fragment from the Arbiter of Time.
Next they go to the Archylte Steppe at ??? AF, where they learn from a group of hunters that the Faeryl is sucking flan into its mouth, causing them to appear at Sunleth. Defeating the Faeryl, the trio receives the Black Hole fragment, returns to Sunleth, only to find Snow missing. They find him fighting the Mutantomato and they fight and defeat it together. Noel reprimands Snow for his recklessness and charging in the way he did rather than waiting for help. Snow apologizes to Noel and asks him to look after Serah for him. When Snow begins glowing, Noel says it is because the paradox has been resolved and things that shouldn't exist in this time are disappearing. Serah notices a l'Cie brand on Snow's arm before he fades away. Noel says Snow may have asked to become a l'Cie in order to get the power to protect his friends and carry out his task.
Next, the trio emerges in the Void Beyond again, and decides to take a break. Noel tells Serah a group of Farseers always had a girl with the same appearance, voice, and powers, and who was always called Yeul. They end up in the city of Academia in 400 AF, a highly advanced Pulsian city under the control of a Proto fal'Cie. The fal'Cie spots Serah and Noel and begins transforming citizens into Cie'th without hesitation.
Serah, Noel and Mog attempt to find out what is going on and run into Caius, who tells them they are contradictions in the timeline and that he has every reason to eliminate them. He also tells them they met in a tower 200 years earlier and that they died there after learning the forbidden history sealed inside. Now that they are here, alive and well, they have caused a paradox. Caius leaves them with a band of Cie'th and after defeating them, Serah, Noel and Mog give chase to Caius, but he disappears every time they catch up to him.
Finally, they run into Yeul, who gets attacked by several Cie'th including Zenobia. After Serah and Noel defeat Zenobia, Yeul tells Noel about her vision of death before Serah realizes that Yeul is dying because of them causing a paradox. Yeul tells them that Caius was never in the city and dies, leaving them an artefact. Serah, Noel and Mog use a nearby gate to travel to Augusta Tower in 200 AF.
In the tower, they notice Caius ascending its levels. They find out that the entire tower's staff are artificial duplicates, and they meet a duplicate of Alyssa, who reveals to them the forbidden history from the year 13 AF. During that time, when Augusta Tower was built as part of the "Proto Fal'Cie Project", the tower's AI rebelled against its creators and killed everyone, including Hope and Alyssa. Afterwards, the AI constructed the Proto fal'Cie and created duplicates to cover the massacre.
Serah, Noel and Mog make their way to the top floor where they meet the same Yeul from Oerba, who gives them an artefact. Yeul reveals that Caius is immortal and knows the entire timeline from remembering the seeress's visions. Yeul says that Lightning's disappearance from Gran Pulse was caused by the future being changed and if Serah and Noel continue to solve the paradoxes the past will return to the way Serah remembers it. She also reveals that the Caius whom they encountered in Academia was a fake created by the sentient AI, and that they saw the real Caius in the tower. Serah and Noel venture into the core to defeat the AI. Yeul sees into the future and dies with a smile on her face. Caius arrives, mourns for Yeul, vowing to remember her pain and takes her away.
Meanwhile, Serah and Noel arrive to the tower's core and encounter the Proto fal'Cie Adam, which is using the AI and a paradox to keep itself functional. Serah and Noel witness this as they attempt to defeat it, but it is reincarnated every time they do. As a last resort, Serah shouts at Hope in the past for creating the Proto fal'Cie. Her yelling reaches out to Hope via an Oracle Drive and the Proto fal'Cie disappears permanently. Having resolved the paradox, Serah has yet another vision. The trio then continues on their journey.
Serah, Noel and Mog end up in Academia in a new timeline at 4XX AF, where everything is well now that the Proto fal'Cie is gone. They are greeted by Hope and Alyssa who used a time capsule Hope invented to get to Academia in this time period without ageing in the process. Back at 10 AF, Hope had begun the "New Cocoon Project," in order to create a new Cocoon after the old one is destroyed when the crystal pillar collapses in the future. After seeing the Thirteenth Ark in the Oracle Drive, he and Alyssa entered the time capsule and awoke in Academia to learn how it is capable of self-levitation. To succeed in his New Cocoon Project, Hope requires five Graviton Cores hidden throughout the timeline to make his new Cocoon float.
Serah and Noel retrieve the Graviton Cores and Alyssa gives them an artefact to open the new Time Gate back in town. Hope and Alyssa meet them at the gate and see them off, promising to meet again a century in the future. When Serah and Noel go through the gate, Alyssa smirks as she watches them, something only Mog notices. When Mog follows after Serah and Noel, he and Serah get separated from Noel in the Historia Crux. Afterwards, Alyssa reveals that she got the artefact from Caius and tricked them into his trap, because she is a living paradox and won't exist in the corrected timeline.
Serah and Noel end up in the Void Beyond, where Mog is phased out and becomes invisible to Serah and Noel is impaled by Caius. Serah goes on alone and meets several Yeuls from different time periods. Each Yeul tells Serah certain truths about her, the l'Cie who saved Cocoon, and history's change ending in revelation that like Yeul, Serah has the "Eyes of Etro," the ability to see the future, a skill granted by the goddess herself. The last Yeul tells Serah that whenever people die in the Void Beyond, it can take the shape of their heart's desires, and warns her that as she changes the timeline, she brings herself closer to death. This Yeul turns out to be an illusion made by Caius, and Serah is forced to fight him. He tells her about Noel's fate and that as the result of Etro freeing her and the other l'Cie from their fate on the Day of Ragnarok, the lives of the Yeuls throughout time were in turn cut short. Caius plans to send everything back to Valhalla to save Yeul from her fate, even if it means destroying time itself. In the end, Caius impales Serah from behind, causing chaos to burst from her body.
Serah, in her old clothes, is awakened in New Bodhum by the NORA members. She is confused as they tell her she never left on a journey and have never heard of Noel. When she heads into NORA House, she finds Snow. It seems she is in a dream where everything is the way she wants them to be; she is married to Snow and Lightning never disappeared. When the fake Lightning attempts to convince Serah to remain in her dream world forever, Serah remembers that the real Lightning is fighting in Valhalla waiting for her, and refuses, causing the fake Lightning to disperse into chaos.
Serah hears a familiar woman's voice giving her words of encouragement and she encounters Vanille and meets Fang for the first time. The pair reveal they were able to reach Serah since she rejected the fake Lightning on her own and came to help her escape the dream of the Void Beyond. They tell her that Noel needs her help to escape from his own dream. Leaving a spacetime distortion for Serah, Vanille and Fang return back to their dream inside Cocoon's pillar. Serah heads into the distortion to find Noel and save him.
Noel is caught within his own dream world, based on past memories from his home of the Dying World at 700 AF. Serah follows Noel and witnesses his conversation with Caius and Yeul. Caius tells Noel he must kill him in order to become Yeul's next Guardian and receive his Heart of Chaos, which is a manifestation of Etro. Should it stop beating, the goddess will die, the chaos of Valhalla will be unleashed into the world and history will be destroyed. Noel refuses and Caius defeats him in battle before leaving for Valhalla, in an attempt to slay the goddess Etro in order to free Yeul from her fate. Afterwards, Serah witnesses Noel talking to Yeul. Yeul has a vision of the future and she dies in his embrace, promising him they will meet again someday. Noel goes after Caius and gets caught in a distortion which would lead him to Valhalla, but Serah catches up to him and helps Noel awaken from his dream.
Serah is willing to continue their journey, but Noel is reluctant, because he now knows why Yeul died. Every time a seeress has a vision of the future, a piece of her life will vanish, and if she has a vision strong enough, she will die. Since Serah has the same ability, she, too, is in danger of dying the same way each time she and Noel change the timeline, but Serah is willing to take that risk in order to save the future.
Serah and Noel return to where Yeul died, and the Oracle Drive shows her vision of Noel fighting to save the future and the two of them reuniting. A distortion appears and Mog returns back to normal. Mog reveals that his soul was trapped in the Void Beyond until Lightning saved him. He also reveals that Caius was once a Pulse l'Cie with the Focus of Yeul's protection, until Etro saved him and made him immortal. Noel and Serah realize that Caius has been plotting for centuries, using his tremendous power and knowledge of Yeul's visions to create the paradoxes in order to reach his goal: the destruction of the world, and the goddess's death.
Serah, Noel and Mog go through the time distortion in Dying World and end up in New Bodhum in 700 AF, where the village is a desolate wasteland. Here, they finally meet Lightning who has come from Valhalla and explains everything that happened to her and what Caius is attempting. Caius is trying to cause Cocoon's destruction in order to force Etro's Gate to open, which would cause chaos to erupt from Valhalla. Chaos would engulf the world, turning it into a place where time, life, and death don't exist, essentially re-making the world in Valhalla's image. Noel realizes Caius is doing this for Yeul's sake, to stop her from her cycle of death and rebirth. To prevent this, Caius must be stopped in both Valhalla and the real world. Since Lightning can't do this alone, she needs help from Serah and Noel. She tells them that in the year 500 AF, Hope will launch the new Cocoon and Caius will attempt to bring it and the old Cocoon down in one fell swoop. Lightning tells them if they save the new Cocoon and stop Caius, the timeline will be restored. At her command, Mog reveals a new gate to take Noel and Serah to 500 AF and Lightning prepares to go back to Valhalla to face Caius. Serah asks her if they will be able to be together again when everything is over, but Lightning only smiles and replies, "One thing at a time, Serah", and leaves.
Serah, Noel and Mog arrive at Academia at 500 AF, the time of the prophecy, but the city is now a labyrinth of chaos and the populace has been evacuated to Hope's new Cocoon. As they journey through the area, they hear Yeul's voice warning them not to fight Caius and kill Etro. Reaching Academy headquarters, Caius attacks them as Chaos Bahamut and with summoned monsters, but they are saved by Hope. They give chase to Caius with an airship piloted by Sazh Katzroy, and Serah and Noel fight him as Chaos Bahamut. Caius eventually manages to transform and fly into a portal on the sky which leads to Valhalla. Hope is eager to go after him, but Serah insists that he must protect Vanille, Fang, and his new Cocoon.
Serah, Noel and Mog jump into the portal and encounter Caius in Valhalla. They manage to defeat him but he still swears to stop Yeul's continual cycle of dying and being reborn by destroying Etro. Noel attempts to convince Caius that destruction won't make her happy, and that Yeul kept returning out of her own will because she wanted to be with him. Angrily, Caius attacks Noel but is beaten, causing him to transform into his ultimate form, Jet Bahamut. He blasts at Serah and Noel, sending them falling into an abyss beneath the waves of chaos, but Lightning saves them, urging them to keep hope alive. Serah and Noel fight and defeat Jet Bahamut, and his supporters: Garnet Bahamut and Amber Bahamut, and Caius reverts back into a human.
Caius says that in order to save Yeul, Noel must kill him. He tries to provoke Noel to do this, even by saying that he has killed Lightning, but Noel tells the shocked Serah that Caius is lying. Noel still refuses and Caius lunges at Serah. Noel intervenes and is about to stab Caius through his heart but stops right before he does. Caius takes the blade and forces it through his heart. With Caius dead and the final paradox resolved, the timeline is fixed, and Serah, Noel, and Mog return to 500 AF before the gates disappear.
Possible Endings
There are nine possible endings in Final Fantasy XIII-2:
Canon Ending
After Caius is defeated he fades into crystal dust, Sazh removes Fang and Vanille from the crystal pillar before the old Cocoon falls and the new one named "Bhunivelze" rises into the sky. Serah, Noel and Mog leave Valhalla and return to Pulse in 500 AF. After Serah thanks Noel, she has another vision and dies because of it. Noel weeps for her as Hope arrives from Academia to greet them. Hope asks Noel why Serah is dead since they both returned fine, and Noel tells him why it happened: Serah was a seeress just like Yeul, and a seeress is forced to see the changes in the timeline whether or not she wants to. This will eventually end in the seeress's death and that's what happened to Serah.
The world suddenly goes dark and Mog grows weak, saying that the goddess is gone. Noel remembers Caius's warning about Etro and the Heart of Chaos, saying that if the heart stops beating the goddess will die once again, meaning that the goddess may have died before. Bhunivelze and everything on Pulse begin to emit chaos as a giant seal opens in the sky. The world takes on Valhalla's appearance, and a crystallized Lightning is seen within Etro's temple, sitting on the goddess's throne. The game ends with the words "To be continued..."
After obtaining all the paradox endings and all 160 fragments, a secret ending, "The Goddess is Dead", plays after the end credits. It shows Caius in the Void Beyond, sitting on Etro's throne. Caius stands up and uses his sword, causing chaos to emerge, wanting to create a new world without Etro where Yeul doesn't die, now that they are free from their curses. This scene also alters the opening scene where Caius is shown seemingly talking to the player. Although the ending implies that Etro is dead, Caius was only able to use chaos because of the Heart of Chaos beating in his chest. This hints that Etro may perhaps not be truly dead.[2]
After completing the DLC episode, "Lightning: Requiem of the Goddess," the reason Lightning ends up in crystal stasis is revealed. After dying, Serah's spirit is taken to Valhalla and held hostage by the spirits of Yeul. Lightning demands Yeul to release Serah, but she still refuses, saying that they will all eventually dissolve into chaos and summons Caius to fight Lightning. Lightning wins against Caius but Yeul forces Lightning to realize that Serah is dead because of her urging Serah to journey through time. When sinking deeper into despair, Lightning is ready to give up all hope, when she meets Serah's spirit in an abyss full of light. Serah explains she knew what would happen to her and has no regrets about her choice. Her only wish is for Lightning to always remember her, and that they will meet again.
After coming to her senses in Etro's shrine, Lightning's hope for the future is renewed. She ascends to the goddess's throne and transforms herself into an indestructible crystal epitaph in order to preserve the world's existence along with Serah's memory, and waits for a time at the end of eternity when she will awaken and reunite with Serah. In a secret post-credits scene, Lightning is seen waking up in a distant future, a destroyed world resembling Noel's home in the Dying World.
Paradox Endings
- A Giant Mistake: Both sides of the Pulsian civil war, which will eventually bring down Cocoon's pillar, unleash an army of Atlases on the Archylte Steppe. Serah and Noel are trapped in the middle of the war, and resolve to take down each one. The last shot is of a downed Atlas with both Serah's and Noel's weapons lodged in an unbroken crystal atop the beast's head.
- Mischievous Mog's Marvelous Plan with Flan: Noel and Serah use magic to disguise themselves as a Microchu and Miniflan, in order to remain unnoticed while they prepare a poisonous pudding to kill the evil Royal Ripeness, who has taken over the Sunleth Waterscape and wants to transform Cocoon into a human-free world of monsters.
- Vanille's Truth: Serah and Noel find a crystallized Vanille in Oerba, and promise to find Fang for her.
- Test Subjects: Serah and Noel are modified by the Proto fal'Cie Adam to serve as guards in Augusta Tower. They briefly wonder what they were supposed to be doing before their memories were erased, which prompts Adam to question whether there are paradoxical aspects in the "souls" of every human.
- The Future is Hope: Snow appears in Academia 4XX AF with a security detail and arrests Alyssa, stopping her from tricking Serah and Noel into going into Caius's trap. Snow warns Hope of his imminent assassination coming in three days and tells Noel to stay behind to guard him. He states he has thirteen crystals to find throughout time before flying off with Serah and Mog on Shiva as Noel and Hope look on. An interesting note is that Bhunivelze is in the sky of Academia.
- Beneath a Timeless Sky: Serah, Noel and Yeul are trapped in New Bodhum in 700 AF, looking for a way out. Yeul can no longer see the future due to the timeline's collapse. While they search together, a meteorite lands outside the town, in a similar place and manner as the one in 3 AF, and they quickly run off to investigate.
- Fate and Freedom: Serah remains in her eternal dream with Lightning, Snow, and the members of NORA in New Bodhum, though she feels it will never be perfect without Noel and Mog, both of whom she can only faintly remember.
- Heir to Chaos: Noel inherits the Heart of Chaos from Caius, and replaces him as the new Guardian of Time. As Noel floats through the Historia Crux, he resolves to save Yeul, Serah, and Caius from their fates.
Playable Characters
- (Serah Farron, セラ・ファロン?, lit. Sera Faron) - The main protagonist of the game. She is Lightning's younger sister, Snow's fiancée, and the only one out of her friends to know Lightning still exists. Gaining the ability to have visions of the future, Serah journeys with Noel to find and save her sister. Her weapon is a bow that can transform into a sword, though its true form is that of her moogle companion Mog.
- (Noel Kreiss, ノエル・クライス?, lit. Noeru Kuraisu) - The main male protagonist of the game. Noel comes from the Dying World at 700 AF, where he is the last surviving human in a world that faced destruction. After a chance encounter with Lightning, he travels into the past to find her sister, Serah. He sets off with her to save Lightning in the hopes of changing the future. He uses two swords that are able to combine to form a spear in battle.
Temporary Playable Characters
- (Lightning, ライトニング?, lit. Raitoningu) - The main narrator of the game. Having been attacked by the emerging chaos and subsequently taken to Valhalla, Lightning is no longer believed to be alive by anyone except Serah. In reality, she has become a knight, protecting the goddess Etro in Valhalla while being confronted by Caius. She now wields a new gunblade resembling a combination of her Blazefire Saber and a traditional sword.
- (Sazh Katzroy, サッズ・カッツロイ?, lit. Sazzu Kattsuroi) - Sazh is playable after purchasing his DLC scenario, "Heads or Tails." Hope reveals that Sazh has mysteriously gone missing, he ends up in Serendipity; what he did whilst he was there is yet to be discovered. After his time in Serendipity, Sazh resurfaces in Academia 500 AF along with Dajh. Once there, he helps Noel and Serah pursue Caius in the skies. Sazh is present at the end of the game along with Noel and Hope. He retains his afro and dual-wield pistols.
Guest Characters
- (Snow Villiers, スノウ・ヴィリアース?, lit. Sunou Viriāsu) - Snow left to search for Lightning two years after her disappearance, but is nowhere to be found at the time Serah set out on her own search. He appears as an uncontrollable guest character in the Sunleth Waterscape at 300 AF.
- (Caius Ballad, カイアス・バラッド?, lit. Kaiasu Baraddo) - A mysterious man who is an important figure in both Noel's past and Serah's future. He is of equal strength to Lightning and is said to be on a similar mission to hers, and will be in her way as she tries to complete her own. Caius also has the ability harness his inner chaos to transform into Chaos Bahamut. He travels with his companion Yeul as they pursue Noel and Serah. Caius is the immortal guardian of the timeline, and able to retain memory of all timeline events.
Other Characters
- (Mog, モーグリ?, lit. Mōguri) - Serah's new moogle companion and a gift from Lightning. Instead of a traditional moogle's pom-pom, Mog's pom-pom is a glowing crystal. He carries a rod adorned with a clock, and can transform into Serah's weapon. He is a treasure hunter and will reveal invisible treasure chests within dungeons. He can access treasure in out-of-reach places by being thrown by the player. He also uses his magic to execute the Mog Clock pre-battle system.
- (Hope Estheim, ホープ・エストハイム?, lit. Hōpu Esutohaimu) - Hope appears as a 24-year-old young man, and the leader of the Academy, researching the world's history and looking for a new energy source for Cocoon in the absence of the fal'Cie. He is aware of Noel and Serah's travels through time because of his research, and helps them in their search for Lightning. He also wants to change history in order to improve the world and bring back the people dear to him.
- (Paddra Nsu-Yeul, ユール?, lit. Yūru) - A young Pulsian seeress who is blessed with the ability to see the future. However, the gift comes with the price that she would die and be reborn in the next generation. She was previously mentioned in Final Fantasy XIII, as the author of the fourth and ninth Analects.
- (Alyssa Zaidelle, アリサ・ザイデル?, lit. Arisa Zaideru) - A young girl who is part of the Academy and Hope's trusted assistant. They work together to understand the nature of paradoxes and help Noel and Serah in their journey to change the future. Continuously, the story hints that Alyssa has something to hide about her past.
- (NORA, ノラ?, lit. Nora) - Snow's friends: Gadot, Lebreau, Maqui and Yuj have stayed with Serah during their years on Pulse while resuming their occupation as New Bodhum's neighborhood watch group.
- (PSICOM, サイコム?, lit. Saikomu) - The military corps from Cocoon now handle monster extermination on Pulse to protect the new cities that the citizens are building, and look over the rebuilding of the formerly floating world.
- Dajh Katzroy- Dajh, along with his father, are currently engaged in operations to improve Gran Pulse.
- Oerba Dia Vanille and Oerba Yun Fang: A pair of l'Cie from Pulse who aided Lightning and the others in defeating Orphan before they sacrificed themselves to create the crystal pillar to hold Cocoon up. However, it would turn out that their act was only delaying the fall that would happen centuries later. Though mentioned, Vanille and Fang physically appear before Serah to help her leave her dream.[3]
Composers of the original game, Masashi Hamauzu and Mitsuto Suzuki, return joined by Naoshi Mizuta, composer of Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light and Final Fantasy XI. The game's main theme in the Japanese PlayStation 3 version is "Yakusoku no Basho," sung by Mai Fukui. An English version of the theme, called "New World", sung by Filipina artist Charice Pempengco, is used in the Japanese Xbox 360 and Western releases of the game.
The soundtrack was released on December 14th, 2011. It includes the standard and limited edition. Standard version soundtrack spans over four discs, while the limited edition has a bonus DVD packed with two trailers, the trailer shown at E3 2011 (Japanese voices version), and the game's Final Trailer (Special Music Edition). The standard edition retails for 3990¥, and the limited edition is 4880¥.[4] A selection of songs from the game are to be available with the Limited Collector's Edition of Final Fantasy XIII-2 in Europe and the entire soundtrack is to be available to those who purchase the Crystal Edition in Europe or the Collector's Edition in North America. However, neither shall include "New World" by Charice.[5]
Final Fantasy XIII-2 includes music from Final Fantasy XIII.
Downloadable Content and Extras
The game features downloadable content in the form of downloadable outfits, weapons, accessories, scenarios, recruitable monsters and minigames. Though there were initial plans to release DLC for Final Fantasy XIII, these ideas did not come to fruition. For Final Fantasy XIII-2 the team designed and planned for content, including DLC, that would expand on the world of Final Fantasy XIII-2 since the beginning of its development.[6]
Players who own Final Fantasy XIII save data can unlock an additional wallpaper (PS3) or gamer picture (Xbox 360) for the save file[7][8]. Downloadable content released after the game contains additional weapons, costumes and monsters.[9] Kitase assures players that the content will allow for even longer play.[10] Post-release downloads also include a "Final Fantasy XIII Lost Report" which distributed through the game's official site offers a look back at Final Fantasy XIII's story through Rygdea and Yaag Rosch's perspectives.
Kitase has also stated that there will be a downloadable version for Xbox 360, but it is unknown whether or not there will also be one for PlayStation 3.
Hints at a sequel to Final Fantasy XIII were first given when Square Enix stated they would be willing to create a direct sequel if the fans want it.[11] They also said the first installment had enough cut content to fill a new game. Late 2010, in an interview from the Final Fantasy XIII Ultimania Omega, Motomu Toriyama proclaimed the idea to make a story where Lightning "ends up happy in the end."[12] Furthermore, an autographed postcard was personally sent by Tetsuya Nomura to members of the Japanese Square Enix Members community, with an artwork of Lightning and a message saying "She must not be forgotten." Later, Square Enix registered the domain for the game. The game was officially announced at the "Square Enix 1st Production Department Premiere" event on January 18, 2011.
Toriyama has said in an interview with Famitsu[13]the main reason they decided to make a sequel is that there was demand throughout the world and because the development staff wanted to portray Lightning's character further, to give her a clear conclusion. This ended up not being the case, however, and Lightning's story was to be continued in a sequel.
The development of the first Final Fantasy XIII game was problematic due to poor communication between different sectors of the development, as Final Fantasy XIII had a tremendously large production team. With Final Fantasy XIII-2 the team strove to change this by setting milestones and sharing content internally. Motomu Toriyama has said that Square Enix realized they needed to apply more Western technology and production techniques.[14] Because Final Fantasy XIII was a large-scale project, the developers wanted to keep it secret, but this led to user testing happening too late in the process and a lot of feedback about things that needed fixing were decided to be included in Final Fantasy XIII-2. The team conducted user tests and used the feedback to make adjustments to the gameplay and this process was started about a year earlier than what was done with Final Fantasy XIII.[15] Development went better for Final Fantasy XIII-2 than for its predecessor, but Toriyama still feels it could be better, thinking they need to add more buffer time for player testing in the future.[14]
Both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game only need one disc. In an interview, director Motomu Toriyama says that the game actually has the same amount of volume as Final Fantasy XIII and the reason they're able to fit the game in less space this time is that the event scenes are real time rather than prerendered.[16]
In addition to the Square Enix staff, Tri-Ace staff were involved with the development of Final Fantasy XIII-2, helping out on the game with aspects of game design, art and programming.[17] Outsourcing development is something Square Enix is looking to do more in the future, based on the experiences of developing Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy XIII-2. "We are also thinking that we will not do large-scale internal development any longer," Toriyama has commented. "We have a lot of great creators in Square Enix, but for larger-scale development we will be doing more distributed and outsourced development to reach our targets on time."[14]
Following player feedback on the linear, story-driven gameplay of Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XIII-2 focuses on player-driven gameplay with a more open world that players can explore widely, triggering events as they find them. In all the different types of gameplay presented, the developers' goal has been to make the player the main focus and instigator, and the game design to promote the player progressing through the story rather than just passively watching.[18] Toriyama compared this mindset to the differences between Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2 - the latter builds on the world and story of the former and thus can have a stronger focus on gameplay.[19]
Art Direction
Final Fantasy XIII-2 uses different types of art styles and art director Isamu Kamikokuryo has said that even with the world reduced close to ruin after the events of Final Fantasy XIII, he was careful in expressing the serious tone of the story and the world when compared to the first game's beautiful but manufactured setting.[20] The developers wanted to go with a dark atmosphere and took inspiration from works of surrealism, such as the art of Salvador Dali and Giorgio de Chirico, which were used as references when determining the balance of how far the team should pursue a photo-like realism, or an unrealistic fantasy.[21] Kamikokuryu further said that the character designs are built from the scenario and setting and the new designs for Lightning and Serah are reflected within the environments where they begin their journey.
There are instances where the line is blurred because these characters are not meant to be hyper-realistic and have a mysterious appeal to them. The characters were meant to be a mix between realism and fantasy. If the end product is distinct from other titles, we've succeeded.
Toriyama at first didn't want a direct sequel to Final Fantasy XIII and started with the idea of having Final Fantasy XIII-2 take place some 900 years after the first game. After creating the backstory of the 900 years, the team decided to make it a time-traveling story.[22]
The story of Final Fantasy XIII included many mysterious elements that are central to the story and the game's universe; l'Cie, fal'Cie, and Ragnarok, to name a few. The developers found that many aspects of Final Fantasy XIII's story were not easily explained. Thus, in Final Fantasy XIII-2 the team wanted to employ a different story-telling style, whereas even if the basic elements of the Final Fantasy XIII universe continue to be present as the backdrop, the story of Final Fantasy XIII-2 centers around a time paradox, which the team thought to be a more familiar form of mystery.
The developers drew strong inspiration from one-shot TV dramas and opted for a plot structure where smaller pieces take place quickly one after another. The story of Final Fantasy XIII-2 is described as a glimpse of a more contemporary drama and to be easier to follow in comparison to Final Fantasy XIII.[23]
In the FMV interviews section of Final Fantasy XIII-2 Ultimania Omega, the director of the ending FMV, Hiroshi Kamohara, points out that the "To be continued..." at the end is not supposed to mean "see you next time...", but more like "the story will continue in the next generation" and that was the non-Japanese staff that decided to phrase it like that; the makers of the FMV did not craft it with a sequel in mind. However, in another interview Yoshinori Kitase has said that the "To be continued.." was added pertaining to the Lightning DLC.
The developers have revealed some of the main themes they wanted to explore by making Final Fantasy XIII-2. At the end of Final Fantasy XIII, the world was left in ruins and in Final Fantasy XIII-2 the team wanted to offer the player an experience of following the way the world is rebuilt over a long span of time.[23] Motomu Toriyama called the theme for the game's story "Wish for Rebirth" and explained that the theme has two meanings: one is rebirth of the devastated world, and the other is the re-encounter with Lightning. The wish to rebuild a devastated world may, in part, draw from the feelings in Japan in the aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, as Toriyama has alluded to this disaster in an interview, saying: "The past year has seen many disasters - not only in Japan but also across the world. We sincerely hope that the story of Final Fantasy XIII-2 will bring hope and courage to many people's hearts."[23] In the interview from the Final Fantasy XIII-2 Ultimania Omega, Daisuke Watanabe says the theme is "the future is unknown, but you can keep going as long as you have hope."
Toriyama has said that other than Lightning finding true happiness, the after-effects of Fang and Vanille's sacrifice on her and the other characters are another central theme in the game. He has even compared the light and dark appearances of Lightning and Caius respectively to those of an angel and the devil, but warned not to jump to conclusions about which one is which. Toriyama has said that the traveling system has been completely redone since Final Fantasy XIII, as the team was trying to create a "truly living world, with lots of people living all the way to the far corners of the game".[24]
The game is more fantasy-oriented as opposed to the futuristic feel of its predecessor. The game's general tone is darker and more mysterious, because the developers wanted to take the concept of death and extract features of the world of death to reflect them on the story and universe of Final Fantasy XIII-2.[23] The story also focuses on the Farron sisters as opposed to how the first game focuses on the love story between Snow and Serah, although hinting that a new relationship will be present during Serah's journey through time. As opposed to the story of Final Fantasy XIII, where Lightning is on a quest to save Serah, the story of Final Fantasy XIII-2 is the reverse, with Serah trying to save Lightning. The story of Final Fantasy XIII-2 also explores their relationship as sisters, and how they are similar yet different in their own ways.
Japanese release
A Final Fantasy XIII-2 bundle was released in Japan on December 15th, 2011 with a black 320GB PlayStation 3 Slim with an image of Lightning. Square Enix also released two new books in Japan on the game's release date of December 15th. The first is a postcard book priced at ¥1,260 that has 24 CG illustrations featuring characters like Lightning, Serah, Noel, and Caius, as well as an eight-page character introduction. The second is a 232-page book priced at ¥1,470, titled FINAL FANTASY XIII-2 Fragments Before, which takes place immediately before the events of the game and contains several stories revolving around characters such as Serah, Snow, Noel, and Rygdea and Bartholomew Estheim:
- Serah: Memories of the year AF 0.
- New Bodhum: A story of the year AF 3.
- Snow: The story of his departure.
- Rygdea & Bartholomew: The creation of a provisional government, and the secret history of the founding of the Academy.
- Noel: The end of the world, a period of uncertainty.[25]
The game's story will be continued in FINAL FANTASY XIII-2 Fragments After.
Square Enix teamed up with Morinaga to promote Final Fantasy XIII-2 in Japan; Morinaga's popular Potelong snack featured for a limited time Final Fantasy XIII-2 themed packaging. To promote the game's release, AKB48 member, Yuko Oshima, was appointed the leader of a group of thirteen official test players[26] and Square Enix often released videos of her and other test players playing the game.
North American release
The North American collector's edition, sold for $79.99[27] was available in limited quantities at GameStop, Amazon and Best Buy, and included:
- Packaging featuring artwork by Yoshitaka Amano.
- The 4-disc Original Soundtrack. Although this excludes both "Yakusoku no Basho" and "New World", it includes a bonus track on Disc 4, the "Secret Track" that plays as the background to the DLC coliseum.
- A collection of concept artwork containing "a variety of never-before-seen illustrations, environments and more".
These retailers also had their own pre-order bonus: Gamestop had the alternate costume named "Summoner's Garb" available for Serah (with PowerUp Rewards members also receiving a Genji Bow for her); Amazon had Omega as a coliseum boss and Best Buy had a hardcover book entitled "FINAL FANTASY XIII -Episode i-", a story written by Jun Eishima that ties together the events between the predecessor and the game.
Ultimate Prize winners of the Word to Your Moogle tour received a pink and white PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 featuring Mog.
European and Australian release
Europe and Australia had three different editions of Final Fantasy XIII-2 available to purchase.[28] The "Limited Collector's Edition", with recommended retail price of £59,99/68€, includes the game; a composer selected soundtrack CD, an artbook, six postcards featuring CG artwork of Caius, Hope, Lightning, Noel, Serah and Snow and a high definition lenticular art print of Lightning.
The Crystal Edition, with recommended retail price of £79,99/91€, includes all of the items above, although the composer selected soundtrack is replaced with the 4-disc Final Fantasy XIII-2 Original Soundtrack (this soundtrack will include all background music from the game as well as the "Secret Track" from the DLC Colosseum, but not the theme song "New World".) Also included is a T-shirt from the Square Enix Products range that is not be available for purchase elsewhere. The Crystal Edition was strictly limited edition and is packaged in a presentation box.
The Nordic Edition includes the game and two additional downloadable pieces of content; the "Fight In Style" pack which includes the "Summoner's Garb" alternate costume for Serah and the "Battle Attire" alternate costume for Noel as well as the recruitable monster battle with Omega and the second downloadable bonus is the "Muramasa" for Noel, which increases the ATB Gauge charge rate.
Preorder bonuses for Europe and Australia were available for customers preordering from certain retail outlets. The preorder extras include:
- An exclusive steelbook case from steelbook.com, the downloadable content "Fight In Style" pack, which contains a boss battle with the recruitable monster Omega and the alternate costume "Summoner's Garb" for Serah and the alternate costume "Battle Attire" for Noel, Final Fantasy XIII -Episode i- which is a paperback novella that fills the gaps between Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy XIII-2 and three lithograph artcards of official promotional posters. Available from GAME UK.
- A code which allows you to obtain the unique downloadable weapon Muramasa for Noel, which increases the ATB Gauge charge rate. Available from Amazon.co.uk.
Asian releases
Multiple Asian editions of Final Fantasy XIII-2 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 have been released. Asian Japanese versions (Japanese voice & texts) for both consoles released On December 15, 2011 and all other versions were released on January 31, 2012 for Asian regions (Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia, etc). Like its predecessor, the version features Japanese voice overs and both Chinese and English subtitles are available. Bundled and limited versions are also available.[29][30][31][32][33]
- PS3 Japanese Version (Japanese Voice & Subtitles)[34]
- PS3 English Version (English Voice & Subtitles) (8 post cards included for pre-order bonus)
- PS3 Chinese + English Version (Japanese Voice, Chinese/English Subtitles) (8 post cards included for pre-order bonus)
- PS3 Chinese + English PS3 Bundle Version (Japanese Voice, Chinese/English Subtitles), which includes the game disc and:
- PS3 FINAL FANTASY XIII-2 LIGHTNING EDITION Ver.2 Console
- 2 DLC codes for Serah's Outfit: Summoner's Garb and Noel's Outfit: Battle Attire (first print limited offer)
- A mini clear poster (randomly given out of 8 designs)
- 1-disc Original Soundtrack -SPECIAL Package- (selected tracks)
- 8 post cards (pre-order bonus)
- Xbox360 Japanese Version (Japanese Voice & Subtitles)[35]
- Xbox360 Chinese + English Version (Japanese Voice, Chinese/English Subtitles), which includes the game disc and:
- A table calendar
- 2 DLC codes for Serah's Outfit: Summoner's Garb and Noel's Outfit: Battle Attire (first print limited offer)
- X360 Chinese + English Version Limited Edition (Japanese Voice, Chinese/English Subtitles), which includes the game disc and:
- A table calendar
- 2 DLC codes for Serah's Outfit: Summoner's Garb and Noel's Outfit: Battle Attire (first print limited offer)
- 1 mini clear poster (randomly given out of 8 designs)
- 1-disc Original Soundtrack -SPECIAL Package- (selected tracks)
- 8 post cards
Japanese magazine Famitsu gave the game a perfect 40 score with each of the four reviewers giving the game a 10. This marks Final Fantasy XIII-2 as the second Final Fantasy game to receive a perfect score from the said magazine, the first one being Final Fantasy XII. Dengeki gave the game an S score, the highest score in their scale.[36]
Western reviewers are more critical of the game. It received an 8.0 from IGN. The reviewer commended the significant improvement it has over the original although criticized the progression of the story. He also noted that the characters didn't have any clear motivations other than to save Lightning.[37] Official Xbox Magazine gave the game a 9 out of 10 score. The magazine pointed out its improvement over XIII in most aspects of the game especially the explorations.[38]
Both versions of the game received a 79/100 from Metacritic. This makes Final Fantasy XIII-2 the offline numbered Final Fantasy title with the lowest Metacritic score (not counting the remakes of Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy II and Final Fantasy III), lower than Final Fantasy XIII, which received an 83/100. Template:Sec-stub
A playable demo of the game was released on January 10th in North America, and on January 11th in Europe, on PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade.
The staff behind Final Fantasy XIII-2 are as follows:
- Producer: Yoshinori Kitase
- Director: Motomu Toriyama
- Scenario: Daisuke Watanabe
- Art Director: Isamu Kamikokuryo
- Character Design (Playable Character Faces): Tetsuya Nomura[39][40]
- Character Design (Playable Character Costumes and Non-Playable Characters): Isamu Kamikokuryo, Nao Ikeda, Yusuke Naora,[39] Hideo Minaba[41]
- Battle System Director: Yusuke Matsui[42]
- Composers: Masashi Hamauzu,[43][44] Mitsuto Suzuki, Naoshi Mizuta[45]
- Image Illustrator and Title Logo Designer: Yoshitaka Amano
- Additional Work on Game Design, Art and Programming: tri-Ace[1]
Voice Cast
|Maaya Sakamoto
|Ali Hillis
|Serah Farron
|Minako Kotobuki
|Laura Bailey
|Noel Kreiss
|Daisuke Kishio
|Jason Marsden
|Sumire Morohoshi
|Ariel Winter
|Caius Ballad
|Hiroshi Shirokuma
|Liam O'Brien
|Paddra Nsu-Yeul
|Mariya Ise
|Amber Hood
|Snow Villiers
|Daisuke Ono
|Troy Baker
|Hope Estheim
|Yūki Kaji
|Vincent Martella
|Sazh Katzroy
|Masashi Ebara
|Reno Wilson
|Oerba Dia Vanille
|Yukari Fukui
|Georgia van Cuylenburg
|Oerba Yun Fang
|Mabuki Andou
|Rachel Robinson
|Biichi Satou
|Zack Hanks
|Yū Asakawa
|Anndi McAfee
|Wataru Hatano
|Jeff Fischer
|Makoto Naruse
|Daniel Samonas
|Alyssa Zaidelle
|Yōko Hikasa
|Kim Mai Guest
|Seiko Ueda
|Julie Nathanson
|Arbiter of Time
|Tomomichi Nishimura
|Steven Blum
|Historia Crux Narrator
|Michiko Neya
|Anna Vocino
|Amodar/Captain Cryptic
|Yūji Ueda
|Dave Wittenberg
|Jihl Nabaat
|Mie Sonozaki
|Paula Tiso
|Masaya Onosaka[46]
|Kazuya Nakai
|Michael Yurchak
|Tara Platt
|Dr. M
|JB Blanc
|Grant George
|Cindy Robinson
|Fred Tatasciore
|Mary Elizabeth McGlynn
|Nolan North
Robin Atkin Downes (DLC)
|Kate Higgins
|Chris Edgerly
|Nick Jameson
|Maile Flanagan
|Mary Elizabeth McGlynn
|Technical Engineer
|Daran Norris
|S. Scott Bullock
|Karen Strassman
|Joe Cappelletti
- Additional Voices (English version):
Andrew Kishino, Anna Vocino, Annie Mumolo, April Stewart, Ben Diskin, Cam Clarke, Candi Milo, Charlie Adler, Chris Cox, Chris Parson, Christy Carlson Romano, Colleen O'Shaughnessey, Daisy Torme, Dave Boat, Debi Derryberry, Dwight Schultz, Eden Riegel, Eliza Jane Schneider, Gideon Emery, Grant George, Gregg Berger, Hedy Burress, Henry Dittman, Hope Levy, Hynden Welch, Jamieson Price, Janice Kawaye, Jason Spisak, Jessica DiCicco, Jim Meskimen, Joe Cappelletti, John DeMita, Julia Fletcher, Kari Wahlgren, Keith Ferguson, Keith Silverstein, Kim Mai Guest, Kirk Thornton, Kyle Hebert, Laura Napoli, Marc Worden, Masasa Moyo, Matt King, Megan Hollingshead, Michael Sinterniklaas, Michael Sorich, Michelle Ruff, Mikey Kelley, Neil Kaplan, Nick Jameson, Nika Futterman, Patrick Seitz, Phil Procter, Quinton Flynn, Robbie Rist, Robin Becker, Roger Craig Smith, Sam Riegal, Scott Menville, Stephanie Sheh, Steve Staley, Steve Van Wormer, Tish Hicks, Travis Willingham, Vanessa Marshall, Vic Mignogna, Wally Wingert, Wendee Lee, Yuri Lowenthal, Zeus Mendoza
During its first week of release in Japan, Final Fantasy XIII-2 sold 524,000 copies with the PlayStation 3 version topping the charts. The Xbox 360 sold far fewer copies due to the low number of Xbox 360 customers in Japan. First week sales in Japan were much poorer than for Final Fantasy XIII, which sold 1.5 million units in its first week.[47] By the end of 2011, the game sold 697,146 units, becoming the fifth bestselling game from Japan in 2011.[48]
Packaging Artwork
- The object in the bottom-left of the in-battle HUD resembles the early Overclock concept seen in Final Fantasy XIII's E3 2006 trailer.
- The moogles in Final Fantasy XIII-2 are different than the ones seen in the original game because another artist, Toshitaka Matsuda, was chosen to design them for this title.
- Despite the fact of prominently featuring a moogle, "Moogle's Theme" is not present in the game.
- The idea of monsters fighting in the player's party was previously used in International Version of Final Fantasy X-2 , where monsters can be recruited and used in battle with its "Creature Create" system.
- Final Fantasy XIII-2 is the second game in the series to have two sisters as playable characters, the first being Final Fantasy V.
- Final Fantasy XIII-2 is the sixth game in the series to involve time travel as a major plot element, after Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy XI, Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift, and Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy.
- Final Fantasy XIII-2 is similar to the logo of Final Fantasy X-2 by having the game's number in larger size ("FINAL FANTASY X-2" and "FINAL FANTASY XIII-2") and having single-colored characters in battle poses.
- According to an interview with Isamu Kamikokuryo about the art direction, the colors pink and purple came up a lot, and consequently, they are the colors in the logo.[20]
- The icon that indicates party leader resembles the one from Final Fantasy XII.
- Final Fantasy XIII-2's North American release date is on the same day and month that Final Fantasy VII was released for the first time in Japan.
See Also
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 http://www.siliconera.com/2011/12/18/tri-ace-helped-out-with-final-fantasy-xiii-2/
- ↑ http://www.twitch.tv/archive/archive_popout?id=303089445
- ↑ http://twitter.com/#!/GeorgiaVanC/status/102387907196760064
- ↑ http://www.finalfantasy.net/xiii-2/final-fantasy-xiii2-ost-dec-14/
- ↑ http://finalfantasyxiii2.wordpress.com/2011/10/19/square-enix-reveals-final-fantasy-xiii-2-nordic-edition-and-special-editions/
- ↑ http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/12/16/final-fantasy-xiii-2-qa-a-time-traveling-sequel-to-surpass-the-original/
- ↑ Official European Final Fantasy XIII-2 Site Updated! (Snow & Hope Wallpapers), 20th November 2011, Jonttutan, WordPress.com
- ↑ After 30 hours of FFXIII-2 What's Next?
- ↑ Gilgamesh Breaks The Fourth Wall, Siliconera
- ↑ Andriasang
- ↑ FFXIII Producer Wants a Sequel, Escapist
- ↑ Andriasang
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/173093/Square_Enix_to_avoid_largescale_internal_development_after_Final_Fantasy_XIII2.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GamasutraNews+%2
- ↑ http://www.gameinformer.com/games/final_fantasy_xiii-2/b/ps3/archive/2011/11/23/creators-talk-time-travel-sequel-development-amp-more.aspx
- ↑ http://andriasang.com/comy9w/
- ↑ http://www.siliconera.com/2011/12/18/tri-ace-helped-out-with-final-fantasy-xiii-2/
- ↑ http://finalfantasyxiii2.wordpress.com/2011/08/11/exclusive-motomu-toriyama-interview/
- ↑ http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2011/06/09/ffxiii_2_team_interview/
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 http://uk.gamespot.com/news/final-fantasy-xiii-2-roundtable-art-and-music-6345473
- ↑ http://finalfantasy.com.br/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1075
- ↑ Final Fantasy XIII-2 Ultimania Omega Scenario Interview with Toriyama and Watanabe
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 https://member.eu.square-enix.com/en/blogs/final-fantasy-xiii-2-mini-interview-focuses-story
- ↑ http://www.1up.com/news/final-fantasy-xiii-2-darker-freer
- ↑ http://www.novacrystallis.com/?p=2007
- ↑ Final Fantasy XIII-2 Judge 13
- ↑ http://gematsu.com/2011/11/final-fantasy-xiii-2-collectors-edition-announced
- ↑ http://finalfantasyxiii2.wordpress.com/2011/10/19/square-enix-reveals-final-fantasy-xiii-2-nordic-edition-and-special-editions
- ↑ http://asia.playstation.com/hk/en/news/pressDetail/255660
- ↑ http://asia.playstation.com/sg/en/news/pressDetail/257890
- ↑ http://asia.playstation.com/tw/cht/news/pressDetail/254740
- ↑ http://asia.gamespot.com/news/namco-bandai-to-distribute-xbox-360-final-fantasy-xiii-2-in-asia-6339843
- ↑ http://xboxlife.tw/show.php?fid=2&tid=2294
- ↑ http://asia.playstation.com/hk/en/game/gameDetail/254390
- ↑ http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-HK/Product/FINAL-FANTASY-XIII-2/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80253510806
- ↑ http://gematsu.com/2011/12/final-fantasy-xiii-2-scores-perfect-in-dengeki-sazh-teased-as-downloadable-content
- ↑ http://ps3.ign.com/articles/121/1217386p1.html
- ↑ http://www.crashtodesktop.co.uk/2012/01/oxm-us-ffxiii-2-feels-like-what-that.html
- ↑ 39.0 39.1 http://www.famitsu.com/news/201102/01039883.html
- ↑ http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2011/06/22/ffxiii_2_kamikokuryo_interview/
- ↑ http://www.gamenyusu.com/component/content/article/8-all-news/903-final-fantasy-xiii-2-weekly-famitsu-details.html
- ↑ http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2011/07/14/ffxiii_2_staff/
- ↑ http://twitter.com/#!/gamespite/status/76708904918200320
- ↑ http://games.fok.nl/special/447833/1/1/100/e3-2011-interview-final-fantasy-xiii-2.html
- ↑ http://finalfantasyxiii2.wordpress.com/2011/06/30/japan-expo-square-enix-announced-the-composers-of-the-final-fantasy-xiii-2/
- ↑ Interview with Yoshinori Kitase and Motomu Toriyama, p200, April 12, 2012 issue of Weekly Famitsu
- ↑ http://andriasang.com/comzh1/ffxiii2_sellthrough/
- ↑ http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2012-01-06/japanese-video-game-market-down-8-percent-in-2011
External Links
- Official Japanese Site
- Final Fantasy XIII-2 Judge 13 - Official Test Players website
- Official North American Site
- Domain Site
- Wikipedia article
Template:FFXIII-2 Template:FFXIIIcompl Template:Final Fantasy series


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Two Maderans prominent in local community service projects leave for Washington, D.C., today to join an estimated 800,000 attendees of President Barack Obama's second inaugural ceremony Monday.
Gloria Brown, 61, and Gwendolyn Stewart, 58, president and vice president of the Madera chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, applied and were approved for tickets by Rep. Jim Costa, Dem. 16th District, late last year.
"Lots of people apply," Brown said. "We were very lucky to get the tickets."
Brown said that the event would be unlike any other she had attended and that the moment held a special significance for her family, particularly her mother who was born in Mississippi in 1933...

subset: commoncrawl


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Paula Wolfson, wtop.com
WASHINGTON – There is no racial equality when it comes to heart disease.
Women from all ethnic backgrounds are susceptible, but African-Americans are hit the hardest.
"This disease kills more of us than anything else and it kills us unevenly," said Dr. Janet Wright of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Wright is heading a campaign to cut the rate of number of heart attacks in the U.S. by one million over five years. A big focus of the effort is minority communities and for good reason.
"African-Americans, for example, lose 14 months of life due to cardiovascular disease, more than other races and more than any other disease within the African-American population," she said.
Looking at the statistics in another way, African-American women are 35 percent more likely to die of heart disease than Caucasian women, and surveys show they are far less aware of their risk factors.
Some of it is genetic, but a lot is lifestyle.
Black women develop hypertension earlier in life and have higher average blood pressure than white women, according to HHS. Nearly half of black women have a total cholesterol number that is way too high. Nearly 80 percent are overweight or obese.
Doctors, support groups for heart disease patients and researchers all say the same thing. Getting the word out about prevention is crucial.
WomenHeart — the national advocacy group for women with heart disease — is stepping up its operations in places like Prince George's County, which has a large African-American population.
Wanda Jackson of Forrestville, a heart attack survivor and WomenHeart volunteer, is heavily involved in outreach to the black community.
Jackson speaks of the power of one African-American woman reaching out to another. She calls statistics on heart disease in her community "unreal," and says the woman-to-woman approach is "so important" because "a sister could reach them."
True survival stories bring the problem home, she says. She shares her tale and her scars to spread awareness, saying she was unaware of her own risk factors.
Gail Harris-Barry, a heart attack survivor from Hyattsville, says the message is beginning to spread. Black women are learning more about prevention and heart disease, and the need to be vigilant about their own health.
"We are nurturers by nature – women in general and African-American women in particular," she said. "But they just don't take care of themselves. Everyone else comes first."
Editor's Note: Throughout February, WTOP will be focusing on women's heart health, with information on prevention, treatment and reasons for hope. We also will bring you the incredible stories of survivors from the region — a sisterhood of women celebrating a second chance at life with a commitment to help others.
Follow WTOP on Twitter.
(Copyright 2012 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)
Check out the next group of inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame plus a few contenders who've yet to be nominated.


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April 29, 2016
Members of the American Legion Post 39 gave tribute to the first responders who were there on 9/11 today at a ceremony in Greenville.
Speakers there said they also wanted to thank the first responders who continue to be the first on the scene when disasters happen today.
Some officers, community member, and politicians attended the ceremony.
Many thought back to September 11, 2001 and where they were when the terrorist attacks occurred.
Rep. Walter B. Jones attended the ceremony and said, "How we came together, with all the pain, and hurt, America found a way to come together."
Lawrence Hoffa with the American Legion also attended the ceremony and said, "It breaks my heart when I look at the men and women with no arms, no legs they come back with brain injuries after 10 years of this war. I just think its time to come home now."
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Hello, hello! I've been happily pinning away on ! What a fantastic visual bookmarking site, finally a place where I can share my collection of images that I enjoy from the web and access everybody else's. *love it*. Come see my visual boards at pinterest.com/stripeydots
Would love to see yours too!
Friday, April 15, 2011
Pinning away on Pinterest
Hello, hello! I've been happily pinning away on ! What a fantastic visual bookmarking site, finally a place where I can share my collection of images that I enjoy from the web and access everybody else's. *love it*. Come see my visual boards at pinterest.com/stripeydots
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Mr Men gingerbread cookies for a birthday cake
Hello! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas; here's to a New Year filled with blessings!
One of the highlights of Christmas week this year was my attempt at hand-moulding gingerbread dough into Mr Men characters for my son's birthday cake. I used one Betty Crocker's Gingerbread Cookie Mix pouch; the dough was easy to work with and the resulting cookies were delicious.
With a Christmas lunch party to prepare for and host, I figured I'd go the quickie route and get a store-bought cake and then I'd customize it with the gingerbread cookies. And I was incredibly thankful for ready-made cookie icing, ha!
I loved how cute the birthday cake turned out! And of course it all mattered that my birthday boy - and Christmas Day baby - was thrilled with his cake.
Mr Bump, Little Miss Scary, Mr Happy, Mr Birthday gingerbread cookies
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Fantastic XXX Blueberry cookies
Me oh my, where do I begin; Oatmeal Cookie Guy has done it again! His XXX Blueberry Cookies will rock your world; I've never tasted such intense blueberry flavor in a cookie before, it's just amazing. My boys and I couldn't stop devouring these just minutes out of the oven. I love the crunch from the turbinado sugar followed by the intense blueberry flavor. SO good!
I baked these around noon and these easily became our lunch, yeah... it's Summer, some rules get thrown out for now, hehheh. By the way, I did slightly modify the recipe by using dark chocolate chips instead of white chocolate chips. I love my dark chocolates! Thank you Mr Oatmeal Cookie Guy for another fabulous cookie recipe!
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Today's breakfast...
... was a surprise bear cheese sandwich for this little boy. Notice how he eats the sides first and the cute bear last? On the other hand, his big brother ate the bear first and the sides last. My funny little boys.
Friday, July 16, 2010
This makes me smile: Raspberry Brie Panini
And it makes me super hungry too! Thank you Rock Recipes for sharing this fabulous recipe!
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Good to be back
One month away.
Tropical Singapore.
Sweltering heat.
Refreshing rain storms.
Fantastic food.
Iconic buildings.
Beautiful wedding.
Treasured friends.
Loving family,
missing you.
But glad to be home.
Welcome Summer!
Hello routines.
Vaca's over,
now a new one begins!
Hello again! Glad to be back home after spending all of June in Singapore where one of the highlights was my brother's wedding. Good fun! Well, we're officially over jetlag; little Adam took a tad longer to get back in sync which meant this Momma took an equally long time too. Did you like the poem (above)? Last night as I lay in bed, the little poem came to mind about our month-long trip. A good one to use on a scrapbook layout that I plan to create soon!
P/S: The stunning building behind us in the photo is Singapore's iconic building, the Marina Bay Sands hotel and casino. And the spiral-looking architecture behind us is the Helix Bridge - the world's first double-helix design - that leads to the hotel. It is the world's first in architectural and engineering bridge design. Cool, huh!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Tuesday's inspiration
This cute antique wooden envelope template certainly caught my eye! See more cute items at this wonderful Japanese store, Yozo Craft.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Tuesday's inspiration
How cute are these fabric cupcakes! They're by Donna Downey, of course!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Tuesday's inspiration
I love these porcelain vases by Rae Dunn. What drew me especially were the patch of words, the uneven "folds" on the front, and the flower decals on the inside. Love. Love. Love!
Friday, April 23, 2010
I want me a Printers Tray
I am like a tiger, prowling back and forth, waiting in anticipation for this Printers Tray to be released sometime this month I'm told. As soon as I see it selling on 2 Peas, I'm gonna hit that Buy button twice. Or maybe thrice. Hmmm... decisions decisions. Oh the many crafty ideas to embellish this Printers Tray!
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Blueberry cornmeal muffins
I baked my first batch of cornmeal muffins last week. Can I say yum and yum again! The boys and I love the subtle crunch of the yellow cornmeal in each bite, but my husband... not so much. You see, I enjoy experiencing different textures when I eat; my husband... quite the opposite. O well.
The Land O Lake's recipe that I used was delicious, but I've just come across John Barricelli's cornmeal muffin recipe, Double Blueberry Muffins and it has caught my eye. Intriguing, he skipped the buttermilk. I'm definitely planning to make these real soon.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Tuesday's inspiration
I took a double take when I saw these hand-crocheted butterflies, beautiful aren't they! They're from Oeuf; I would love to have them on my dining room wall.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Spring for strawberry shortcake parfait
Yesterday. After a few rounds of soccer and ball play and, of course, the favorite bike ride around the park, the boys and I capped off the warm Springbreak afternoon with some strawberry shortcake parfait ~ simple layers of angel cake, strawberry jam, whipped cream, and fresh strawberries. Delightful!
Monday, April 5, 2010
Chicken bbq panini
Saturday's lunch: Roast chicken breast, barbecue sauce, provolone cheese, red onion slices, avocado, roma tomato, crusty sourdough bread ~ all these went into the making of this tasty chicken barbecue panini, recipe from Tiffany Collins' 200 Best Panini Recipes. Note: Her recipe called for the use of french bread, but I opted for sourdough bread instead.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Tuesday's inspiration
I'm captivated by Helen Dardik's beautiful illustrations. I love this particular one, Mary had a Little Unicorn; see more of her work at her etsy store Orange Studio and on her website.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Spinach pesto my spaghetti, please
I made a delicious creamy batch of spinach pesto two nights ago. It's certainly a great way to use up baby spinach that were about to expire, and a sneaky way to add raw spinach into our diet. Being a garlic lover, I used 4 good size garlic cloves instead of three that was on the recipe. And I used slightly more than 3 tbs of pine nuts. I tossed this pesto with whole wheat spaghetti and served it with homemade meatballs. Yum!
So throughout dinner, I was crossing my fingers and keeping mum about the spinach aspect from my family. No worries as it turned out they loved it, especially my husband! Well, except for my eldest boy who gave it neither a thumbs up nor down. I reckon the bright green was too much for him, ha!
Anyhow, next time I shall use some fresh basil leaves instead of the dried ones; I bet it's gonna elevate it even more, can't wait!
Friday, March 19, 2010
We've had Summer-like weather the last few days, hence the tank-top and shorts on my little boy. He looked too cute in his bucket hat and matching red shorts, I just had to take a photo. Oh, it's one of his current favorite hats to wear while he plays. My funny little boy.
Happy first day of Spring tomorrow, everyone!
Friday, March 12, 2010
Crafty sneak peek ~ Two Already layout
This is an 8x8 layout that I did a while back of my eldest boy when he was 2 years old. He's now 6! Ahh... time is flying by so quickly; I'm sure all you Mommas out there can relate *smile*
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Tuesday's inspiration ...2 days later
How cute is this Cowboy Bunny original! Love. Love. Love!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Crafty sneak peek ~ Apple layout
Here is a layout that I had completed on Monday. These are one of my favorite photos of my youngest boy when he was 7 months old; I'd handed a small apple to him and he was so intrigued by its bright red color.
As with babies and discovery, he tried his very best to shove it in his mouth but all he could manage to do was to kiss, lick, and suck on it. So very cute! On a side note, his favorite fruit til this very day is a juicy red apple.
I was thrilled that KI Memories' apple lace paper contrast nicely with the background cardstock from Basic Grey's vintage Sublime collection. The True Love tag was a free download from Studio Calico blog; thank you SC!


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This job posting is no longer available on Indeed.
Find similar jobs:Retail Representative jobs
- Hallmark Canada jobs
Location:Regina, Saskatchewan
Job Summary:As a Retail Representative you will ensure the Hallmark displays consistently offer a full selection of available captions and designs in all product categories by merchandising according to the layout plans, regular replenishment and counting inventory and processing returns after a season. You will also set up, maintain and re-order all merchandising programs including end of aisle and outposts according to guidelines and identify, remove and issue credit for all unsaleable items.Permanent Part-time, approximately 12-16 hours per week. $11.00 per hour. Various locations.
Requirements:High School EducationOwn VehicleValid Driver's licenceAccess to InternetWilling to work flexible hours, including daytime hours and some weekendsExcellent Communication and Customer Service skillsComfortable lifting boxes of product


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Previous Projects
Downtown comes alive every summer!
Frolicking canines. Colorful vessels. Wild animals on the loose. Flashy hotrods all over town. Get to St. Joseph and you'll see downtown come alive with the fun and creativity of our summer outdoor art exhibits.
New to St. Joseph and want to see what you missed? Been here before and want to relive unforgettable family memories? Use the links below to check out highlights from St. Joseph's past public art projects:
2014 – Shining Sculptures
2013 – All Aboard!
2012 – Beached Pirates
2011 – Barnyard at the Beach
2010 – Hot Diggity Dogs
2009 – Surf 'n Safari
2008 – Boats-n-Beaches (Website Unavailable)
2007 – Hot Cars Cool Beaches
2006 – Beach Bears
2004 & 2005 – Horses on the Beach


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A move meant to help girls basketball gain more attention at the end of the season is causing big-time concern for the beginning of the season.
The IHSAA Board of Directors at is annual meeting Monday approved the moving of the girls basketball season up a week, meaning the state finals will now be on the Saturday before boys sectional action begins. In the past, the girls state finals and boys sectional finals have been on the same day.
While that may help attendance at the girls state finals, coaches are worried that the beginning of the season — now a week earlier — will cause even more conflict with volleyball. The first week of girls basketball practice will be the week of volleyball sectionals.
"They made what they thought was the best decision they could make, and we'll make the best of it," Columbus North girls basketball coach Pat McKee said.
The issue will be larger at small schools such as Hauser, where several girls play both volleyball and basketball.
"It's going to be a challenge," Hauser girls basketball coach Brad Hamilton said. "It will be somewhat of a disadvantage in that some of our kids do play volleyball. But if we have a good summer of conditioning now that we have a year under our belt, it will be a positive."
Several coaches from around the state weighed in Friday on an email sent to IHSAA assistant commissioner Sandra Walter from Culver Academies girls basketball coach Gary Christlieb. Nearly all expressed concern about the overlap between volleyball and basketball.
But at Columbus East, where few girls play both sports, the concern isn't as large.
"I understand the whole idea (of moving the season up), and I kind of like it," East girls basketball coach Danny Brown said. "We were in the state finals one year, and no one in the area was still playing. Everybody was out, but that was sectional finals night. But that's not going to happen all the time.
"I don't mind the earlier start," he said. "You only need a few practices to get ready, and you know your teams from playing in the summer. That doesn't bother me at all."
Meanwhile, the IHSAA also approved Monday the addition of two games to boys and girls basketball seasons. Instead of playing 20 games or 18 games plus a tournament, schools can now play 22 games or 20 games plus a tournament.
"I don't mind that because we had 20 games, but we had a gap of two weeks where we didn't have a game (scheduled), and then with the weather and cancellations, we went three weeks without a game," Brown said. "That might be a good situation for us if we can plug in two more games.
"At the same time, it would be nice if those extra games could be on a weekend on Friday or Saturday," he said. "I don't want to add a game where you have to travel an hour-and-a-half on a weeknight.
You don't want kids getting home after midnight."
On the same day the extra games proposal was passed, McKee received an email from Roncalli, asking about filling one of the new spots, and the teams agreed to meet the next two years. East boys coach Brent Chitty has also received inquiries from schools wanting to add the Olympians to the schedule.
"It's great to be able to play because everybody likes to play games," Chitty said. "I think it's going to be kind of crazy because you start doing it right away. I've had some people call us, but you have to make sure the schedule works out. I'm excited for the kids."
"I think we'll definitely look into trying to take advantage of (the extra games)," North boys coach Jason Speer said. "The kids put so much time in trying to work on their game, and two more times for competition would be great."
Hamilton said he probably won't schedule games the first week of the season because of the overlap with volleyball. The Jets volleyball team has made it to the regional the past four years and the semistate two of the past three seasons.
But Hamilton does plan to add the two games in the middle to late part of the season.
"It's nice for them to pick up some new opponents," Hamilton said. "I feel like you learn anytime you pick up a new opponent."
Among other basketball changes, the IHSAA is increasing the length of junior varsity quarters from six to seven minutes, will allow players to enter the lane on the free-throw release instead of waiting until the ball hits the rim and plans to call hand-checks tighter.
"I like the seven-minute quarters for JV because it seems like sometimes those games are over in a flash," McKee said. "That will give kids a chance to play a little more.
"I also like the two extra games," he said. "If you look around, it seems that most states are able to play more than Indiana. I think the kids will like it."
Brown likes the seven-minute quarters rule for JV games.
"Anytime you get the kids more playing time, that's why you play the game," Brown said. "My only concern is, an extra four minutes of playing time could mean an extra 15-20 minutes, and if you're on the road, that could mean a late return home."
The IHSAA also tabled a proposal that would reduce the number of classes from four to three, with each of the three classes having two divisions.
The proposal has drawn mixed reactions around the state.
"I think everybody realizes it's time for some change," Chitty said. "We're never going to go back to one-class basketball. In this day and age, there's so many good teams and parity. I am for change if it's the best thing for kids in Indiana.
"There's a lot of good people involved, and I think they'll make a good decision when that time comes," he said. "Like anything else, it's going to be about money, and I'm sure they'll do it the proper way. The days of Damon Bailey playing and 60,000 people going to watch people play are over, but they have to create revenue."


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Search Swinburne Research Bank
Home List of Titles Computational fluid dynamics modelling of dense particle rheology and freeboard gas velocity fields in a fluidised bed
Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.3/93813
|Download 01front.pdf (Adobe Acrobat PDF, 233 KB)
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- Title
- Computational fluid dynamics modelling of dense particle rheology and freeboard gas velocity fields in a fluidised bed
- Author(s)
- Vun, Simon William
- Abstract
- The demands on the Australian power industry to reduce green house gases have generated research into capturing carbon dioxide. Due to the high moisture content of Victorian brown coal more energy is required to dry coal than Black coal or Anthracite. The consequence of the additional energy to dry the coal is an increase in carbon dioxide emissions. It is for this reason that fluidised bed has become a focus of interest to the Victorian power generators in the form of gasification through integrated gasification combined cycles (IGCC) or combustors. Fluidised bed technology has diverse industrial applications ranging from the gasification of coal in the power industry to chemical reactions for the plastics and oil and gas industries. Benefits of fluidised beds are the excellent heat transfer and mixing as well as containment of the process within a pressurised vessel. The disadvantages are the complex non-linear behaviour of the gas and solids interactions that occur within the process, which are difficult to measure and predict. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has the capability to model multiphase flows and can assist in understanding gas-solid fluidised beds by modelling their hydrodynamics. The purpose of this thesis is to advance CFD modelling of fluidised beds by accounting for phenomena that are typically neglected in CFD models. In the past multiphase Eulerian-Eulerian, gas-solid models used the kinetic theory of granular flow to describe the motion of solid within a fluidised bed. While this assumption has clearly shown to be a good approximation for dilute particle system, the kinetic theory of granular flow begins to fall short when particles begin to pack together. An addition to the kinetic theory of granular flow has been developed to include a closure term for the quasi-static stress associated with the long term particle contact at high solid concentrations. Simulations of bubble growth and bed porosity through a two-dimensional fluidised bed are validated against previous quasi static stress model and experimental measurements. Experiments were conducted in a rectangular three-dimensional gas-solid fluidised bed to determine the behaviour of the freeboard gas after a single bubble eruption. The experiments used a particle imaging velocimetry (PIV) measurement technique to visualise and measure the gas flow within the freeboard after a single bubble eruption. The PIV method had the ability to not only measure the velocities of the gas, but also allowed the visualisation of gas vortices within the freeboard. The PIV experiments of the single bubble eruption were then used to validate CFD model of the fluidised bed. Two-dimensional and three-dimensional fluidised bed simulations were conducted using the kinetic theory of granular flow approach including the quasi-static model and turbulence model. The gas vortices were predicted by both two-dimensional and three dimensional fluidised bed simulations. Validation of the simulations with PIV results show good agreement was achieved both qualitatively and quantitatively.
- Publication type
- Thesis (PhD)
- Research centre
- Swinburne University of Technology. Faculty of Engineering and Industrial Sciences
- Publication year
- 2010
- Keyword(s)
- Computational fluid dynamics; Fluidised beds; Granular flow; PIV measurements
- Coverage
- Australasian Digital Theses collection
- Publisher URL
- Copyright
- Copyright © 2010 Simon William Vun.
- Thesis Supervisor
- [Jamal A. Naser]
- Thesis Note
- [A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Swinburne University of Technology, 2010.]
- Full text


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How do I clean model 6220?
Wipe serving tray with damp cloth. Tray may be removed and washed in hot soapy water. To clean inside of toaster, turn toaster upside down over sink and shake crumbs free. Wipe outside surfaces with a damp cloth, do not use abrasive scouring pads or cleansers as scratching will occur.
To remove the serving tray push in lower right corner and pull tray forward.
To replace the serving tray first insert left pin into round side opening. Then attach right side opening over pin, pushing in slightly.


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Demonstration of an Effective IPM Program for Fungal Leaf Blight Diseases of Carrots 1998
Project Leader: George Abawi
1. Demonstrate an effective scouting procedure for assessing the critical threshold level for scheduling the first fungicide application against fungal leaf blights on carrots.
2. Determine and demonstrate the need for additional sprays, if any, by monitoring disease severity and utilizing available weather forecast data.
The data confirmed the validity of the threshold level of 25% infected leaves as the trigger for the first application of fungicide to effectively control leaf blight of carrots. The first application of fungicide to the IPM plots was made only after this threshold level was reached, yet disease incidence and severity was no higher in these plots than in the grower- managed plots. The methods used to assess the need for subsequent treatments for leaf blight were monitoring of disease development, using local weather forecast information, and allowing a minimum of 10-14 days between sprays. Fewer sprays were applied to the IPM plots than to the grower-managed plots as a result of the scouting program. Carrot cultivars differed greatly in their tolerance to leaf blight, with lowest disease incidence and severity on Fullback and Carson and highest incidence and severity on Eagle.


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One-third of provincial government employees are "personally aware" of ethical misconduct and fraudulent activity in their workplace. Only half of them, however, reported it to their superiors because they didn't believe the offenders would be penalized, or because they feared being punished themselves for upsetting the apple cart.
Those are the disturbing findings of an investigation by Manitoba's auditor general, who surveyed 5,000 employees (about one-third of the 15,000 civil servants who work in core government departments) for their attitudes and understanding of honesty in the public service.
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