Final Fantasy XIII-2 - The Complete Official Guide
7.3
10
4
4
Great guide
I got this guide a short time after I got the game, and it is unbelievably useful. I have the Collector's Edition, so there's bound to be a few differences, so don't be surprised if yours doesn't have some of this. First off is the Primer chapter. If you're new to the game or need a refresher, it's all here. It has the controls, breaks down the HUD and minimap, gameplay basics, and gives you a "Story So Far" segment explaining the previous game. Then it goes into the Walkthrough chapter. It gives you everything you need to finish each main story visit to a location, including boss strategies and tips, without spoiling the main story. It also provides you with page numbers for the Tour Guide section, but we'll get to that. Following the Walkthrough is the Completion Timeline which highlights which challenges you should be able to take on at that point in the game without going into great detail. They save all of that for the Tour Guide. The Tour Guide has maps that show every treasure, objects of interest like fragments or side quest items, and labels each area. It also has charts that show the indigenous monsters, and explains how to get every single fragment and complete every side quest. Following this is the Strategy and Analysis chapter that goes in-depth with the battle system, has a list of recommended Paradigms, a list of all monster allies and which ones are the best, and has a chart detailing the best Crystarium path that plays on each characters' strengths. The Inventory chapter isn't too special, but it does tell you where to get some important items. The Bestiary is useful for one side quest where you have to fight at least one of every enemy, but that's about it. Finally, the Extras section tells you how to get every Trophy/Achievement, tells you what you can get from Live Triggers, and has a Fragment checklist. There's a Q&A in the back with the guys who made the game, but it's pretty spoiler heavy, so don't read it unless you've beaten the game or just don't care. Overall, it's a great guide, and I haven't found any errors. All of the information is accurate, it's unbelievably helpful for 100% completion, and it has a great amount of detail, 10/10 for all of those. However, as I have the hardback Collector's Edition which is $40, I can't give it that for bang for your buck. This might be a personal issue with mine, but every page after 176 up until 309 has come out, and it seems like every other page is threatening to do so, especially 309-322. Still, that can't keep me from giving it a 9/10.
6/15/13
Great but not the best
his is an awesome guide that tells you everything you need to know about the game. There are very few spoilers and it is written wonderfully. It takes you step by step through the game and leads you to 100% completion. It also states all the values for weapons and accessories and when to equip which items. The only problem I have with this review is that it's slightly inefficient in my opinion. It breaks up the walk through, completion timeline, and tour guide into three separate sections. Coming from Final Fantasy XIII and it's guide, I find that by separating things it is creating more work for me. I wish they had given me the timeline first and then combined the walkthrough and the tour guide so I could see the maps while I'm being told the strategies for the bosses. It's not a big deal, but as a lazy college student I feel that it would be easier to combine things. Plus it would save paper. Overall an excellent guide and a must have for 100% completion.
2/7/12
Incredible
Coming from someone who buys guides consistently, I can easily say this is the most impressive guide I've bought in quite a while.
For starters, I have yet to come across even a single error. That alone is almost unheard of (especially when dealing with Bradygames, if you don't come across an error in the first twenty pages it's generally a surprise. ..Especially after their disaster of a guide for Disgaea 4)
This guide has pretty much everything you'd ever want to know. The story walkthrough (without spoilers), Paradigm Explanation, Character development, Monster list / Bestiary / Recruitment info, item lists, Sidequests, etc
The only real issue I've had was with finding area gate locations, but only with the "end-game" content. I occasionally had to check each separate map to locate the area gate I was looking for. It would have been nice if they had a list of gate locations.
Bottom line, if you like having a helpful resource on hand, this guide won't disappoint you.
2/5/12
worst guide ever
This guide is by far the worst video game walkthrough I have ever used. It is laid out horribly and you have to look in 3 or 4 different places to find all the information that you want about one area. Its also hard to find out how to do the side quests by using the guide. I would like to return it.
2/2/12