Shadow Fire

~Fast forwarding a little, because those two aren't really TOO relevant at the moment~ Sometime later, Zidane groaned as he opened his eyes. Groggily glancing around the room, he noticed immediately that Dagger was gone, Steiner probably having followed her. "Dagger..." he murmured. "Where have you gone?"

The brunet reached into his pocket, pulling out a blindfold. "Shuichi..." he murmured. "Put this on... I want you to be totally surpriised. You... do you trust me?"

Ryuichi gave his kitten-like smile. "Well..." he started off. "It's... a... secret!"

Ryuichi had dashed out to his private limousine, whispering something to his driver, before clambering in the back, bringing Shuichi in with him. With a cute smile, he reached for his seatbelt. "Safety first!" he said excitedly. "We're going somewhere great!" That place would be Odaiba Amusement Park.

The full game was released in NA on January 31, Australia on February 2, and Europe on February 3. So yeah. I've actually completed the game, and am now resolving post game paradoxes.

Director: Motomu Toriyama Producers: Yoshinori Kitase Music: Masashi Hamauzu, Mitsuko Suzuki, Naoshi Mizuta Starring: Ali Hillis, Laura Bailey, Jason Marsden, Ariel Winter, Liam O'Brien, Amber Hood Rating: Plot High in a tower, in the mysterious land known as Valhalla, Lightning looks out over the world below. Feathers suddenly fall around her, and she is called into battle. A young man has laid a lifeless girl to rest in the water, before summoning a heap of monsters. Lightning and this man engage in a bitter fight. Meanwhile, on the faraway Gran Pulse, it has been 3 years since Cocoon's fall was stopped by Fang and Vanille's sacrifice. In New Bodhum, Serah Farron, Lightning's sister is having strange dreams of her sister engaged in battle. Chaos erupts as monsters begin to attack, but a different young man steps in to help. He calls himself Noel Kreiss, and has been sent by Lightning to help Serah repair a broken timeline. With the help of Noel, and Mog, a moogle who has the power to see through paradoxes, Serah must journey far and wide if she is ever to see her sister again. Review Upon learning about Final Fantasy XIII-2, I knew I'd want to try it out. It was at last year's EB Games Expo on Australia's Gold Coast that I was able to see and try the demo that was released on Xbox Live much later. To put things simply, this game expands on Final Fantasy XIII, and in a way that makes one want to play it to full completion. Visually, this game is stunning. While not much has changed in the few short years since its predecessor, there have been some improvements, and these new locations look quite realistic. Again, the enemies were well designed. Most of them are re-used from FFXIII, but have been tweaked. The new enemies are quite a sight to see. What can I say about gameplay? Perfect, for me anyway. One complaint that many have about the predecessor is that it was much too linear. Square Enix have addressed this, and provided a much more expansive world to explore. Not only do you have a bigger map to travel, with more pathways, but you can also visit different areas, depending on what in-game year you visit. A location changes in the 100 years since past visits. Oh, and for a first time ever, you can jump on command! Music? Sex. Yes... the music is like sex to my ears. Many people have criticised the soundtrack of this game, but I don't understand why. The story is very dark, but much of the music is quite upbeat. This in itself is a paradox, which the game deals heavily in. There are many variations to a theme. An area's theme will become more "aggressive" when monsters spawn nearby, and the game even brings back much of the music from Final Fantasy XIII. The music team did a great job with this game. Battle transition has also received a total overhaul. Instead of monsters being permanently on the map, they will randomly spawn nearby, and a "clock" will show on screen and begin ticking down steadily. If you manage to strike the enemy with your weapon before it touches you, or the clock counts down, you will gain a pre-emptive strike, and gain a temporary Haste effect. If you come into contact with the enemy without attacking it, you'll have a standard battle with no status upgrades. However, if time runs out, a standard battle will begin in which you will not be able to select to retry. The combat itself is much like the previous game, which utilised my favourite system. Paradigms have made their return, but with a twist. With Serah and Noel as the only two characters, a third battler was needed, and so monsters are used. Whenever you defeat certain monsters, you may be able to tame them, and have them fight on your side. Each monster has a set class. The Crystarium has also returned to help you level up each class, but it has been expanded, so you have more freedom. Staggers, ratings and CP are still used, but now you can earn Gil at the end of each battle. Also new to battles is the Cinematic Action, which allows you to affect how you battle a boss. At a certain moment during a boss fight, a cutscene is played, and you must input the commands as they are shown on screen in a limited time. This can make all the difference between victory and defeat. Overall Final Fantasy XIII-2 has easily taken over the title of my favourite JRPG. Anyone who enjoys Final Fantasy should give this a try.

The knight gave a soft sigh, before smiling. "...Very well..." he agreed. "Princess, I will follow you where you choose."

Umbra gave a soft gasp. The Mirror of Twilight... still stands?

The scientist gave a small smile. "It's okay, Sheko..." he said. "I'll be with her again. Anyhow, you need to take care."

Back... I feel a little better, but yeah... just some personal stuff to get over.

"But..." Steiner murmured. "That is because he is concerned about you!" As Dagger commented, Steiner shook his head. "No, you don't understand...!" he interjected. "War is a terrible thing! You must never experience it as I have." "I'm sorry, Princess. I cannot follow any orders that might put your life in danger."

Final Fantasy XIII-2.

I just wanted to let you guys know that I'm dealing with tumultuous emotions right now. As such, I won't be posting anything for a while. I'm leaving Naxy in charge until I return, whenever that may be.

I don't like LMFAO's music much, but I LOVE this parody!

Songs created by a very talented YouTuber, all based around the Portal games. The first is:This Is Aperture

Thanks for the support, mate, and welcome to The GCN! :3

... ... ... ... I am a Phoenix Wright/Gyakuten Saiban fan, and I find this news to be awesome. :3

Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2, definitely.

Suddenly, Steiner stopped overreacting. "What...?" he murmured. "Now that you mention it, I feel just fine. How did you know!?" A look of pure dread suddenly came to his face. "Princess!" he begged. "You didn't!"

*starts crying*

Steiner was freaking out. "What the -" he shrieked. "THE FOOD IS POISONED!" Zidane cast a suspicious, but sleepy look at the princess. "You..." he choked out. "Dagger...?" Seeing even Zidane fall asleep, the knight threw his hands into the air in despair. "How could I be so careless!!!?" he cursed, starting to look as if he was going to faint. "Ugh... I'm starting to feel sick... F-Forgive me, Princess. I should have tastied it for poison..."

Eggman gave a slight smile. "I'm not worried about death..." he said mysteriously. "Not anymore... At least I will be with her again. The chameleon tribe... they've allowed me to remain here... to spend my last few hours." Sonic lowered his gaze, before giving a slight grin of his own, before holding a hand out to Eggman. "Even though you and I always fought, I wanted to just let you know... nobody can replace you. We will all miss you... Doc." Eggman nodded, taking Sonic's hand in a handshake.

Steiner gave a wide grin. "Indeed, it is..." he agreed. "Especially this beef. It is superb!" Zidane merely rolled his eyes but continued eating. Soon though, he felt rather strange.

I've only got the index using a offline bridging with this forum... the other pages are accessible through their URL. For example: http://www.the-gcn.com/about.php

Nyan Pony, just forget about those who have a problem with you. Yer a cool guy. Don't change yourself.