I am so surprised at how much I'm liking this game. Considering my initial thoughts were: oh fuck really SE?
I haven't gotten through a lot of it but it's only because I'm such a perfectionist, I need to get everything and do everything as soon as I can so....
Anywho. I was never a big fan of FF13 and I really couldn't bring myself to connect to any character in the game either. Serah and Snow were probably the two characters who I disliked the most.
So, trust me when I say this: get the game.
Serah is greatly improved. She isn't annoying or any of that. She's actually cute, funny and very human. You can see how conflicted she is with everything but I like how she's still determined to save her sister. I find it very endearing and I like how she isn't so obsessed with her love life/Snow which, tbh, I thought she would be. Because Snow wouldn't shut up about her in FF13
Noel is flawless. He is such a typical FF main male hero, you won't be able to help it but get attached to him. He's all about saving humanity but not being all gung ho about it and still a do gooder. He's also got some secrets he's hiding. Typical FF fashion. Which, to me, is actually such a good thing because SE had been moving away from it and I missed that a lot. Not to mention, I adore his VA. I was expecting it to be shitty but...hey, they did good this time.
The gameplay is super fun and super addictive. I love how open everything is and how many options are available to you. The monster stuff is a lot of fun and using them in different strategies in any battle is challenging but FUN. Especially if you're aiming for five stars.
I'm also one of those people who loved the grinding aspects in FF and I'm so glad they brought it back in this game. Leveling up Noel, Serah and the monsters has me spending ages on this game and I like it?
I can't say a lot about the story right now because I think for that, I'd need to complete the game to really judge. So far though, it's definitely interesting and has me curious. Considering it's all time loop crap, I thought I'd hate it but...it's actually executed quite well.
I guess I don't have much to complain about in this game, really.
except maybe Snow's awful hair
I recommend getting the game. If not brand new, at least a used copy or something. I don't think it's a waste of money. But then again, wtf do I know? I enjoyed Crisis Core and thought that was wonderful, too.