glitchytasty.com's Brandom Cowen reviewed Final Fantasy XIII-2. Here's what he had to say:
"Overall, Final Fantasy XIII-2 gave me some hope (no pun intended...) for the franchise. It was able to make me feel like I was playing something better than I imagined. XIII was a real disappointment to me. This sequel made up for it by fleshing out the characters, as well as opening the world of Gran Pulse for more exploration. I can forgive the lack of innovation on the battle system side for everything else the game had. The character interactions and animations were awesome. The little details always stick out to me, and that is definitely what FFXIII-2 did right."
80/100
I have been saying this since the game came out (almost those exact words as well). The amount of fun I have with a game is not dependent on how well it follows a strict set of guidelines.
Honestly, the only thing that prevents me from having fun with a game now is whether I reach a part that I keep dying/failing at without feeling like I'm making any progress with each try. Otherwise, I've learned to adapt pretty well and find fun in almost everything now.