See how Final Fantasy XIII-2 begins in Battle of Valhalla video

In this time of series reboots and upheaval in the Japanese gaming space, if there’s one thing you can count on it’s crazy high production values in Final Fantasy games. The CG action in this opening salvo is pretty exciting, though it also features the predictable appearance of a fay, all-powerful bad guy. Take a look at how the epic begins here…

If you’re confused by the intro to Final Fantasy XIII-2, we’ll break it down for you. As Lightning is hanging out in the timeless realm of Valhalla, she’s been watching over that world some time after the conclusion of Final Fantasy XIII. But peaceful vigilance wouldn’t be all that exciting in a game, so it’s broken almost immediately by the arrival Caius and his army of evil… things. The throwdown commences in classic FF style with giant swords swinging and summons being summoned. If you’d like to know what happens after the video’s abrupt end, read our recent preview of XIII-2. The game comes out January 31 in the US.

Henry Gilbert

Henry Gilbert is a former GamesRadar+ Editor, having spent seven years at the site helping to navigate our readers through the PS3 and Xbox 360 generation. Henry is now following another passion of his besides video games, working as the producer and podcast cohost of the popular Talking Simpsons and What a Cartoon podcasts. 

Latest in Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail
Final Fantasy 14 patch makes an effort to combat mods that can enable harassment, but players report it's "very easy" to reverse newly hidden account IDs
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
28 years after Final Fantasy 7 introduced a generation to the concept of waifus, Tetsuya Nomura says Tifa's popularity is "not just about appearance"
Final Fantasy 9
Final Fantasy 14's Yoshi-P was unsure about referencing Final Fantasy 9 so heavily because it's a "masterpiece, and everyone has a strong emotional attachment to it"
A Final Fantasy 14 character points to something off the screen as two others in the background watch on
Final Fantasy 14's 7.2 patch launches in under 2 weeks, kicking off a run of MMO content that the community has been waiting for since Dawntrail launched last year
Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster
The Final Fantasy series has sold a whopping 200 million copies, while the Pixel Remaster reportedly outsells FF16 with 5 million copies
Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail screenshot showing the Warrior of Light, a man with lengthy swept-back brown hair, blue eyes, and facial hair stubble, smiling slightly
As Final Fantasy 14 fans gear up for patch 7.2, Yoshi-P teases that the update will be the MMO's largest ever
Latest in News
Pillars of Eternity
10 years later, in a post-Baldur's Gate 3 and Avowed world, Obsidian is giving its own throwback CRPG Pillars of Eternity a turn-based combat mode
Destiny 2 Lightfall
When Destiny 2 "weekly active users dropped lower and faster than we'd seen since 2018," Bungie assembled an A-Team to put out some fires: "We needed to do something"
Velma, Daphne, Fred, Shaggy, and Scooby-Doo looking at a giant key which is also a clue
Netflix is rebooting Scooby-Doo as a live-action series from the producer of Supergirl and The Flash centered around a "supernatural murder" at a summer camp
Astro Bot
Astro Bot went through 23 pitch iterations before its director promised PlayStation "happy gameplay" and "overflowing charm," though it did once end with robot decapitation that made "some people really upset"
Tomb Raider
5 years after Avengers, 2 years after its last layoffs, and who knows how long before Perfect Dark and Tomb Raider return, Crystal Dynamics announces another round of layoffs
AI Limit
"AI is not as effective as it might appear": Dev of AI-focused Soulslike RPG says they didn't use any AI-generated content and it can't match "genuine creativity"