The Mog Blog

Sometimes DLC comes in a nice neat little package that doesn’t really need a full review. This is where The DLC Downlow comes in, a feature detailing the small DLC bits that serve to add a snack to your game without downing a full meal.

Heads or tails? Life or death? Buy or don’t buy?

Don’t buy.

What was hyped up to be an episode featuring Sazh and his whereabouts throughout the events of Final Fantasy XIII-2 ends up being a boring trip to the card tables with a mundane scavenger hunt that, at least, features a small little twist in the story.

You start off as Sazh in Serendipity. You’re separated from your son Dajh after a weird paradox event occurs and now you’re earning Medals by playing card games in order to get your son and leave Serendipity.

Right…

You’re given the choice to play one of two card games: Poker and “Chronobind.” Poker is much like your traditional Texas Hold ‘em game with no real twists. It does feature some dialogue hints and Sazh’s portrait which glows with red or black fire to indicate something. To be honest, this wasn’t really fun as a poker simulator and while some of the comments that Sazh says showcases his charm and wit for gambling, you’re not gonna care much for it. Chronobind is a little complicated but once you play the tutorial, it’s easier to understand. I can’t really associate an existing game with it but I did find a little fun in this but I still found myself just wanting to do what I needed to do and leave.

Walking outside of the gambling area, you can find Chocolina where you would normally pick up your Fragment Skills. She sends you off on a quest to find Chocobo Chicks. They have to be convinced to follow you but generally it’s not hard to figure out what you need to do. You do get some medals for completing this and it does reveal a secret about Chocolina… which honestly, I’m tempted just to spoil it so you can save your $5 dollars.

The main objective of this little episode is to get at least 30 medals. You do this by accomplishing tasks while you play. You get some while doing the Chocolina quest but most of your medals will come from the card tables. The best way to go about it from what I’ve experienced is to save your game, go all in on the Poker table and if you win, leave the tables, save and do it again. You get 2 medals for doing this and you can get more per turn if you want to risk it. Sure, this is probably not the fun way to go about it but playing Poker with the AI, who seems to always want to raise on a constant basis, just makes the game take forever even with the fragment that speeds up the game.

Unfortunately, the biggest disappointment is that the DLC offers no story except for that one twist. It’s a pleasant surprise but there’s no major developments in the episode. It’s simply a DLC package that includes two card games and Sazh as a crystal, that’s it. I should also point out that Sazh is a Synergist that caps at level 45. That means he doesn’t attack but he does have access to some useful buffs. Unfortunately, while he makes for a good Synergist, he’s still a novelty that can easily be replaced with something already in the game.