You will begin Final Fantasy XIII-2 by getting reacquainted with the prequel’s protagonist, Lightning. After watching a series of opening cutscenes, you can opt to engage in a tutorial battle that will refresh your memory on the game’s basic battle mechanics. Follow along with the tutorial as Lightning engages Chaos Bahamut.

After the brief intro, you will take control of Lightning’s sister Serah. Go through the door and use the O/B button to jump over the obstacles in your path. Once you reach the waypoint marking the exit of the building, another cutscene will begin, thrusting you into another battle. Select Auto-Battle to kill the enemy quickly. Serah will now be tasked with killing all four of the monsters on the beach. To start a battle, you just have to walk into an enemy. From here you’ll enter the familiar battle screen. These small battles will serve as an opportunity for the game to provide bits of tutorial as you play. The Meonekton immediately to your left will teach you about the Paradigm Shift system, and how the different Paradigms play off of each other.

For now, you really won’t need to utilize many of the more advanced Paradigms. Hitting L1/LB to switch to the Slash and Burn Paradigm, a highly offensive-based stance, should suffice. Kill all four of the enemies on the beach to proceed to your next objective, which revolves around the crater on the northern end of the map.

Head north to the sandy beachfront and find Noel. He will teach you about the Mog Clock. The Mog Clock is new to Final Fantasy XIII-2, and serves to make the process of initiating battle a little more active. By striking an enemy on the overworld while the Mog Clock is green, you can gain the upper hand once the battle proper begins. If you allow the gauge to turn yellow, the enemy will recognize your presence and actively try to attack you. Finally, if you wait until the gauge turns red, you will be locked into battle and will be unable to select “Flee” from the combat menu.

You will engage in a practice battle to demonstrate this concept. Again, selecting Auto-Battle is essentially all that is necessary to pass this early encounter. After killing the enemy, follow the wooden path to a rocky outcropping leading upwards. Take the stone ramp to the glowing blue circle. These circles indicate spots from which Serah and Noel can jump, so jump across and keep going. Enemies will regularly try to intercept you now. You are no longer in the throes of tutorial, so use these early battles as opportunities to experiment with different Paradigms. The Slash and Burn Paradigm works best against the Pulsework Soldiers, while the Double Trouble Paradigm works well against Nektons and other minor enemies.

When you come to a fork in the road, follow the left side to find a map of the area before continuing around the right side. From here, you can simply follow Noel to your destination. Fight whichever small enemies you come across along the way, as any combat experience now will prove helpful later. When you’ve finally reached your destination, a short cutscene will play and a boss battle will trigger.

Boss Battle: Gogmagog

As in Final Fantasy XIII, the best way to fell large enemies is to build up their Chain Gauge with rapid attacks. This will allow you to deal greater damage to the enemy for a period of time. Switch to the Slash and Burn Paradigm to quickly build the Gogmagog’s Chain Gauge. Whenever you see it reeling up for a Swipe attack, immediately switch to the Twin Shields Paradigm to deflect the brunt of the damage from this powerful blow. Then switch back to Slash and Burn and continue beating on the Gogmagog. This method will save you valuable potions, which may come in handy later. As this is your first boss battle, defeating the creature should be relatively easy.

You will receive the Gogmagog Fragment Alpha for killing the boss. Now approach the center of the crater, where you will see a strange glowing object. Press X/A to examine it. A series of cutscenes will be initiated and you will find yourself back where you started, in the NORA house. Serah and Noel should have received significant experience points from the boss battle, so take a moment to enter the Crystarium and level them up. Like in Final Fantasy XIII, leveling up is not a strictly linear process. You must enter the Crystarium any time you wish to make any sort of significant upgrade to your character’s abilities. Thus, as a rule, you should make sure to visit the Crystarium and spend your experience points frequently to make sure that you are well prepared for all of the encounters that lie ahead.

After exiting the Crystarium, a treasure chest will appear. Open it to view a Live Trigger Event, a sort of multiple choice scenario in which you can dictate how your characters will respond to certain situations. Live Trigger Events aren’t always guaranteed to occur, and many of them are strictly optional. However, it is recommended that you always try to seek them out, as you will often be rewarded for discovering and completing them.

Now you will be in complete control of Serah. You may speak to any NPC with a speech bubble over their head, but only two in this area will be of particular interest. Lebreau, the NPC standing right outside of the NORA house, will summarize the events of Final Fantasy XIII for those of you who can’t quite remember. Speaking to Nell at the top of the Town Square area will initiate the Heart Prism side quest, although you won’t be able to make any progress in it right now.

After talking with all of the NPCs you’re interested in, approach the waypoint marker and examine the rocks nearby. You will find Lightning’s Knife, which will trigger a cutscene. You will now need to chase down a cat, with Mog with Moogle’s help. Examine the cat to begin the chase and follow Mog to find the cat when it hides. Grab it and run behind the NORA house to find a group of children. Speak to the boy with the speech bubble over his head. You’ll now have to chase him down, too. You will finally catch up to him in the Winding Way area. Speak to him again and you will encounter another Live Trigger Event. The boy will hand you Snow’s Necklace. You may now head over to the blue circle to jump back down to the Town Square. Along the way, initiate another Live Trigger Event to speak to Noel.

Proceed to Serah’s bedroom inside of the NORA house and examine the mirror. A chest will appear and you will get the Giant’s Artefact. Loot the chest and leave, following the waypoint on your map back to the Meteorite Impact Site area. Early on, you will see a branch in the path. Take the left of the two paths to the northwest sector of the map, called Winding Way, and search in some bushes to find the Heart Prism. Then return back to the main path. Follow the waypoint to the right to reach the Tidal Shallows area. Loot the treasure chest along the way to get an Iron Bangle, which grants the wearer +10% HP. Equip it, as you are about to enter into another boss battle. You should also take this time to enter the Crystarium if you have engaged in any more battles since returning to town.

Boss Battle: Gogmagog Part 2

This battle is fairly easy and should play out similarly to the first one, except that the Gogmagog now has the Casualty Barrier ability to reduce its susceptibility to damage. Use the Slash and Burn Paradigm to quickly stagger the Gogmagog, and then launch an all-out attack. The beast should die easily.

You will receive the Gogmagog Fragment Beta for killing the enemy again. Approach the Gate in the crater to advance to the next section of the game.