So … did Square Enix fix Final Fantasy XIII?

With the long-awaited 13th game in the series having been a high-profile misstep for the storied role-playing game franchise, the announcement of a sequel to Final Fantasy XIII wasn’t quite as impactful as it might have been had the first game been received with open arms.

But the awkwardly named Final Fantasy XIII-2 brings with it a shot at partial redemption, a chance to make a game that feels more like a proper RPG and less like a 30-hour movie.

It’s impossible to tell for sure based on the game’s 20-minute E3 demo, but Square Enix is at least taking a shot at it. Here’s how Final Fantasy XIII-2, to be released on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 this winter, differs from its big brother.

Quick time events: This may not excite you, but it’s true. XIII-2 calls them “Cinematic Actions,” but they are what they are: At predetermined points in the game’s battles, a button prompt will appear on-screen and you’ll have a very generous window of time in which to press that button. This will cause your character to do something big and splashy and cause the enemy in question a world of hurt.

The XIII-2 demo begins with Serah, the sister of the previous game’s protagonist, Lightning, and her friend Noel attacking a giant monster. Well, a giant monster’s arm, at any rate. The creature is emerging through some kind of dimensional portal, but it’s only got one of its limbs through. Noel and Serah hack away at the arm gamely, though.

Nonlinear areas to explore: This is the big one. FFXIII never let up on the action for a second; you had to constantly run forward and battle enemies. XIII-2’s demo area is in a camp populated with people, a largish nonlinear area that you can run around and get lost in if you like. You can actually walk up to people and press X to talk to them. Some of them actually had some interesting things to add to the plot.

Jumping: You can jump. I am pretty sure this is the first time that a mainline Final Fantasy game has tried this. You can go leaping around the levels if you like. There’s something to be said for a good jump button to break up monotony, isn’t there?

Active enemies on the battlefield: When you see your enemies wandering around and get in range of them, an on-screen stopwatch starts ticking down. You have a few seconds to run up to the enemy and begin the battle, and if you start early enough, you’ll get a stat bonus. If you dilly-dally, the battle will start normally. If you are really late, you’ll begin at a disadvantage. This makes running around on the field and getting into battles a little more interesting and engaging. Also, Square Enix says weather elements on the field, like rain, will affect the flow of the skirmishes.

Collectible battle monsters: Like the first game, XIII-2 lets you have three people in your party. Unlike the first game, one of them will be a monster. As you fight foes, you will gradually add them to a list of enemies that can battle alongside you. After I battled a Behemoth, for example, I could add him to my roster. The game doesn’t change the “Paradigm” battle style of its predecessor, but as you pick different Paradigms, different monsters will swap in to add their talents to your damage-dealing.

Puzzles: This is the aspect of the XIII-2 demo that surprised me most. After finding my way with Serah and Noel through a twisty maze toward some magical gewgaw that would give me an advantage in the boss fight, I expected to simply pick it up and be on my way. But no. The game dumped me into an area called “The Void Beyond: A Temporal Rift,” and I was set to a puzzling task.

I had to make my way across a bridge of shimmering red tiles that dropped away as I walked on them, and figure out a way to get to the exit without getting myself stuck. This was very un-Final Fantasy but quite fun. I’m hoping the final game is full of puzzles like this.

Bad English-language rapping: I didn’t say all these points would be better in the new game, just different. The music in the XIII-2 demo was grating. I don’t know how the symphony orchestra concert series is going to do rap.

When all else fails, blatant fan service: The most popular critter in the Final Fantasy mythos is the Moogle, a fluffy little ball of whatever who says “Kupo!” a lot, which roughly translates to “buy a plush doll of me.” Serah now has a pet Moogle named Mog that follows her around, saying the catchphrase over and over until your heart melts. Since this is a modern-day Final Fantasy, Mog also turns into a crossbow, which Serah uses in battle.

So … did they fix Final Fantasy XIII? I can’t say at this point, but the sequel will certainly be a substantially different game.