If your biggest problem with XIII-2 was the lack of Lightning in it, fear not. Tabata got you covered.
I can't help but respect the guy's dedication to his waifu, he basically rewrote the entire universe built by XIII and XIII-2, removed other party members, brought back X-2's dress-up system and much more just for her.
On a completely different note, this game has an arranged version of FFIII's Eternal Wind with vocals. It's superb. Best thing Lightning Returns contributed to the series.

To sum it up plainly, the gameplay is a little bit better, but the story and characters are a little bit worse than XIII.