[17/01] New Lightning Returns Trailer and Screens: Lumina and Noel Featured

[Steve-O]

Good News, not only did we get a new trailer with a extra scene, but we also got a whole bunch of screenshots too

first the trailer, the only different is that a scene is shown with lightning fighting noel, confirming that noel will be in the new game.

the other new bit of news is a bunch of new screens, as well as the offical artwork for lumina, lightning's mini me

2 new costumes were shown as well

go to farmisu for all the screens

Source for video: Square Enix's Youtube Channel

Source for Screens: Famitsu

 

[Squid]

errr isnt that just Serah is a really ugly outfit? Are they running out of character ideas? Ugh.

 

[Steve-O]

adding this, a very nice preview from ign, also says the game slated for a fall release

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII doesn’t look like a Final Fantasy game. Despite only seeing 15 minutes of the upcoming title, this was the thought that resolutely planted itself in my brain and has remained stuck there ever since. With a whole host of changes to party make-up, skill acquisition and, most noticeably, combat all being introduced, it’s obvious that Square Enix’s dev team is trying to evolve the systems of Final Fantasy XIII-2 into something more palatable for those who haven’t played the original Final Fantasy XIII. And while what early stuff I saw already looks like an incredibly promising action game, I couldn’t help but feel that fans of the Final Fantasy franchise should prepare themselves for a bit of a shock.

As the name suggests, Lightning Returns is very much the story of our titular protagonist; as a result, in a bold move for the series the developers have decided to make a big change regarding parties. While Final Fantasy XIII-2 messed with the make-up of the traditional FF party by introducing monsters to the mix, Lightning Returns has abandoned the party-model all together, only offering you control of Lightning as she goes mano-a-mano with foes.

As you can imagine, the impact this has on combat is gargantuan. Gone are the turn-based battles most associate with the series. Instead, a real-time action combat system has been introduced with abilities assigned to face buttons in a style very similar to both the Kingdom Hearts series and what little we’ve seen of Final Fantasy Versus XIII. It’s set to make combat much faster paced, through the inclusion of abilities such as guard that reduces the incoming damage from enemy attacks. Additionally, while monsters still appear on the world map and attacking them causes the landscape for battle to open up, static battles are a thing of the past as, for the first time, you’ll be able to move Lightning around using the left thumbstick, along with the new dodge roll ability.

“

There’s a great balance of action elements and strategic elements in this game, and I think the sole protagonist system really helps that. You can actually choose to create your best battle style.

When it comes to the actual attacking aspect of combat, the abilities you can use are tied to which of her various outfits Lightning is wearing. Now before you freak out that this is Final Fantasy X-2’s Dress Spheres all over again, relax. A number of outfits are available for Lightning throughout the game, each with innate stat bonuses and slots for you to assign abilities to. Some of these are named after the previous games’ paradigms, as is the case with the Commando outfit, to give you an idea of what to expect. The level of customisation this offers is colossal, though it obviously makes sense that you’d assign moves like thunder and fire to costumes that boost your magical prowess, while keeping physical attacks reserved for the strength-enhancing outfits.

Once this is done, you’re allowed to take three outfits with you into battle. You can switch between them at the touch of a button, though it’s important to note that each has its own ATB bar that fills independently of the other two. This means you can feasibly keep jumping between costumes to maintain a flurry of attacks on your foe with little to no downtime, as long as you keep a careful eye on the bars. As usual, certain monsters are more vulnerable to magic than physical attacks and vice versa, so while making sure that you have an appropriate array of outfits prepared is key, it’s more important to have costumes that suit your play style.

Indeed, the decision to offer control of a sole combatant was largely made in a bid to foster this approach. Speaking to the game’s director Motomu Toriyama, he explains, “There’s a great balance of action elements and strategic elements in this game, and I think the sole protagonist system really helps that. Combat in RPGs has two elements: one is action, the other is strategy. If you’re the kind of gamer who loves action-orientated games you’ll enjoy this game because you can use abilities like guard and dodge roll, and clever positioning is required to execute effective attacks. But on the other hand, if you’re a fan of more strategic, command-based gameplay you can actually customize Lightning so that she’s more of a magician or mage, then you can cast spells to weaken monsters. Both areas have progressed since last time. You can actually choose to create your best battle style.”

As a knock-on effect of this new system, the means through which characters acquire abilities has also faced a revamp. Toriyama explained that if you were hoping for an intricate Sphere Grid or Crystarium to play around with, you’re out of luck. This time around abilities are purchased from one of the game’s many merchants and then assigned to outfits. Apparently there’s more info on the system to come soon, but Toriyama remains tight-lipped except to say it’d be different to what we’ve seen before, explaining “At the moment we can’t discuss all the information about all the characters, but we can say at this stage is there’s not going to be any system like the Crystarium or any system like that… but there’s more to say later!”

“

We wanted to depict Lightning again in a slightly different light so that people can have another opportunity to get to know her better. You might be a little bit surprised… She will be getting more and more human and vulnerable.

So that’s a fair amount to take in. Yet still, no matter how intrigued I was by all these changes, nestled at the forefront of my mind remains a kernel of doubt. Though Square-Enix has repeatedly insisted that fans were enamoured with Lightning’s character and demanded to see more, as a lifelong fan of the franchise I have to say I don’t share this sentiment. When compared with the likes of Vaan or Tidus, with their naïve optimism that reels you in as you discover a huge world together, Lightning struck me as closed and alienating. With all other characters in Lightning Returns very much demoted to playing supporting roles, especially without the traditional party dynamic to create a protective bond between you and them, it makes me wonder if Lightning really is strong enough to go it alone.

Voicing these concerns to Toriyama, I got a decidedly honest response. He acknowledged that while many found her to be a “cool” character (presumably referring to her awe-inspiring combat skills rather than her distant personality), a lot of people were alienated by her aloofness. This was one of the reasons that they opted to resurrect her for the sequel; much as Final Fantasy XIII-2 set out to correct the mistakes made in the original Final Fantasy XIII, so Lightning Returns hope to redeem Lightning’s character in the eyes of the franchise’s fans.

“We wanted to depict her again in a slightly different light so that people can have another opportunity to get to know her better,” he explains. “You might be a little bit surprised to see her at the beginning of Lightning Returns because you’re going to find her even more distant and more closed than before, but throughout the story you’re going to find out more about her real emotions, and what goes through her mind. She will be getting more and more human and vulnerable, even as you play.”

Just because the game won’t feature a party in the traditional sense though, it doesn’t mean that a host of familiar faces won’t be reappearing. While it’s been confirmed previously that Snow Villiers will crop up, as will Hope Estheim, offering Lightning advice via comlink, it’s been newly revealed that Noel Kreiss will also have a role to play. Unlike Hope and Snow though, the chaotic energy generated by the imminent end of the world has corrupted him, meaning it’s up to Lightning to save the man she once fought alongside by putting him down. Hard.

“

You may notice that Lumina looks quite like Serah. Mysterious…

New faces will be making an appearance too. The most intriguing of these is Lumina; the young girl you can see in the images above. While you may be quick to dismiss the similarities between her and Lightning’s younger sister Serah as a design quirk, don’t. The Final Fantasy series has never been one to flirt with coincidence, and in the presentation given to us the sentence “you may notice that she looks quite like Serah. Mysterious…” was actually uttered. There’s more to this one than meets the eye, no doubt about it.

Most of the other systems shown to us from the game have already been heavily discussed, such as the 13 day countdown to the end of the world, but it’s worth clarifying that this can’t be navigated a la Majora’s Mask. While we’ve previously heard that certain actions will add or detract time to the countdown, you can’t actually jump backwards, meaning if you miss an event you’re going to have to play through the game again to catch it. Toriyama explains: “You can’t turn back the clock or go against the passage of time and do it again, but this is the type of game where we expect the player to actually enjoy a few playthroughs at least. So if you think you have missed something you can go to that particular area and enjoy that experience on a new playthrough.”

With the game currently slated for a worldwide release sometime during Autumn 2013, there’s plenty of time for its features to change and come to resemble what we’d expect from a Final Fantasy title. At the close of the demo we were teased with a glimpse of the plush Wildlands and sand-covered Dead Dunes zones and, irrefutably, both look incredible. But that niggle is still there. What I witnessed bore all the hallmarks of an enjoyable action game, but was less recognizable as an entry in one of the gaming community’s best-loved franchises. At this early stage, it’s still unclear if Lightning can strike thrice.

Source: IGN

 

[Marquis of Granby]

this is really cool.

i would love to read more about lumina and noel.

 

[Steve-O]

trailer in english........... bit confused with noel;

 

[Ohri-Jin]

Designs are crap. Environments are crap. Buildings are crap. But seriously also rehashing same character builds just to fill in gaps once again??????
Fans fell for it the first time and this time they will fall for it again.

Rehash game produced and released within two years (very very short span) like FFXIII-2.

Fill in the gaps yay!

Changing outfits imbedded in battlesystem is lame like in FFX-2. Buy DLC outfits and get supermoves as well YAY!
Dark/Night so convenient. (can rehash monster builds just add colour)
Blarghhhhh

 

[Exoskeleton]

I'm actually impressed with Lumina. Her character design is nice, though I'm getting tired of pink hair . However her character's appearance reminds me of the whole cutesy sidekick turned evil traitor cliche.

Everything else is pretty just "meh" at this point. I think it would be wise for them to finish the game before marketing every step of the way.

 

[Linnaete]

Okay, okay. Stop it right there. Objections:

A child-like doll's face with Serah's hair trying to look like a slut, while somehow managing to look even younger than Serah here. She looks what? 10? Can they do anything other than a 3D computer generated generic anime character? Did people seriously call her "sexy" when the scan first came out? Can I ask these people to change their names to Jimmy Savile now?

What is that shield supposed to protect you from against? And why does she have barcode tattoos on her?

That outfit isn't too bad. It's just a shame that it's Lightning wearing it, so it doesn't fit at all.

"Thirteen" people died trying to fight it. Why does this number need to be banded around everywhere? I know it's a minor thing to bitch about, but you get to the point where you should really just stop doing this.

Hello, flat, lifeless set piece environment with incomplete lighting judging by how bleh it looks.

Okay, this looks better in terms of lighting. Whether this is an actual screenshot or a bullshot is another thing.

FFXIII: The quest to save Serah and somehow the world

FFXIII-2: The quest to find/save Lightning and somehow save the whole timeline

LR: FFXIII: The quest to save Serah and somehow save...everything before apocalypse?

This is riveting stuff. George R.R. Martin wishes he could write something as compelling as this.

Is it me or does her arm REALLY not look right here? Especially her clenched fist there. It looks way small for the perspective and her arm looks like it's comically tiny.

Yes, Noel. Kill her and save us all from this madness!

 

[Steve-O]

.Fleur

that last image.... that last comment..... made me laugh my head off 'well a very quite laugh, as I have no voice'

 

[Razberry Knight]

Although i love real time action games, i dont like the approach its taking, compared to FFv13 and kingdom hearts, those looked like they were fought in real time. And last time time ff13 claimed they were going to battle in real time in the exact same place, they lied. so i dontreally want to trust them when they say its real time, because it doesn't look like it.

 

[Thief of Hearts Joker]

Well I like 13 -le gasp- it sure as hell beats 12 in the long run, and I'm curious on the storyline, I'll probably end up grabbing this later when it drops in price a bit, I just pray it doesn't have tons of bloody DLC Bosses/Allies like XIII-2 did DX

 

[Razberry Knight]

Well I like 13 -le gasp- it sure as hell beats 12 in the long run, and I'm curious on the storyline, I'll probably end up grabbing this later when it drops in price a bit, I just pray it doesn't have tons of bloody DLC Bosses/Allies like XIII-2 did DX

not really, because at least 12 knows what it is. It may not be the best, but its got it's fanbase, and for the most part stays true to he final fantasy series. Don't bring up 12 again in here, because it will be fought to no end.

 

[d2punkrock4thisw]

Okay, okay. Stop it right there. Objections:

That white hair! WHY?! Is it just the lighting or is he actually aging in this game haha.

I'm a little mixed on this "extended" trailer. They said that it's the really early build of it, but If they have been working on the title as much as they say the have they could've updated the flat looking environment for the trailer and fixed the lighting problems. I'm actually looking forward to the title, unlike majority of the people on this board I actually quite like Lightning. I will admit she doesn't exactly have much of a personality going on, but not many leads in FF did.. Like Cloud was moody, Squall was moody, Zidane I liked because he was "funny" and kinda a pervert, Tidus was a cry baby, and Vaan might as well have not even existed..

On to Lumina, Lumina in latin I believe means "Light". I have many speculations about her character so here we go:

01: I'm assuming that she's a very young version of Lightning from the past but in present time.
They state she can help, and be a hindrance to Lightning and messes with her. (Point being if it's a younger Lightning maybe she has inner battles with herself, personal doubts, or just her guilt. Maybe fighting her fate again) But to me she looks nothing like Lightning, unless Lightning wore her hair like Serah growing up.. But Even then she didn't go by Lightning in her childhood either so I'm going to rule this one out.

02: Lumina resembles Serah: this being a ploy provoke & lure Lightning out. Possibly the ones out to "get" Lightning and prevent her from saving the world and bringing people to the new world. I'm a little mixed on this one too only because I think it was stated that no one knows who Lightning really is, they know they're looking for someone, but don't know who. (Hence the murders in the town every day to get her to come out of hiding) So I don't know that they would know who she is. BUT Maybe Bhunevelze who gave Lightning this task, is actually working against her to end her.. (Similar to XIII, where they were given their focus and miraculously made it out of all their close calls, Barthandelus was pulling the strings training them to destroy Cocoon. So they were helped along the way only to have to face him and Orphan in the end) I don't know I'm probably looking way to into it.. But her looking like Serah is definitely to evoke an emotion out of Lightning (Probably just Squares way of showing Lightning having a softer side)

03: Lumina is a ghost, (If anyone has ever played the Xenosaga series think of Nephilim. She was like a ghost that appeared but gave really clouded advice, made the character insecure, or uneasy, guided them on the way). I'm thinking maybe when Lightning feels lost, or unsure of what to do next maybe that's when Lumina appears.

I have many other theories but I don't want to infer, or look too much into it because I'm only going to build it up and probably be disappointed because I wasn't right..
But I'm leaning towards my second and third thought more. I also remember reading a screenshot of Lightning's VA's twitter feed and she said that this would be Lightning's "swan song", did some research and from what I understand it's a last gesture, or final performance before death, or retirement.. So either Lightning's going to die in the end, or they're just concluding the XIII saga with her being a hero who doesn't have to fight anymore. The tweet was deleted quickly after it was posted, I'm assuming because it gave away the ending: or just gave fans fewer things to speculate about and made the ending more clear without even playing the title.


Last thought:
I am not sure why Square decided to present a new character before like ones we know will be reoccurring like Snow, Noel, or Hope.
I'm guessing Lumina will be a major character in this title, or she will be around frequently hence why she was announced this early on..
Fall 2013 gives us another solid 6-7 months of development time so I'm looking forward to seeing what else is to come.


If any of this needs a spoiler tag let me know, I'm still new to this whole forum thing.

 

[The Witch]

what the HELL happened to serah like, for real, she looks 10

the hell was wrong with how she looked before? I don't get why they would completely just change her face shape so drastically. please god tell me they can fix this?

anyway, I like what the trailer shows. the open-world looks cool. and all the stuff you're able to do also looks cool.

 

[Squid]

Hahaha it's not Serah, Cali it's Lummina. Some new character who looks exactly like serah but with a fat face

 

[The Witch]

Hahaha it's not Serah, Cali it's Lummina. Some new character who looks exactly like serah but with a fat face

haha, okay, good

she looks freakin' weird either way

 

[Rapture]

I'm really sorry, but to me she looks like a baby prostitute. This is really, really sad. Somehow I'm guessing she's related to Lightning since I don't recall too many women on Cocoon with pink hair in the style of a female mullet

The first outfit is meh...and I agree with Liv, wtf is with the barcode on her ass? Is that like "tomorrows" tattoo cliche where instead of putting Juicy on their arse like they do today they put barcodes on there like she's got USDA choice arse?



I do like how they realize that people aren't nuts about her closed off personality though, so they are going to try and make her more realistic this game by giving her one, probably towards the end of the game I'd assume. Now fans can hopefully relate to someone who has more of an emotional range than a teaspoon.

This looks worse than XIII-2, and I don't even know how that's possible.

 

[Shaissa]

I'm guessing since you "changed history" that the Old Noel was in, that the new Noel must act or be different somehow right? or is that just too complicated?

And why do we have a Serah Clone in this game? don't tell me Serah had a kid that we don't know about right????

 

[d2punkrock4thisw]

I'm guessing since you "changed history" that the Old Noel was in, that the new Noel must act or be different somehow right? or is that just too complicated?

And why do we have a Serah Clone in this game? don't tell me Serah had a kid that we don't know about right????

No it's not that history was changed apparently. I read on another site ran by someone who went to the Press event that Noel is not going to be the only past ally you encounter. It has to do with the chaos that was unleashed in the world, it gave them "burdens" and Lightning has to resolve them.

From the article:
"It seems he is now known as the Shadow Hunter and that Lightning may have to battle more than one former ally in order to release their burdens."

http://www.novacrystallis.com/?p=4172

 

[ribbit]

i like how people complain that too much emphasis was put on graphics in XIII but when the graphics get worse people complain more. game looks alright, not gonna look too far into it since i literally Give No Fucks right at this moment, but i'll laugh if it turns out to be a solid and enjoyable game.