Mr. Revolution
The One and Only
I think I have said this before, but let me rephrase this. I am perplexed on how they can possibly stretch and twist the original FFXIII characters and world into such chaos (literally).
It's almost cruel how a pretty much ordinary guy living in a seaside town in a floating world, having a regular relationship with a schoolgirl whose sister is an ordinary soldier, has been transformed into a club host governing a city, whose girlfriend became a time traveling fortune teller befriending the last person alive in the world, whose sister is pretty much a goddess who saves people's souls, living in a completely different 'timeless' world. On top of that, they have been living for centuries since the start of XIII.
And I am not even making the stuff above, for the most part. It is just ridiculous at this point if you look at the trilogy as one.
Regardless, I am still looking forward to the game, for the world exploration and gameplay, and just to see how they can end this ridiculous chain of events with a good conclusion (which I really doubt so).
It's really sad and disappointing because I personally liked the story in FFXIII... SE please do something miraculous...
I wish to second this notion. When I saw the trailer coupled with this news on Snow, my heart filled with an overpowering melancholy. Indeed, despite being a devoted fan of the Final Fantasy series, I regretfully cannot play this title. Lightning, Serah, and Snow were enjoyable characters until these unfortunate "sequels" and this ill-conceived "trilogy".
I used to respect these characters. Despite the mechanical flaws from the original FFXIII, the characters made the game a little less of a chore to push through and complete. I wish now to quote a post I had made last year on a different forum regarding SE's announcement of Lightning's new characterization:
What they've done to Lightning & Co. over the span of this series is highly deplorable, and at times, downright laughable. When I was first introduced to the character of Lightning, I had nothing but respect for her. She's lived a tough life while carrying around a boatload of childhood trauma, but she made it out in the end with a lighter spirit and a smile on her face. After seeing her transformation in FFXIII-2, I just shook my head in pity and dismay. Gone was the strong-willed woman who would topple an entire regime if it meant saving her sister. She was instead replaced by an automaton quasi-valkyrie that tossed policeman-like discretion out the window in favor of blind faith.
But that's not even the most lamentable aspect of FFXIII-2. Despite all that blind faith hoo-hah, Lightning couldn't save the one person she cared for most. One of the key objectives to FFXIII was to save Serah, and in the sequel when Lightning doesn't so much as lift a finger to defy "fate", Serah's life is forfeit and Lightning turns to crystal. It's downright disgraceful, but worst still is now SE claims that Lightning is not only alive and kicking but she's "more sophisticated".
There is nothing on this planet that can justify turning a freedom fighter into a zealot and then claiming that they've magically turned into a "more sophisticated" individual. So she's god-like now? She's no longer human and she's "more sophisticated"? I'm sorry, but that's not a description of Claire "Lightning" Farron. You must be referring to someone else.
Lightning Farron was a cop. She was an older sister who had to play the role of parent. When it came to the happiness and well-being of her family, she didn't let anyone push her around--not the government, not the army, and not some would-be deities. Lightning was a human with very real problems. She harbored an emotional maelstrom deep within her heart that was only just resolved at the end of FFXIII, even if most players (especially people outside of Japan who had never read, let alone heard of, Episode Zero) will never understand the true reasons why she hardened herself.
Lightning taught us that it's not okay to turn a blind eye to your hardships--that they will always circle around your life until you acknowledge them, deal with them, and move on. She didn't teach us to blindly follow whatever some would-be goddess declared was the truth of reality and existence; she taught us to question authority. She taught us that growth isn't something that must happen, but rather, it's something that you have to allow to happen; it's your choice to grow or stay stagnant.
Lightning Farron was a human being just like you or me. Sure, she fought monsters with a gunblade and summoned Odin--which is something we can't claim to have done in real life--but she also suffered through human problems that we can sympathize with. Lightning was all about choices, questions, and free-will. She was about living. But now she's gone to a terrible place and has been lost to us mortals. The woman I see in FFXIII-2 isn't Lightning; she's just her empty shadow. I dread to meet this god-like, "more sophisticated" Lightning, for fear that I will never be able to see her in the same light again.
These are the things Lightning has meant to me--the things that made her special and one of my favorite characters of all time. Perhaps some of you may not agree, but these are my views and I will try hard to always cherish and remember Lightning in this way.
Regarding Snow:
Snow Viliers was a vigilante who fought to protect people not only from monsters, but also from themselves. Growing up an orphan, he learned that love and friendship can be forged outside the conventional familial realm. And so, Snow sought to forge new bounds with others by protecting them in a way that he felt the government, PSICOM, and the Guardian Corp could not. Snow lost everything when he was a child, and he would dedicate his life to preserving what little he had created by his own strength.
When Serah was branded, he didn't run or cower; he stood tall and strong, determined to protect his love. When Serah was abducted, he fought tooth and nail to track her down, and when she turned to crustal, Snow's pure, heartfelt belief was the sole driving factor propelling the others to even contemplate an optimistic outcome, let alone spur themselves to actualizing a world in which they survived the brand and felled all the oppressive fal'Cie.
Snow used to be a man who, although foolhardy and reckless, stood for all things right and just in the world. He was a believer--an optimistic, strong-willed, believer whose faith could ill be shaken. He believed in his loved ones, and always faced adversity head-on with a smile on his face. When no one else could remember Lightning in XIII-2, Snow was the only one to believe in Serah and rush off into a new adventure to try and find the Lightning that only Serah could see and hear.
To see Snow devolve into this dark, depressing "governor" of such a shady place...it tarnishes his good name. Snow Villiers isn't a governor, sovereign, or whatever else have you--he's a fighter, and a damned good one. He's a leader, an optimist, and a hero. He'll go anywhere he has to and do whatever his heart tells him without giving way to fears or doubts that can seriously cripple him. "Anguish" and "regret" are two words that aren't in his vocabulary. When a plan goes awry--when he fails to protect someone--he mans up to the consequences and tries even harder to protect the survivors.
Snow Villiers used to be a hero, and I will always remember him as such. He would never "fail" to save Serah; he's the kind of guy who would make the earth spin backwards on its axis Superman-style to undo everything that's been wrought by the insanity that is XIII-2. Considering time-travel is a factor in this crazy, topsy-turvy world, I doubt he would be so quick to resign himself to misery. He's smarter than that. Anguish and regret mean nothing to a man whose heart is gold, fists are steel, and resolve is adamantium.
I continue to look upon this series and weep for the future of Final Fantasy.
But it seems his new direction won't be to my liking.