Lightning Returns General Discussion Thread

Hmm, well FF's IV, VI, VII and IX were all my favourites, but to be honest I've thoroughly enjoyed the whole series as far as XII. I - VI more or less stuck to the same formula, and then came VII which came in a very much different format with a whole slew of new features. VIII and IX went along with that, and then you had X which yet again came along with a ton of new features. So far, so good. I mean, I didn't enjoy X as much as I did IV, VI, VII or IX, but I still thought it was a good enough game to warrant several play throughs, as well as investing insane amounts of time completing all side challenges, getting all the Aeons and playing Blitzball.

X-2 changed things up more so. I didn't like how they fucked around with the characters; like completely changing Yuna's character, and the whole dress sphere thing did seem to be more of a thing that was meant to appeal to those teen fanboys with raging hormones, but I liked the battle system and the story wasn't too bad.

And then you had XII, which yet again was a completely different playing experience. Sure, the story wasn't too good, and I didn't particularly like the characters, but it was still enjoyable. I absolutely loved exploring that world, and it was huge.

One of the main things that appealed to me with FF games was the setting. I loved how vast and full of history these worlds were, and exploration was a very fun and rewarding experience. XIII just completely turned that on its head, which is why I dislike the game so much. It was such a kick in the face, because I was very much looking forwards to exploring Cocoon and Pulse; there was so much potential there, and no doubt so much history that I was eager to discover, but they don't give you that opportunity!

I hear XIII-2 does give you more of an opportunity to explore Gran Pulse, but that already came across to me as an attempt to change people's minds about XIII.

I really don't understand why they're making yet another title set in that world. XIII really is an unlucky number. I'm all for SE trying out new things with FF. In fact, I encourage it, because otherwise the series is just gonna become very monotonous. But that's the whole thing. SE aren't doing anything new, except trying out various different concepts of gameplay. Why not do that, but in a completely different title? Why not move onto an FFXV? It's still giving them that opportunity to try out new things, while also creating an entirely new world, with a completely different story, different characters... It will keep the series nice and fresh.
 
So for you "oh it doesn't feel like an FF at all" just remember, those comments have been made ever since those "truer FF's" came out. And i know you will play like you are old-school, but please. In about 5+ years, some other poster will come and dog the newest FF and use #-13 as an example of the time when it was still FF.

I agree, I've noticed how everyone is sucking 12's balls all of a sudden.
 
I'm looking forward to LR. I remember when XII was the most hated game in the series, then a few games later it's now 'decent', 'pretty good', 'not the best but...' etc. People's opinions are fluid and in a constant state of change, so any input on a forthcoming release that isn't strictly facts will be filtered out of my mind.
 
I really don't understand why they're making yet another title set in that world. XIII really is an unlucky number. I'm all for SE trying out new things with FF. In fact, I encourage it, because otherwise the series is just gonna become very monotonous. But that's the whole thing. SE aren't doing anything new, except trying out various different concepts of gameplay. Why not do that, but in a completely different title? Why not move onto an FFXV? It's still giving them that opportunity to try out new things, while also creating an entirely new world, with a completely different story, different characters... It will keep the series nice and fresh.

You make an important point about keeping the series "fresh" ... I said it before on another XIII thread, but SE couldn't simply repeat the same formula from the previous FFs. You have to think of something new--not only to give old fans something different to try, but also to appeal to new fans. The video game industry as a whole is constantly changing .. and to keep up, the series had to evolve somehow. As saber_man suggested, people will be praising FFXIII as a "truer FF" in about 5-10 years. Just wait and see. ;D

As far as LR goes, I'm excited to see how her story unfolds. It'll also be interesting to see how the game is structured--apparently it's set up in "real time?" Either way, I'm looking forward to it!
 
Well what I'm expecting out of this has been thrown out the window but that's fine. I can totally see Laura Bailey returning as a VA and providing the voice for Lumina.
 
I remember when XII was the most hated game in the series, then a few games later it's now 'decent', 'pretty good', 'not the best but...' etc.

That's probably because XIII came out. XII was disliked, but XIII makes it look like 100x better. It's now 'not the best but not XIII' 'not the worst FF game there's been'.
 
That's probably because XIII came out. XII was disliked, but XIII makes it look like 100x better. It's now 'not the best but not XIII' 'not the worst FF game there's been'.

Actually I would blame X for the general feelings toward XII. X blew everyone away with story. XII blew everyone away with its system. It's a very technical game with a very different story than what people were expecting and looking for. It's still a great game, though, and it's starting to be accepted for what it is now that time has enabled people to evaluate it more objectively.

That being said, I don't think the same will happen with LR:FFXIII. I see this most likely going the way of X-2. Everyone just tries to forget it happened and moves on. But never let it be said I'm not an optimist: I'm not going to count the game out until I've played it and found it to be terrible. Until I have, it's still got a fighting chance in my mind.
 
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII

There was probably a thread related to this. Says me.

Although there are a lot of haters, there are also a lot of lovers. I am in a shady area. Grey zone, for me the worst game in the series (still a bit better than FF X-2) but I kind of enjoyed playing it.

So I wonder if anyone knows if there will be any different version, apart from the normal one of Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII.
The game according to amazon UK is scheduled to be released in the end of March 2013, but maybe just a rumour.
 
*Threads merged*

Release dates 'predicted' by online stores are almost always inaccurate. The official statement is an autumn 2013 release.

What do you mean by different versions? :hmmm:
 
if one doesn't understand how the world can be destroyed twice, just watch the ending of 13-2 on Youtube. it doesnt take a genius to figure it out. Hint: look at the map in LR:FF13 notice something familiar in the background? two familiar things, really.

now that aside. im actually looking forward to this. i actually enjoyed FFXIII. and i have played all the non PC FFs. sure it may not be the best gameplay and is EXTREMELY linear until you hit GRAN-Pulse, it still has a lot of story. And if you pay attention in XIII-2 at the cannon ending, and 5 star the lightning DLC, you will understand what the hell is going on and why they are tying up loose ends with a third game in the series.
 
I'm looking forward to this game. Mostly just so we can put the final nail in the coffin that is the XIII "franchise" (lame). It has seriously overstayed it's welcome at this point.

I'm not a "hater" of the recent games per say, I wouldn't say I'm a "hater" of anything. But I did think the recent Final Fantasy games have been inferior to many of the older ones. Therefore it's pretty annoying to me that they keep expanding on one of the least interesting entries. The fact that this game looks alot like Assasins Creed isn't making me more interested in it. Neither does the fact that it's going to be about 12 hours long.

I'm going to withhold judgment and try to go into this with an open mind. But the story is just so twisted and this point that I have a hard time caring anymore. I did enjoy the other XIIIs for what they were though..
 
XIII-2 was a good game. It was fun. FFXIII wasn't as fun but I get why, Toriyama put more emphasis on the story and characters and not on gameplay.

Thing is (and it's a theory) I'm gonna go ahead and say that though XIII/XIII-2 are character driven, people dislike the game because at root level they don't like the characters; I'm gonna go deeper and say, the absence of a true love story (concerning a "main character") hurts the games as much. It's not my opinion a game's story needs this (there are tons of games that don't have that), but you see a game like Final Fantasy X: almost as linear, static turn-based combat (which did away with the rush of ATB and slowed the battles down)...the difference lies in the fact people bought the story and the characters of what was another heavily character/plot driven game (Toriyama's vision), in no less part 'cause the Tidus/Yuna thing melded well and contributed to an epic feeling I guess you invoke in gamers in no other way (in a way, it's one of the mainstays on the game which people will refer to when they remember it). Here you mainly have Lightning (a woman, and don't underestimate the fact many gamers feel unable to juxtapose the main characters on to themselves, since they are a mainly male population, they won't connect as much) searching for his sister, that's it (and vice-versa on XIII-2).

I didn't particulary like FFVIII's plot due to the fact the Squall/Rinoa thing was (for me and some people whose opinions I've heard) forced, but hey, it was fun (junction system notwithstanding) and that holds together some games so as to not bash them incessantly (with many people buying into a story where the Squall/Rinoa thing is essential to the whole plot). My point is, include the love story and, even though it may not be well done and be a bit cheap, it will capture gamer's attention. The ginormous hate XIII and XII get (XII being another game I didn't like the story/characters or setup but it was fun gameplay) I believe it's due to that absence.

Just look at it, FFVII and IX also had it. It's no coincidence FF's from VII through X are not as hated.

Who knows what we'll see here, but it's unlikely there'll be a change in this regard. I'll play it for closure.
 
Im looking forward to it since FFXIII is my 2nd favorite FF game with FFXIII-2 being my 3rd this one might follow suit or surpass FFXIII in my book. Ill start with this, I know Lighting is supposed to be in a different world, I understand it I guess since she is in crystal stasis and wakes up the last XIII days till everything goes to hell ( I understand why many feel the way they do about this,their changing the world too much) But this leaves me wondering, Hopes new place Bhunithelza (cant spell it) what happened to that thing, since the new town and judging by some of the concept art...I dont see anything that connects it to Bhunithelza. I wanted to journey and see what happens in that place...and no I dont want to journey to that place when everything is going to hell cause that sucks.

Anyone who cared enough to pay attention to the story knows about serah in the ending of FFXIII-2, thats what seeing the timeline does to the user. the question is what "future" did serah see and Im assuming its where lighting returns comes in and its the end of the world. but still I want to see how ther going to explain that cause theirs an image with lighting with text that says she's searching for serah. Thats not all, Im also worried aside from noel since he will be in the game that the main cast of XIII wont be in at all as well. Im dissapointed about that mainly cause theirs alot of unanswered questions. Snow was still a l'cie (I beat the game 3 times and still dont know why he's still a l'cie since the end of FFXIII we see them literally lose their brands) Yes he just got made a l'cie again and thats all fine and dandy but he says his focus was to save fang and vanille/protect the pillar. Thats a joke to me, that wasnt confirmed to be his focus, and him dissapearing after everything was over could confirm that was his focus. but need I remind everyone FFXIII was all about what the characters thought and their guess was just as good as ours...I still doubt saving fang and vanille was his focus, but whatever even i it was thats not important. We still need to know what happened to him, since he's last seen "hanging" out with all the dlc opponents. Fang and Vanille where saved/retrieved during the ending scene over the PA when the soldier confirmed to hope they rescued them. Well we can add fang and vanille to what happens with them next. Hope and Noel split up somehow after the events of FFXIII-2 Im sure so whats next for hope, even if he died they need to explain it. Saying its the last 13 days before the world ends and everyone lighting new dissapeared and died or something like that wont sit well with me. I know im forgetting sazh but its not much more they can do with him...I wouldnt be suprised if he didnt even get a flashback. Not hating on Sazh he's one of my favorites actually but in FFXIII-2 they sort of just made him non important with nothing going on. So Story wise thats alot Im curious to see how its going to be explained of if their just gonna deny it all and ignore explaining all of that.

Moving forward and away from FFXIII-2, having lighting as the only playable character sucks that once again im guranteed to never see Fang in battle ever again :( my crying over that was over along time ago so whatever. Atleast I wont have annoying monsters fighting alongside me cause I assme she somehow loes her power over monsters (since she gave serah the power to control monsters just like her even though we never play as lighting until the dlc which she didnt use monsters in tho) I rather fight alone than have a monsterI dont want getting in my way cause I want to kill it and eat it for lunch. I like the direction their going with adding customization features to lighting like the new stuff she gets when she changes her outfits (reminds me of dresspheres in FFX2) I really like her Equilibraum outfit (default outfit as seen in art and the trailers) Sidequest seem like it will be done right, going to the bullentin boards and taking your quest their seems like fun except for the fact their lmited cause after a certain amount of time they dissappear. Which brings me to my next point, I dont like the being on time thing, I get why its like that but still Im not looking forward to that. however maybe time wont go by fast like we think it will especially if we can reset time by helping people with certain task. Im curious to see what the soundtrack will be like cause Im allready a big fan of crimson blitz which gives me hope the music will be good as always. As for DLC if they decide to do it, they should do it just like FFXIII-2 minus the actual ending/colisium. they can do a arena fight dlc but have it all in one package not seperated. but the outfits and extra weapons or in this case more garments or quest to go on to unlock costumes that gives us new skills that you find anywhere in the game. stuff like that I would want done as dlc, but I have high hopes for lighting returns. I wasnt dissapointed with FFXIII or FFXIII-2 so I highly doubt ill be let down with this game but you never know with how game companys been killing franchises lately.
 
While I've been very outspoken about being against XIII as a whole, I have to say after watching gameplay of LR that it looks pretty sick. I'll wind up buying it when it comes out. The combat looks awesome and I'm definitely loving how it's looking.
 
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I've been a Final Fantasy fan since the 1987 original, with FFIV (II on SNES, of course) being the one that first solidified the series as my #1 entertainment IP. I am as guilty as anyone for being uber-purist and bashing XIII, until I played through all of it and XIII-2, that is. I really believe that many critics of XIII never played past its initial linearity and may never have seen the development the characters undergo. While it's pretty pointless to compare current-gen titles to classics like FFVI or VII, I would now place XIII among my all-time favorites. I was especially surprised at XIII's challenge and focus on strategy, and the Paradigm system's flexibility does great justice to FF's ever-evolving job class concept. XIII-2 was plenty of fun, too, and I expect Lightning Returns to be an evolution of both. Square Enix has been uncharacteristically transparent of late, which is a good change for them (very Atlus-like), and I believe LRXIII exists for fans of XIII and those looking for Square's entry into open-world RPGs.

The bottom line is, XIII is just like the rest of the Final Fantasy series -- An intelligent fan can (and often will) argue that ANY entry in the main series is either the best or the worst. The franchise has gone through continuous reinvention, and because of that, there will always be elements that some fans love and some fans hate. After 26 years, it's nearly impossible to satisfy all of the fans, all of the time. I like XIII quite a bit, and Lightning Returns looks like a positive step, with plenty of homage to previous franchise entries. Who knows... Maybe if it does well, the next release will be called LIGHTNING STRIKES!
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsoXoPE-9Hw 8 minute gameplay video. Some interesting ideas in the battle section. I'm open to see how it goes, some might think it the final nail in the coffin. We'll have to wait until next year to judge it.

Basically, you can move her about in the battle screens, and it seems there's no battle menus, you have to switch between costumes to win.
That'll either get old quickly, or be a shot of adrenaline to the heart!
The waiting continues...
 
I still don't understand how the heck Hope managed to decrease in age. Does that mean all the stuff he did in XIII-2 didn't happen? Like, what? Does anybody know anything else about that?
 
Hello!
Not been here recently, that's because my PS3 is broken and after getting the laser repaired it'll be back at the shop... Monday.

This has not in any way diminished or dampened my love for this series though! Soon... soon....
 
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII Playable Demo Now Available

A playable demo version of Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII is now available for download on the Japanese PSN. The demo version of the final chapter of the Lightning Saga will allow gamers to try out some of the game’s new mechanics before launch.

The demo is only available on the Japanese PSN at the moment. However creating a Japanese PSN is free so you may want to create one in order to try out the game a few months before launch.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII is going to bring an end to the story of Lightning, which began with the original Final Fantasy XIII. The game is going to be quite different from the other Final Fantasy XIII games, featuring all new gameplay mechanics.

Players who didn’t like how Final Fantasy XIII limited exploration will be happy to know that in Lightning Returns they will be able to enjoy more freedom than before. The game’s battle system has also been revamped, now featuring elements taken from action role-playing games. Lightning will also be able to switch costumes in battle in order to use different abilities during the fights.

If you want to know more about the game you can check out our impressions from the Japanese version.
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII is now available in Japan. The game will launch in North America and Europe sometime during February 2014.

http://www.explosion.com/48945/lightning-returns-final-fantasy-xiii-playable-demo-now-available/
 
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