History YMMV / LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII

** The reduced role of Caius left many bitter and annoyed since he went from the strongest villain in the franchise, to a minor one bit boss [[spoiler:who shows up in the ending to simply "die", even if he does become a guardian god to all the Yeuls]]. Some, however, are happy his role was reduced.

* ContestedSequel: To a higher degree than ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'', given the ArcFatigue, the changes in the battle system (and Lightning being the only playable character) and because you have to beat (most of) the game under a time-limit. On the other side of the base, fans liked the new battle system, the sense of urgency given by the in-game clock, as well as the variety of customization options for Lightning.

* ContestedSequel: To a higher degree than ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'', given the ArcFatigue, the changes in the battle system (Lightning's the only playable character) and because you have to beat the game under a time-limit. On the other side of the base, fans are actually interested by the idea of a new battle system, as well as the prospect of customization options for Lightning.
* DemonicSpiders: A good amount of the enemies qualify.

* DifficultySpike: Saved for the very end. If you're playing on Easy, you can beat all of the main quest bosses and some very tough monsters by debuffing and bashing them. You can beat the first three stages of the final boss the same way. However, this strategy has no effect on the final stage of the final boss, and to beat it you need to be good at Staggering ... which you may not be, if debuffing and bashing have been doing the job for so long.

* GoddamnedBoss: The FinalBoss' last phase can only be properly damaged when staggered, and his stagger meter not only requires a great amount of damage to fill, but also resets very fast if you don't keep the pace. If you didn't bring the right garbs and abilities, expect to retry the entire fight multiple times.

** [[spoiler:Bhunivelze, thanks to being a FinalExamBoss from hell. If you can't handle most of the aspects of the game at a fast pace, he will kill you over and over with his wide array of skills, bizarre mechanics, all while you're stuck chipping away at his high resistances.]]

* GoddamnedBoss: The FinalBoss' last phase is clearly this. ''If'' you know how to do it and have the right skills, he can be beaten in less than two minutes. If you don't, you are going to find out why this phase' boss theme is thirteen minutes long.

* OneSceneWonder: Was ''anyone'' expecting [[spoiler:''Cid Raines'' to make a surprise appearance as the representative of the dead souls in Chaos?]]

* CaptainObviousReveal: [[spoiler:Bhunivelze is the BigBad. The fact he's a villain should be very obvious to anyone who has read the lore in past games about what he and his children have done, and also, ''Final Fantasy'' very rarely depicts divine beings as benevolent and almost always reveals them to be evil. This makes the reveal quite predictable.]]
* CompleteMonster: In the [[DubPersonalityChange English dub]], the cruel perfectionist [[DemiurgeArchetype Bhunivelze]] lacks any potential redeeming qualities. The GreaterScopeVillain of the ''XIII'' trilogy, [[GodIsEvil Bhunivelze]] takes centre stage in the finale seeking to create a New World for humanity to inhabit as his puppets. To this end, Bhunivelze cut out [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIIILightning Lightning]]'s emotions and tortured and tormented Hope until his mind broke, reverting him to a teenage body to better manipulate Lightning. Using Vanille as a medium to commune with and summon the souls of the dead, Bhunivelze seeks to sacrifice her to initiate the [[CessationOfExistence Soulsong to destroy these souls]], which in turn will erase the memories of the dead from the still living whom he can then mould them as he sees fit. Bhunivelze also plans to force Lightning to become the new Goddess of Death to ensure balance in his new world, and when Lightning manages to defy him, he is so enraged he almost destroys the New World and all of humanity with it.

* MagnificentBitch: [[Characters/LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII Lumina]] is a mischievous young girl who uses her powers to cause trouble in the dying world, usually by [[ItAmusedMe pranking people for her own amusement]]. Over repeated encounters with Lightning, Lumina will [[WildCard variably help her or sabotage her]] as it suits her, and talks her into realizing that Bhunivelze cannot be trusted and is lying to her. It gradually becomes apparent that Lumina is manipulating Lightning and her friends to help her save their souls, and to turn Lightning against Bhunivelze and figure out his true goals. In the end, Lumina achieves everything she wanted--Lightning and her friends are saved, Bhunivelze's plans are thwarted, and Lumina herself is revealed to be [[EnemyWithout the inner weakness that Lightning has been suppressing]], and Lightning accepts her back into herself with as the two embrace.

* SpiritualSuccessor: This game has a lot in common with the ''Valkyrie Profile'' series. In addition to an overall time limit that can be depleted by taking various actions, Lightning has a decidedly Valkyrie motif, and uses the four face buttons for different attacks during battle.

* CompleteMonster: [[DubPersonalityChange English dub]]: The cruel perfectionist [[DemiurgeArchetype Bhunivelze]] lacks any potential redeeming qualities. The GreaterScopeVillain of the trilogy, [[GodIsEvil Bhunivelze]] takes centre stage in the finale seeking to create a New World for humanity to inhabit as his puppets. To this end, Bhunivelze cut out [[Characters/FinalFantasyXIIILightning Lightning]]'s emotions and tortured and tormented Hope until his mind broke, reverting him to a teenage body to better manipulate Lightning. Using Vanille as a medium to commune with and summon the souls of the dead, Bhunivelze seeks to sacrifice her to initiate the [[CessationOfExistence Soulsong to destroy these souls]], which in turn will erase the memories of the dead from the still living whom he can then mould them as he sees fit. Bhunivelze also plans to force Lightning to become the new Goddess of Death to ensure balance in his new world, and when Lightning manages to defy him, he is so enraged he almost destroys the New World and all of humanity with it.

* EnsembleDarkHorse: [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ff13_glove.jpg Clove]], a dog Lighning has to find on one sidequest, is a rather (in)famous example due to her [[SpecialEffectFailure poor quality character model]].

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Hope's handkerchief got a lot of attention for being a new detail on his outfit.

* ContestedSequel: Given it is [[ArcFatigue another]] sequel to ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'', a game that had already split the base in two, this is to be expected. Also, since Lightning's the only playable character, [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks some fans are not happy]]. On the other side of the base, fans are actually interested by the idea of a new battle system, as well as the prospect of customization options for Lightning.

* PolishedPort: The PC version of ''Lightning Returns'' runs very well, and has a host of options for revamped lighting and shading. Originally, the entire XIII trilogy was supposed to come out on PC around the same time. The reactions to the [[PortingDisaster first two games]] likely lead to this one being delayed by about a year and being outsourced to [[Creator/TriAce a company that knew what they were doing]], and subsequently being handled much better.

** [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Cloud's costume and Buster Sword]] being DLC. Some appreciate the [[PanderingToTheBase fan service]], whilst others are declaring that it's heresy that Lightning is able cosplay as Cloud[[note]]Even though "female Cloud" is largely how she was described in the original game[[/note]].

* SheReallyCanAct: Ali Hillis had been a well-received voice actress for years, but this game solidified her acting abilities as being one of the best in the industry. In between many roles where she was openly emotive and charismatic, there was Lightning who was always known for her reserved voice. In this game, she shows off how she can make the reserved voice of Lightning come off with just as much impactful emotion as her more openly emotional roles.

* LesYay: Fang and Vanille may have [[UpToEleven even more subtext]] than they did in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII''. For example, the Datalog describes them as having "bonds beyond those of family."

** Given it is another sequel to ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'', a game that had already split the base in two, this is to be expected. Also, since Lightning's the only playable character, some fans are not happy. On the other side of the base, fans are actually interested by the idea of a new battle system, as well as the prospect of customization options for Lightning.

* HilariousInHindsight: Lightning is now a god-like being, guiding people's souls to a new world. And her nickname just happens to be [[Manga/DeathNote Light]].

* LesYay:
** Fang and Vanille may have [[UpToEleven even more subtext]] than they did in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII''. For example, the Datalog describes them as having "bonds beyond those of family."

* SugarWiki/MostWonderfulSound: That glass-shattering sound effect whenever an [[GameBreaker Artemis' Arrow]] attack connects.

* ThatOneBoss: May Bhunivelze have mercy on you if you take too long to fight [[spoiler:Noel and Snow. After the 7th day, [[ThatOneBoss Noel]] will have his stats increased, represented by a "+" next to his name; the same with Snow after the 5th day, but he takes the cake by having a "++" after the 10th day. Though he does [[MrFanservice tear off his shirt]] for this form...]]

* MagnificentBastard: Lumina is a mischievous young girl who uses her powers to cause trouble in the dying world, usually by [[ItAmusedMe pranking people for her own amusement]]. Over repeated encounters with Lightning, Lumina will [[WildCard variably help her or sabotage her]] as it suits her, and talks her into realizing that Bhunivelze cannot be trusted and is lying to her. It gradually becomes apparent that Lumina is manipulating Lightning and her friends to help her save their souls, and to turn Lightning against Bhunivelze and figure out his true goals. In the end, Lumina achieves everything she wanted--Lightning and her friends are saved, Bhunivelze's plans are thwarted, and Lumina herself is revealed to be [[EnemyWithout the inner weakness that Lightning has been suppressing]], and Lightning accepts her back into herself with as the two embrace.

** A sidequest detailed that, amongst many of the exploits that the Shadow Hunter, aka Noel, had done, one included him sneaking into the headquarters of the local mega Church, and left a note on their pillow while they slept. This was one of the many things attributed to the legendary real life [[UsefulNotes/TheHashshashin Assassins]]. Hmm, an Assassin Noel Kreiss? [[http://www.creativeuncut.com/gallery-18/art/ff13-2-noel-ezio.jpg Where have I heard that before?]] [[note]]Source: FFXIII-2 DLC[[/note]]

* CaptainObviousReveal: [[spoiler:Bhunivelze is the BigBad. What, did you think ''Final Fantasy'', especially the ''XIII'' trilogy, was going to have a God (with the exception of Etro) that ''wasn't'' evil? Even without that, his villainy is very well foreshadowed.]]

** The Game Over caused by the end of the world would be actually good if it weren't so anticlimatic. It lasts less than twenty seconds and it is followed by "And so the world ends."