Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII

http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/09/01/lightning-returns-final-fantasy-xiii-announced

http://www.1up.com/previews/lightning-returns-final-fantasy-xiii-first-looks

Well, this is something. Square announced this game not too long ago. They seem to be making it different, with an action based battle system, a Majora's Mask/Valkyrie Profile style countdown system, among other things. It's definitely interesting.

edited 1st Sep '12 7:23:21 AM by DBomber

I'm actually kind of excited for it. Mostly because of the return to Lightning as the main character.

I really got to get around to completing the first XIII.

Same. I hope they really tie everything together, so many plots were left unresolved at the end of XIII-2. So do you think this will have Lightning taking on Etro's mantle?

Interesting. The premise isn't at all the logical continuation of 2, but I can hardly complain about playing as Lightning again. Combat sounds decent, though I don't like the sound of the countdown

I don't know. From the description it seems like they're doing to Lightning what they did to Vanile and Fang.

Yeah, it seems a little... random? But it may show some of the long-term repercussions of the XIII-2 ending. I'm hoping that they make it work and can conclude everything nicely.

Tithe doesn't seem random to me. At the end of XIII-2 the world was completely changed. This new world might have developed from that.

I would have much rather had things more wrapped up with the ending of XIII-2 if they're going to do a huge timeskip. Like, what happened to everybody in the end? The game's story ended on a huge cliffhanger and I had guessed that a 13-3 would have focused on the remaining characters surviving in the new world/possibly bringing some of the girls back and trying to repair the damage.

XIII-3 went out of it's way to get all the major characters (except Yeul) in one place. Just seems odd to suddenly ditch everyone. Also I kind of thought timeskips would be impossible after that ending

I wonder if this is what vs XIII turned into. The gameplay description does sound a little like what we saw of vs XIII's combat.

Too many Final Fantasy XIII's!

I wonder if the nickname for this should be 'make it right'.

You know what? It all hits back like a boomerang! Raiden, Lightning, both worlds gone wrong, both to make them right!

While I personally don't believe it, it wouldn't surprise me if it's true.

If it is true, then say hello to a fort divided in two, again.

That's pretty unlikely. They'd be throwing out a huge amount of work, and we've seen some stuff from Versus not all that long ago

This is cool and all. I like how there is supposedly character customization and the game being world driven and stuff. Though it's extremely obvious now that she's his Creator's Pet

But I'm not lifting my expectations. All of Toriyama's works so far have shown so much potential and wasted ideas all to be screwed up by some sort of last minute development that tries to make the work darker and edgier. This game had better be really good, or at the very least, not bogged down by these stupid last minute concepts that just throw the plot out the window, in order to justify wasting everyones time with XIII-2.

Will I be getting it? Probably.

EDIT: Btw I dunno if either of those pages linked to the full presentation, but the way he was talking about Lightning was so overly sentimental I almost felt embarrassed. Why make it sound like your making a game around someone's funeral?

edited 1st Sep '12 3:42:02 AM by absolclaw

Versus still has a page here, and it says that the game's back in production. So this is a new project.

Interesting.

I never expected 13 to be that odd of a number.

Although I'd like them to move onto 15 instead.(although 13-2 made up for 14 not being a regular series game a little)

I personally wish they wouldn't overmilk one title, but considering some of the problems with 13, eh.

...Does 13-2(and above) fix the linearity of the original? That's my biggest issue.(if the other games are better, I'll watch a playthrough of 13, and play the ones I can actually enjoy)

No. Well, depends. There's one or two maps with varied ways of getting about, and some with larger spaces, but many of the maps are still just small paths like XIII, like the area with snow which is just a circle path. Basically just like XIII's Chapter 9 map. Nothing like XIII's Gran Pulse though.

Story wise, it's still linear as hell, just with some optional areas that contribute next to nothing.

edited 1st Sep '12 3:57:36 AM by absolclaw

XIII-2 is fairly non-linear, but not exactly in a good way

Okay, then it sounds good enough to me.

Optional is what I want. One of my favorite games is extremely linear, but has side areas.(Quest 64)

XIII-2 might be worth picking up now. How is the "auto battle"? Is it not nearly as hand-holding in the first game?

Well, the auto-battle for the AI tends to pick TERRIBLE options, far worse than XIII's did. It's still basically the same.

Combat is about the same. Battles are shorter, but most of the strategy is neutered

...Oh, god, Kingdom Hearts all over again.(haven't they learned by now that computers just can't do it right?)

Eh. Thanks for the information. I guess my hope for a good new FF game will have to wait. I hate having stuff being auto-done, extreme linearity, and of course... silly unnecessary cutscenes(especially on a handheld when you lose power...)

Er-hem. Anyway, heading off the topic now since my curiousity has been satisfied.