So, I found FF XIII to be fun but badly flawed, while I found FFXIII-2 to be so undermined by its main characters that I didn't bother finishing it. In general I'm leery about any Final Fantasy without more playable characters than you can fit in your party at a time, but is there anyone who would argue this is worth my time, given my history with the series?
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
Game » consists of 11 releases. Released Nov 21, 2013
The final game in Lightning's story arc in the Final Fantasy XIII universe.
$10 on Steam - should I go for it?
There are people who love the game and there are people who hate it. (I count myself among the latter.)
The story is terrible in pretty much all aspects (this is the most subjective point of course, but for me the story did nothing and even ruined a lot of the world established in the previous games), the general gameplay can be rather tedious (but some of the time-loop mechanics are kind of neat) and while the combat is fun, it lacks some in depth/customization (it's only Lighting on her own after all).
It's not the worst game ever and it certainly had potential, but I'd skip it.
Maybe I'm the only one, but I really liked Lightning Returns a lot. I'd definitely recommend giving it a shot even if you weren't fully on board with the previous FF XIII games. Its gameplay, structure, and plot are all a pretty big departure from those other games.
So that you know where I stand on the other entires, I also wasn't a big fan of FF XIII due to its pacing and some of the characters, but I thought FF XIII-2 was a significant improvement and made a pretty decent attempt to address most of the first game's problems.
Depends how much you value the 60hours it takes to get to the good bit
That's really not this game. It only took me around 50 hours to complete the game, and that was doing a lot of the side quests. Given the structure of the game, it's doubtful that you'll be able to play for much more than that without going into New Game+.
I think this is a really good game. Even though I have it for ps3 already I'm going to get it again. I thought the whole trilogy was fun. The biggest problem with this last one? I never finished it because I did so much early that I had to waste a few days to finish it. I'd just recommend taking your time with it and not stressing about time if you get it. The combat is fun, most of the areas are cool. Lots of customizations. Some really difficult bosses. I don't remember the story but I can honestly say that about every game I've played except doom.
I think it's worth $10, but the game definitely has its problems. The combat is actually pretty good once you learn how to critical hit and critical defend. If you do the next attack as your previous one lands your next hit will critical (if timed right its 100%, the first attack can never crit though.)
The problem is....well, everything else. The story is even more nonsense than before. The time mechanics are absolutely infuriating. I don't know how you would do everything without following a guide, which is what I ended up having to do. Specific events happen at specific times and it takes time to travel places. The game has a time limit but its actually pretty lenient if you know what you are doing.
It's hard to recommend the game, but for $10? Sure, I'd recommend it for $10.
I love this game. Don't know anything about the PC port though. I still think lightning's an interesting character (and I actually think the way they subvert her stoic persona in the story is rather clever). I enjoyed the combat: while it is like the previous ones, it is much faster, and I think limiting each set-up to 4-moves (Pokémon Style!) for each of the face buttons makes for a more fluid experience. I liked the open nature of the game, with the ability to move around all the environments and try out side-quests and main quests at your own pace. The time mechanic isn't nearly a limiting as it seems early on (no where near that of Majora's Mask). The customisation is great with Lightning able to wear styles branching the many contrasting tones seen in the XIII games. Some of them are ugly and disjointed, though that's so subjective, I'm sure the ones I dislike are ones you could enjoy. While abilities and such are linked to outfits, for the majority of fights, slotting in your own abilities and wearing what you think looks good is enough (except the hardest bosses - where using the optimal clothing is key to giving you the edge). I personally don't like the incredibly skimpy attire, but I still had a blast dressing her up as a cool knight (with a giant pink sword for flavour).
I think the game's great.
I thought FFXIII was okay, though I remember falling asleep at one point; I was excited for FFXIII-2, but it was absolute garbage; and then there's Lightning Returns, which I ended up loving. I feel like Lightning Returns kinda provided everything I wanted or didn't know I wanted out of the FFXIII series. It brought back Lightning, my favorite character of the series, and even though you're only playing as her, the job system is pretty intricate and a lot of fun. The time mechanics add another layer on that that I really got into. Plus the environments are pretty big and varied. The story is kind of nonsense, but I enjoyed it, and the ending of the game is perfect and absurd — I loved it.
All three games are very different, so even by that, I think Lightning Returns is worth trying. So $10, yeah, I recommend it.
The gameplay part is pretty good (at the very least, it's a little more engaging than the previous two XIII games), and the time limit thing isn't as terrible as you might think, although it does make side quests a little frustrating to find/complete (and you need to do a bunch to get the good ending/level up enough). There is some pretty decent quest/level design, but nothing outstanding or anything.
The story/characters, on the other hand, is totally dire and perhaps even worse than XIII's (for example, "oh no Sahz's kid's in trouble and he has to save him for the third time, only now he's completely emotionless and boring while doing so") . It's just really messy and inconsistent (ranging from bad to worse to pandering) On the other hand, the ending is a good time if you like laughing at really ridiculous bullshit played completely serious.
If there were B-games like there are B-movies, it'd be one of those for sure. You're certainly gonna get what you pay for out of it if you don't expect anything too spectacular from it.
@chaser324: I like all the FF XIII games but Lightning returns is my least favorite. I thought XIII was a great once you get to Gran Pulse and it doesn't become nearly as linear. XIII-2 is the only one of these games I have done absolutely everything in. While I think that Noel, Serah, and Mog are much weaker characters than Lightning and company (minus Hope because he's the fucking worst) I thought the overall game was much better.
Now XIII-3 isn't necessarily bad but if you are a person who hates feeling pressured by time, like me, then this game ultimately isn't for you. I have about 60 hours in to the game and was near the end when I couldn't take it anymore. A part of me wants to go back and finish it but I just don't know if I have it in me.
I still believe in the dream of Endurance Running this series with my friend, even though we have yet to finish the original XIII.
It's half off? Deal! I bought it!
I love Lightning Returns.
But I might also be insane. It sucks that there's stuff locked behind NG+ though.
@holocaustwolf: That and unless you are a using a strategy guide it's difficult to complete all the important tasks prior the 8 days running out.
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