Lightning Returns Review Thread

LR continues the trend where everything is good except for the story which is to be expected from the FFXIII franchise
Even that doesn't sound like the case anymore. The game is getting dinged heavily on story, character, dialogue and even a few on combat----though the combat system seems to have received mostly positive.
 
A new low for the series, excluding the obvious XIV which was an unfinished mess.

SE can't be happy with these score, they won't be happy with sales.

Why Toriyama wasn't degraded as janitor.
 
You can thank FFXIV and Versus management.

Actually, you can thank XIII being a complete fustercluck and XIV's revamp for Versus' delay.

Who ever loved these characters?

The members of the Cult of Waifu. = (

Hopefully it isn't. Considering Toriyama is now part of the Quality Committee at Square I really hope he finds a way to add her as a staple to the series just like Cid currently is. That would be extremely awesome
and funny
in so many ways.

Some people just want to see the world burn...

Sure it is, Toriyama's French Fancytsy

Or Toriyama's Female Fetish.

it's not that, if you ask me.

FF XIII was never meant to be a trilogy in the first place. the original one stands perfectly well as a stand alone entry. SE was "wise" enough to try and force a sequel out of the most complex myth they have come up with in any FF game, just for a quick cash-grab. they were under the delusion they would make the story clearer with the second game, addressing the complaints, but it got people even more lost.

XIII is not anywhere near the most complex myth/world in the series. Leaving aside the MMOs which are by necessity more detailed, XII's universe is far more complex and fully imagined, and would have been even more so had SE not interfered with Matsuno. The guy intended to chart the family lines of the XII characters to the Tactic characters, for pity's sake. Setting aside sequels, I'd argue VII, IX, and X were all as detailed as far as mythos goes. XIII probably seemed that way to you because XIII serves everything up on a silver datalog, rather than weaving it into the narrative/NPC text.

Actually I find it slightly annoying that some people try to force their opinion that IX is as good as the rest of the PS1 era games just so they can make this completely subjective and ultimately detrimental statement that "Final Fantasy hasn't been good since...".

My anecdotal evidence would be -judging by a plethora of online conversations- that FF X is in fact more popular than IX, with the latter simply having very vocal supporters. Trying to make a "FF hasn't been good since..." argument is pointless.

IX is as good as the rest of the PSX FFs. Heck, I'd say it's better than VIII. Just because it wasn't as popular (mostly due to its retro artistic design) doesn't somehow make it a worse game. Appeal to popularity is a pretty basic logical fallacy.

It's probably the latter. Understanding the storyline of 13 and 13-2 is not hard but if you choose not to, the game is not for you.

XIII's original plot had potential. Unfortunately they crapped out a game without much of an actual narrative and so stuck everything about it in a sub-menu. XIII-2 they just starting throwing crap in to have an excuse for the game.

That's what I'm thinking too. They're bashing on the game not because of its faults but because of its name and series. FFXIII trilogy tired alot of players, and it happens many of these players are also reviewers. Also if you notice most of the reviews say the game's very fun and good to play, then they go off bashing on stories and characters revealing that they never liked them to begin with. I think all of these scores are below 9 and 8 just because of how they feel about the series.

What I like though is that I'm sure people that will buy the game will definitely like it and possibly leading to a sleeper hit appreciated by the most hardcores. The courage behind this game deserves alot of support from the gaming community, even more than safe bets like Bravely Default or ARR. The game discarded every single easy path (like XIII-2 instead did) for being its own game. This is NIER 2.0 and deserves every attention you can give to it.

Oh, good. Glad to see you're alive Perfo. You had me worried.

Why the fuck do you even care this much about reviews? Is it going to affect or hinder your enjoyment of the game?

It's Perfo. He's FFXIII's head cheerleader. He's a good guy, just really defensive about the waifu and family.


Wow...
 
Even that doesn't sound like the case anymore. The game is getting dinged heavily on story, character, dialogue and even a few on combat----though the combat system seems to have received mostly positive.

Yea, FFXIII series was always saved by its combat system. Graphics and music is hit or miss. Story is always crap.
 
If you absolutely hated FFXIII but sort of thought Lighting had potential in a different title, would this game be worth it? Or is it just sheer fan service?
 
When it comes to Final Fantasy and stories...

Based on FFXIII and FFXIII-2 the more people hate the story the more likely I am to love it.
And based on FFXIV:ARR the more people love stories the more likely I am to dislike it.

I'm apparently incompatible with the Final Fantasy fanbase.
 
If you absolutely hated FFXIII but sort of thought Lighting had potential in a different title, would this game be worth it? Or is it just sheer fan service?

Imagine Lightning at the beginning of XIII, only now bereft of any emotion (in theory... it's rather inconsistent) due to a plot point. That's what she's like. So no, not really. And this is coming from someone who liked Lightning in XIII.
 
If you absolutely hated FFXIII but sort of thought Lighting had potential in a different title, would this game be worth it? Or is it just sheer fan service?

you might like the new battle system and the fact that its not linear like XIII, but everything else is same thing as XIII, but just made worse.
 
I can't help but crack up at the voice acting in the GT review. I'd expect shit like this in some Idea Factory drivel, not one of the most popular Japanese RPGs.
 
Cancelled my pre-order. I thought I could deal with a bad story, but learning that in order to level-up I have to do uninteresting and ridiculous quests (and that most quests are fetch quests on top of that)? That's the final straw.
 
When it comes to Final Fantasy and stories...

Based on FFXIII and FFXIII-2 the more people hate the story the more likely I am to love it.
And based on FFXIV:ARR the more people love stories the more likely I am to dislike it.

I'm apparently incompatible with the Final Fantasy fanbase.

Some ppl like being punched and kicked.

Some ppl enjoy those things in the same way they enjoy XIII plot.

Is ok, you can join Perfo with his new avatar on the defence force. Because people should be able to enjoy being abused by the worst SE writter.
 
Getting a bit into the meat of Destructoids 7.5/10:
http://www.destructoid.com/review-lightning-returns-final-fantasy-270350.phtml

Going back seems like even more of a task when you consider how difficult Lightning Returns is. This game is ready to punish you right out of the gate, and doesn't seem to care if you don't have the battle system down yet. Even from the beginning, enemies gang up on you and pummel you with weaknesses and chains that sometimes seem impossible to break out of. Some boss fights are so hard that one of my controllers has developed a permanent creak from stress squeezing. Even with the game set on easy you'll have an uphill climb.

Lightning Returns may sound like a bit of a hot mess on paper, but that didn't stop me from enjoying it. The time limit can be a bit frustrating, as can the game's difficulty and lack of guidance. But there are several excellent dungeons to explore, a few smart quests to take on, some really good backstory elements to learn about, and even some surprisingly touching moments. The world is a delight to explore, packed with countless little hidden treasures and sites. Rare items are everywhere if you're looking for them. And the boss battles are fantastic, with the final fight being one for the ages.
 
So in their (GT) preview, they talk about how LR is the most refreshing game in some time and then give it a 6. Consistency....?

The scores really are all over the place but that reflects the quality of the title. Sorry Perfo.

I still think my 'tag' is accurate lol
 
Some ppl like being punched and kicked.

Some ppl enjoy those things in the same way they enjoy XIII plot.

Is ok, you can join Perfo with his new avatar on the defence force. Because people should be able to enjoy being abused by the worst SE writter.

I'm not defending anything... Just stating my opinion about it.

I think it's fine if people don't like it. I just have an incompatible view with most of JRPG GAF about the series is all.

I'm not sure why you have to insult me about it.
 
I'm not defending anything... just stating my opinion about it.

I think it's fine if people don't like it. I just have an incompatible view with most of JRPG GAF about the series is all.

I'm not sure why you have to insult me about it.

Apparently you aren't allowed to enjoy FFXIII or its sequels on this board. Sorry Frequency ; ;
 
I'm not defending anything... just stating my opinion about it.

I think it's fine if people don't like it. I just have an incompatible view with most of JRPG GAF about the series is all.

I'm not sure why you have to insult me about it.

Sorry if you feel insulted. I was just kidding.

And you don't have an incompatible view with most of JRPG GAF, the series have been almost universally panned because of it's poor writing and plot. Is not an only GAF vision, this is how most people sees XIII series.
 
Was thinking of buying this as I was craving a solid JRPG and I've played the last 2, but now I'm debating just renting... Hmm. Decisions.
 
All over the board, with a leaning more into positive territory. Most seem to love the gameplay and customization, but hate the story. I wanted it for the former more than the latter anyway, so that bodes well for me. I'll be diving in later.
 
That's sort of disappointing. That battle system looks really fun though. I may still crack and give this a shot because of it.
 
Apparently you aren't allowed to enjoy FFXIII or its sequels on this board. Sorry Frequency ; ;

Oh, you're allowed to enjoy the series. Toriyama is a poor writter and director, showed both in sales and reviews, but opinions...

Still the mental gymanstics some of you try to reach to justify that is just not a matter of taste but rather that the game is "good" (plot and all) and that everyone just has some irrational hate (not like ppl posted over and over again their reasonings and arguments) is the funny thing here.

Not pointing fingers, just what I saw in numerous discussions.
 
Wow, scores all over the board this morning, much better than the 7s that were prevalent last night. I'm excited to pick this up today!
 
xmFLYa6.gif
 
Wow that GT review is brutal.

Lol indeed. Wasn't expecting it be that harsh.

*Gameplay belongs into a better game
*story is horrible
*Lightning's boring voice ruins every scene
*You just run around and do boring ass quests
*Hard to get into for newcomers
*Not satisfying for the fans

Maybe hope for 15 in terms of game play then. Though I'm not sold on the main character.
He's got the Sasuke persona vibe.
 
About what was to be expected given it's ambition hampered by budget and general distaste for the XIII series. Looking forward to some incredible, fun combat and the conclusion of the horrendous story I've come to enjoy over the years. Still think Lightning's voice is hilarious, the droll sarcasm is completely out of place but funny none the less.
 
The reviews I'm looking from big outlets actually are complaining about character/story for the first time, that wasn't the case in previous games' reviews from same people as faras I remember (like Gamespot's), maybe they hear the complaints this time... lol
 
The reviews I'm looking from big outlets actually are complaining about character/story for the first time, that wasn't the case in previous games' reviews from same people as faras I remember (like Gamespot's), maybe they hear the complaints this time... lol

To be fair, pretty sure some of them were different reviewers.
 
Top Bottom