• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII |OT| Toriyama's Bizarre Adventure

B

brandonh83

Banned
neoism said:
Well that does sound alot better but I do love grinding....:p
Click to expand...

There's still grinding just in other ways. :)

Anyway, I've been really satisfied with the way they've given resolve to some of the characters so far. I haven't faced
Snow yet, but I just got Serah's pendant which will presumably open the door
. It's a pretty dark and depressing thing honestly.
 
H

HawthorneKitty

Sgt. 2nd Class in the Creep Battalion, Waifu Wars
Oof, that Wildlands boss was tough; can't wait for another runaround of the game already.
Done with all Main quests on day 3 also!
 
B

brandonh83

Banned
HawthorneKitty said:
Done with all Main quests on day 3 also!
Click to expand...

Damn.

Snow's stuff was great. Really liked the resolution he got.
at this point I do feel pretty connected to the characters, surprisingly... maybe it's just the amount of exposure but I finally think they've gotten decent development
.
 
H

HawthorneKitty

Sgt. 2nd Class in the Creep Battalion, Waifu Wars
brandonh83 said:
Damn.

Snow's stuff was great. Really liked the resolution he got.
at this point I do feel pretty connected to the characters, surprisingly... maybe it's just the amount of exposure but I finally think they've gotten decent development
.
Click to expand...
What I enjoy most is how each past main character really went their own way with their goals. Makes things less happy-lucky-fun time.
 
K

K.Sabot

Member
So my copy came in and I'm digging in.

One major problem right out of the gate, half of a conversation gets skipped if you go into battle in the middle of it.
 
J

jersoc

Member
following that previous posted guide did wonders for my enjoyment. I don't feel so pressured about the clock anymore. Before I was basically running around like a headless chicken.

Because of that I'm just going to keep playing normal. Finding the combat pretty good so far.

and damn the music in yusnaan is so good.
 
B

brandonh83

Banned
HawthorneKitty said:
What I enjoy most is how each past main character really went their own way with their goals. Makes things less happy-lucky-fun time.
Click to expand...

I just like that so far this game feels like a satisfying sendoff for the story and characters, and I love that the developers are being very playful about Lightning's seriousness. There have been so many occasions where the game has deliberately made fun of Lightning's... straightforwardness, instead of pretending like she's some amazingly well realized, three-dimensional character. They may love her and think she's iconic, but at least they're finally making her more likable in this game by admitting that she isn't likable. Or something.

I also like how
Snow and Noel's big encounters just paint them out to be losers who have sulked away for years and have given up, and Lightning comes along and encounters them in these very dreary environments that accentuate loneliness and despair, so it feels good when you actually help them. It's great how despite how HUGE their journeys have been, their big scenes of resolve in this final act occur in such dirty, small, sheltered places
.
 
S

Shinta

Banned
For people rushing through the game fast and having extra time, something you might try if you want extra challenge on your next playthrough is delay the boss fights until later. Apparently the bosses have new + or ++ forms when you fight them in later days, and they get more difficult.
Snow in particular has 3 forms. The later ones look really cool. Noel has 2.
 
B

brandonh83

Banned
Shinta said:
For people rushing through the game fast and having extra time, something you might try if you want extra challenge on your next playthrough is delay the boss fights until later. Apparently the bosses have new + or ++ forms when you fight them in later days, and they get more difficult.
Snow in particular has 3 forms. The later ones look really cool.
Click to expand...

Holy fuuuuuck

Yep, I'll be playing this game a lot.
 
C

Carbonox

Member
I find Lightning to be hilarious in this game. Even the seriousness which other characters find comical.

Given the stuff I heard from import players, I expected something atrocious and offensive but playing through myself, I just find it charming and funny. "hurr durr im in a mood most of the time" - I just can't take it seriously and as such my enjoyment is greater than if I did, no doubt.

Anyway, DAYUMSON at that temple level. Didn't complete it cos I just wanted the -ga spells which have now made me ridiculously overpowered compared with where I am in the game currently (Day 3). I will return to finish this area when I'm much stronger (as I know who I have to face in it). The enemies prior are great EP farming tools though.

This game gets more fun by the minute. Even the tedious "get me this" or "find this" tasks aren't bothering me. It's just such a pleasant game, regardless of its issues.
 
B

brandonh83

Banned
Carbonox said:
I find Lightning to be hilarious in this game. Even the seriousness which other characters find comical.

Given the stuff I heard from import players, I expected something atrocious and offensive but playing through myself, I just find it charming and funny. "hurr durr im in a mood most of the time" - I just can't take it seriously and as such my enjoyment is greater than if I did, no doubt.
Click to expand...

Exactly what I was trying to get at. The game has a lot of drama and is pretty dark and serious, yet at the same time there is a very evident, playful side that doesn't take itself seriously at all. If this game were empty of charm like the original was a lot of the time, I don't think I could enjoy it as much as I am. But so far, I really love the game's atmosphere and personality.

The textures are vomit-inducing though.

One other thing, and I do not want any sort of confirmation, but I think I have Lumina, the crack whore, cracked:
she's Lightning's consciousness. She reminds me of those cartoons where you have a good side and an evil side spouting shit in someone's left and right ears, only she's a mixture of both, both an angel and a devil, hence why she looks like Serah but wears dark clothes that could represent Lightning in a way
. Again, I don't want an answer to this or a cheeky reply if I am right, but that's the vibe I'm getting.
 
R

Ricker

Member
Ok I have to admit that whole cut scene In Yussan with the fireworks was pretty awesome,it had a FFVII,VIII,IX vibe to it,good stuff...
 
A

Adaren

Member
Carbonox said:
I find Lightning to be hilarious in this game. Even the seriousness which other characters find comical.
Click to expand...

brandonh83 said:
Exactly what I was trying to get at. The game has a lot of drama and is pretty dark and serious, yet at the same time there is a very evident, playful side that doesn't take itself seriously at all. If this game were empty of charm like the original was a lot of the time, I don't think I could enjoy it as much as I am. But so far, I really love the game's atmosphere and personality.
Click to expand...

So true! I've only done the two city zones so far, but I'm actually enjoying the story and writing quite a bit. The main character motivations and serious parts of the story are great, but Lightning's self-aware quips are surprisingly entertaining. She constantly seems to be pointing out the absurdity of normal RPG side-quests to the quest-givers. A friend was watching me fight
Snow
and had commented on how much he
disliked Snow's new haircut. Apparently Lightning agrees with his opinion as well!
 
C

CouldBeWorse

Member
Is there a good "starters" guide out there? I'm still feeling a little bit lost after the first day. These FF13 battle systems take me longer to get comfortable with than most...
 
I

ironcreed

Banned
Ricker said:
Ok I have to admit that whole cut scene In Yussan with the fireworks was pretty awesome,it had a FFVII,VIII,IX vibe to it,good stuff...
Click to expand...

Indeed. Nothing spoilerish, just a sample shot I took.

1656109_654077294656041_86310485_n.jpg


Anyway, I think it's safe to say that I will run out of time. I only have 2 days left and am just now at Snow. Side quests are just not giving me enough for the tree. I guess I'll do what I can and milk it for all it's worth. Fun game, but it is going to suck having to start over and go through all of these quests again. Even with all my upgrades.
 
M

MCD

Junior Member
Yeah, the comedy in this game is much appreciated.

But I would appreciate it more if time didn't move fast while Hope is talking to Light. :(

I really like his conversations with Light but I can't stand still and not panic at time.
 
A

Adaren

Member
MCD said:
But I would appreciate it more if time didn't move fast while Hope is talking to Light. :(

I really like his conversations with Light but I can't stand still and not panic at time.
Click to expand...

Yeah...kind of agree. I'm glad that the Lightning/Hope conversations aren't cutscenes, and I'm glad that they often have interesting insights into the world and the plot, but whenever they're having an interesting conversation I have to awkwardly try to find things to do with my time while paying attention to what they're saying and interrupting it as little as possible.

Not sure what a better system would be though...it could be a lot worse than it is.
 
S

Shinta

Banned
CouldBeWorse said:
Is there a good "starters" guide out there? I'm still feeling a little bit lost after the first day. These FF13 battle systems take me longer to get comfortable with than most...
Click to expand...

Other than the official guide, I don't know. Someone linked a guide a page or two back but I didn't open the link.

What about the battle system do you want to know more about? If it's something specific, I can try and help.
 
Tathanen

Tathanen

Get Inside Her!
I've gone through three or four days so far, and earned two more on the tree, and I am feeling kinda okay with it now. There was a patch there were I felt really freaked out by the time limit, so many quests and stuff where you gotta wander around and explore and figure things out which is so counter-intuitive when you don't feel like you have the time to do it, but I feel like I'm making better progress now maybe. Especially with strategic use of Chronostasis.

Feelin better about the battle system too. At first I had a hard time actually switching to the things I wanted when I needed to use them, but I've got myself pretty well equipped now and I feel like I've got a pretty good handle on battles. The lack of XP from them felt shitty for a while but they're nicer when you think of them as fuel for more Chronostasis.

I do like the varied methods for staggering enemies. With that and blocking, battles feel a LOT more involved than the previous FFXIIIs. Hell, they feel more involved than ANY Final Fantasy's battles. You really gotta do a lotta doin in fights, especially if you're underleveled.

And man, I love putting markers on the maps. Which I wish I started doing a little earlier than I did, but it really helps with the "side quests aren't on the maps" problem. It's fun, having to do it all manually, and leaving little descriptions for each marker. Reminds me of Spirit Tracks.

Looks pretty okay from time to time too, mostly just some nice shimmery textures and enemy models, but lord almighty is the performance abysmal. The wildlands can't possibly be any higher than like 18fps. Parts of Luxerian sure are impossibly dark, too. Like, can't-see-shit dark at times, and I've got a pretty well calibrated plasma here. Very mixed bag!

I've never had a problem with the plot in these games so I'm feelin pretty okay about that. I liked Lightning's little speech before
the battle with Noel
, some hardcore stuff there. It's all just videogamey pulp, I got no complaints.

So yeah was feelin a little rough in there but I'm feeling better about it now. Really takes a long time to properly get the feel for this game.
 
I

ironcreed

Banned
I just want to play the game and relax and I feel the timer takes away from that tremendously. It looked like everything was going to be alright there for awhile, but it caught up with me and I just don't have the time to explore, complete quests and mess around like I love to do in games like this. I know what they were going for, I just think it works against having the freedom to enjoy a game the way you want. Especially since it's an RPG with more of an open world. I'm having a great time otherwise, though.
 
H

HeelPower

Member
I agree with everyone above.

The game treats the story as more of simple send offs to characters who have basically been the same for hundreds of years and even makes of fun of them.

The scene in Yusnaan is pretty funny and really every encounter with the characters reminds us who those characters were in the first games and then waves good bye to them.

Pretty sweet overall.A very light story that's not meant to be scrutinized tbh
 
Giolon

Giolon

Member
Going to try asking this one more time:

I have a question for people who are further along than Day 3 in the game about Extinction - If I Extinct something on Day 3, am I screwing myself over later? Am I just killing my ability to EP farm later? I also read somewhere that enemies start getting better drops in later Days. Am I screwing myself out of those drops?
 
H

HeelPower

Member
ironcreed said:
Anyway, I think it's safe to say that I will run out of time. I only have 2 days left and am just now at Snow. Side quests are just not giving me enough for the tree. I guess I'll do what I can and milk it for all it's worth. Fun game, but it is going to suck having to start over and go through all of these quests again. Even with all my upgrades.
Click to expand...

dude why are you so good at taking screenshots ?

Yusnaan quest is a brutal time waster in the game.It took me like 2 days to complete because of the fireworks limitations and the show that ends at 3 am.

I have 1 day left with Wildlands untouched.
 
A

Adaren

Member
To the people struggling with the time limits: how much are you abusing Chronostasis? I find that it, in any area with a moderate stream of monsters, I can essentially pause time for as long as I want.
 
Tathanen

Tathanen

Get Inside Her!
So hey, there's the five Main Quest things you gotta do, the pockets of chaos or whatever. As long as you manage to get those done before time runs out, are you getting a "real" ending? It's not "game over" if you finish all those up but only manage to have a total of 10 days, is it?
 
A

Adaren

Member
HeelPower said:
Yusnaan quest is a brutal time waster in the game.It took me like 2 days to complete because of the fireworks limitations and the show that ends at 3 am.
Click to expand...

About the fireworks:
on the border between the Glutton Quarter and Path of War (probably got the names wrong...) there's a firework merchant who gives a quest that rewards, I think, 7 fireworks. I met him after getting the quest to collect fireworks; not sure if he's there before that.
 
B

brandonh83

Banned
Adaren said:
So true! I've only done the two city zones so far, but I'm actually enjoying the story and writing quite a bit. The main character motivations and serious parts of the story are great, but Lightning's self-aware quips are surprisingly entertaining. She constantly seems to be pointing out the absurdity of normal RPG side-quests to the quest-givers. A friend was watching me fight
Snow
and had commented on how much he
disliked Snow's new haircut. Apparently Lightning agrees with his opinion as well!
Click to expand...

Seriously refreshing to me that this game is so self-aware. It seems to strike a good balance between ham-fisted drama but also being very aware that it is ham-fisted drama.

*huge amounts of drama*
*Snow redeemed after looking like he died*
*lots of poignant dialogue, what Serah would want*
Lightning: btw your hair is total shit
 
I

ironcreed

Banned
HeelPower said:
dude why are you so good at taking screenshots ?

Yusnaan quest is a brutal time waster in the game.It took me like 2 days to complete because of the fireworks limitations and the show that ends at 3 am.

I have 1 day left with Wildlands untouched.
Click to expand...

I wasted two days hunting for fireworks as well because they can only be acquired at certain times. Then another day ended after I finally got in the palace. I actually got some good side questing done during that time as well, but it did not give me anything extra. Bummer.
 
B

brandonh83

Banned
ironcreed said:
I wasted two days hunting for fireworks as well because they can only be acquired at certain times. Then another day ended after I finally got in the palace. I actually got some good side questing done during that time as well, but it did not give me anything extra. Bummer.
Click to expand...

I honestly got like 4 fireworks before I knew what purpose they served because I kept wanting to hear Lightning say Meow meow Choco-chow
 
H

HeelPower

Member
brandonh83 said:
Seriously refreshing to me that this game is so self-aware. It seems to strike a good balance between ham-fisted drama but also being very aware that it is ham-fisted drama.

*huge amounts of drama*
*Snow redeemed after looking like he died*
*lots of poignant dialogue, what Serah would want*
Lightning: btw your hair is total shit
Click to expand...

lol the hilarious part about snow

Him suddenly reverting to his stupid old way of talking was pretty hilarious.He just goes back into XIII-1 mode out of no where lol after you beat the shit out of him
 
B

brandonh83

Banned
HeelPower said:
lol the hilarious part about snow

Him suddenly reverting to his stupid old way of talking was pretty hilarious.He just goes back into XIII mode out of no where lol
Click to expand...

Oh yeah it's goofy as fuck, but satisfying. When he went back to his
hero bullshit
I was actually happy lol :p
 
H

HeelPower

Member
ironcreed said:
I wasted two days hunting for fireworks as well because they can only be acquired at certain times. Then another day ended after I finally got in the palace. I actually got some good side questing done during that time as well, but it did not give me anything extra. Bummer.
Click to expand...

the show ends at 3 am and you have to go through dungeon AND
beat snow before the day ends

Pretty strict to beat as well.
 
S

Shinta

Banned
Giolon said:
Going to try asking this one more time:

I have a question for people who are further along than Day 3 in the game about Extinction - If I Extinct something on Day 3, am I screwing myself over later? Am I just killing my ability to EP farm later? I also read somewhere that enemies start getting better drops in later Days. Am I screwing myself out of those drops?
Click to expand...

I think that as the days pass, higher level abilities can drop. Other than that, I don't think you're missing any item drops from enemies.

You can try and get the Beggar's Beads early though. It's an arm accessory that sacrifices any gil rewards in battle, but doubles the chances of receiving items at the end of battle.
They're in the wildlands in a treasure sphere, but gliding is required.

And you might have a little bit harder time getting EP, but I don't know for sure honestly.

All the last ones have unique drops of their own, so you might want to maximize drop rates against them for sure and you can score some nice stuff.
 
robot

robot

Member
Yea I have really mixed feelings about the game so far (middle of day 2). I love how open ended it is but this god damn timer is just giving me too much anxiety. I thought the guide would help - and while it does help me deal with the timer, it has me going in such a weird order with things timestamped and whatnot. Like do 3-1, 3-2 but stop and quickly run back to town and do 1-3, 1-4 and 1-5. It's just making for a very robotic playthrough which I wanted to avoid.

But then I see all of the shit it wants you to do, and I'm like - how the hell would I have done even half this shit without a guide? Finding 1 of 4 flowers in the middle of the woods with a timer counting down? Might be one of the worst additions I've ever seen in an RPG.
 
I

ironcreed

Banned
robot said:
Yea I have really mixed feelings about the game so far (middle of day 2). I love how open ended it is but this god damn timer is just giving me too much anxiety. I thought the guide would help - and while it does help me deal with the timer, it has me going in such a weird order with things timestamped and whatnot. Like do 3-1, 3-2 but stop and quickly run back to town and do 1-3, 1-4 and 1-5. It's just making for a very robotic playthrough which I wanted to avoid.

But then I see all of the shit it wants you to do, and I'm like - how the hell would I have done even half this shit without a guide? Finding 1 of 4 flowers in the middle of the woods with a timer counting down? Might be one of the worst additions I've ever seen in an RPG.
Click to expand...

That's the thing. You have this large world filled with quests that encourage you to explore and discover, humorous characters and hidden items to find, etc. But I am being punished if I take too long to try and enjoy all of that. The game is fun as hell, but I don't really want to have to start a 30 hour RPG over because I run out of fucking time. I know it's designed that way, but it's bullshit all the same.
 
Yoshichan

Yoshichan

And they made him a Lord of Cinder. Not for virtue, but for might. Such is a lord, I suppose. But here I ask. Do we have a sodding chance?
Aight heading to bed

So fucking tired

Game is good
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is 100 hours long
News 2 3
135
13K
TrebleShot replied
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
LTTP 2
60
5K
TheInfamousKira replied
Baldur’s Gate 3’s Patch 7 is live, huge patch notes!
2
66
5K
Cyberpunkd replied
Diablo IV |OT| Blessed Mother... Save Us
|OT| 76 77 78 79 80
4K
182K
Rentahamster replied
  • Poll
Final Fantasy XVI | Review Thread
Analysis Review Hype 24 25 26 27 28
1K
104K
Brigandier replied
Top Bottom