Ganon Dragmire
Member
Ah. I've only noticed your posts of LR regarding just the story.
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Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII |OT| Toriyama's Bizarre Adventure
- Thread starter Kagari
- Start date
Ah. I've only noticed your posts of LR regarding just the story.
SirCrush
Member
You are reaching, my friend. Stay thy prejudice, good sir
Just depends on if you'll use said ability in other Schemas. I doubt you'll need Curse more than once though so sell away, imo.
Thanks, when you try to synthesize an ability that is already maxed out there's some message that pops up (that I can't remember the exact wording of) that seems to suggest that although synthesizing will no longer improve an ability, you can still modify it in some way by synthesizing it with another ability of the same type. I tried doing it a couple of times, but it didn't seem to improve or change anything re the maxed out ability.
Perfo
Thirteen flew over the cuckoo's nest
Anyone can tell me how to unlock Army of One that I've seen so many times in cutscenes? Is it related to story progresses and it's an EP ability or is it a little bit more hard to obtain?
Anyway this game it's what a proper Final Fantasy should be to me without relying only on its dead past. It hits all the right notes and includes all the elements I consider important for be a fully fledged FF. The only difference is the limited budget they had at disposal, but the game remains quite impressive and ambitious all along. Technical limits aside, this game is also very polished, as it to be expected from a Final Fantasy, any Final Fantasy. But it's the genuine brilliance scattered everywhere that really sets it apart from the previous two entries, this is a game made by people that had lots of fun in creating it, you can clearly see it. They had the freedom they needed, and they made the game they wanted.
Lightning Returns is brilliant, ambitious, fun, satisfying and finally challenging.
This is exactly that type of game that you get or you don't get. SImilar to NiER or Demon's Souls you have to go beyond its technical limits and discover what's beyond that curtain: a gem to be discovered again in some years from now. I was right all along, actually no... I was wrong. I was expecting a remake, I instead got Toriyama's most crazy and inventive game.
Great, Thank you!
Anyway this game it's what a proper Final Fantasy should be to me without relying only on its dead past. It hits all the right notes and includes all the elements I consider important for be a fully fledged FF. The only difference is the limited budget they had at disposal, but the game remains quite impressive and ambitious all along. Technical limits aside, this game is also very polished, as it to be expected from a Final Fantasy, any Final Fantasy. But it's the genuine brilliance scattered everywhere that really sets it apart from the previous two entries, this is a game made by people that had lots of fun in creating it, you can clearly see it. They had the freedom they needed, and they made the game they wanted.
Lightning Returns is brilliant, ambitious, fun, satisfying and finally challenging.
This is exactly that type of game that you get or you don't get. SImilar to NiER or Demon's Souls you have to go beyond its technical limits and discover what's beyond that curtain: a gem to be discovered again in some years from now. I was right all along, actually no... I was wrong. I was expecting a remake, I instead got Toriyama's most crazy and inventive game.
Great, Thank you!
Army of One will be given to you in the Ark after a few days. It will be in one of those white boxes.
SirNinja
Member
I am playing this game very weirdly. I don't know if it's just that the time limit's doing bizarre things to me, or that I'm just really good at using Chronostasis or what, but...
I'm still on Day 2. It's only about 1 PM, and so far I've:
There's a common problem at work here. I was able to complete most of the quest in Luxerion, but since the final number of the code appears only in an area that's gated off until after midnight, I couldn't continue that. (Midnight is many, many hours away for me, especially with my constant Chronostasis spam.)
So I went elsewhere...and ran into the same problem again. In the Wildlands, I was able to nurse the chocobo back to health, but I need his wings working again. I've talked to everyone I can think of in the various farms and settlements, and brewed up all the Choco-whatever I possibly could. I'm constantly missing out, however, on an ingredient that can only be found at night (I think?), so it's off to yet another location.
The big dungeon beneath the Dead Dunes is full of time-sensitive stuff, including "traps" where it's possible to lock yourself into an area for an hour until the doors open again (or unless you use Teleport, if you can afford to). Plus, now I'm sidetracked by a fetch quest that's timed - and I'm not even given the time limit. I assume I have until the end of the day at 6 AM, but who knows?
The duality of it all is strange: I feel like I haven't done much (as I haven't defeated any of the big story bosses yet), but I also have a feeling that I accomplished a whole lot (I've basically done 30-40% of the story already). I'm subconsciously afraid of running out of time, even though I've managed to keep the clock frozen almost constantly. I know I need to focus on one area/quest, but all the little things are demanding my attention and stringing me along.
Anyone else in a similar situation?
I'm still on Day 2. It's only about 1 PM, and so far I've:
- Gotten myself all set up for the Yusnaan palace "tour"
- Found all the code-numbers in Luxerion, except for one I can't get to until after midnight
- Nursed the "Angel of Valhalla" chocobo back to health. (Still need to fix his wings)
- Went to Dead Dunes, found a way around to the bandit settlement, and dispersed the sandstorm
- Explored quite a bit of the Dead Dunes ruins with Fang. Got sidetracked finding oil for Bhakti, as that's apparently a timed quest. Found 2/3 oil so far.
- Completed several side quests, and solved about a dozen requests on the Canvas of Prayers
There's a common problem at work here. I was able to complete most of the quest in Luxerion, but since the final number of the code appears only in an area that's gated off until after midnight, I couldn't continue that. (Midnight is many, many hours away for me, especially with my constant Chronostasis spam.)
So I went elsewhere...and ran into the same problem again. In the Wildlands, I was able to nurse the chocobo back to health, but I need his wings working again. I've talked to everyone I can think of in the various farms and settlements, and brewed up all the Choco-whatever I possibly could. I'm constantly missing out, however, on an ingredient that can only be found at night (I think?), so it's off to yet another location.
The big dungeon beneath the Dead Dunes is full of time-sensitive stuff, including "traps" where it's possible to lock yourself into an area for an hour until the doors open again (or unless you use Teleport, if you can afford to). Plus, now I'm sidetracked by a fetch quest that's timed - and I'm not even given the time limit. I assume I have until the end of the day at 6 AM, but who knows?
The duality of it all is strange: I feel like I haven't done much (as I haven't defeated any of the big story bosses yet), but I also have a feeling that I accomplished a whole lot (I've basically done 30-40% of the story already). I'm subconsciously afraid of running out of time, even though I've managed to keep the clock frozen almost constantly. I know I need to focus on one area/quest, but all the little things are demanding my attention and stringing me along.
Anyone else in a similar situation?
Perfo
Thirteen flew over the cuckoo's nest
There's another thing that makes this FF very special, and that's its story, or better... how it is handled and tied to the gameplay at every moment. There's no waste of time here, no waste of words, no plot for the sake of it and no 15minutes long cutscenes. This is a Zelda in essence, everything is straight to the point, kept simple and every plot it's just a device to introduce you to the next core gameplay element. They're not letting you waste your time, and this is as far as the typical genre tropes can go.
"Hello there, long time no see. I'm in need of this item, would you help me?" *this character joins the party* – that is, here's your new gameplay element, have fun with it.
In this sense, this is one of the best written jRPG I've seen in a longggggg time. It's a truly intelligent game, a video-game. Again, not that the writing is memorable or anything, but the way they tied everything to the gameplay makes it a very pleasurable experience overall.
And apart from this, but that's me, I also really like the plot itself. Stories are short, related to areas, auto-conclusive, rewarding. There's a bit of Dragon Quest in here, with sidestories being part of a big main story, but it's handled in a more fast-paced entertaining way than in Enix's series.
This game doesn't deserve at all the hate it got. Maybe with a different protagonist and title, things would've been very different. But that's how immature the community is.
"Hello there, long time no see. I'm in need of this item, would you help me?" *this character joins the party* – that is, here's your new gameplay element, have fun with it.
In this sense, this is one of the best written jRPG I've seen in a longggggg time. It's a truly intelligent game, a video-game. Again, not that the writing is memorable or anything, but the way they tied everything to the gameplay makes it a very pleasurable experience overall.
And apart from this, but that's me, I also really like the plot itself. Stories are short, related to areas, auto-conclusive, rewarding. There's a bit of Dragon Quest in here, with sidestories being part of a big main story, but it's handled in a more fast-paced entertaining way than in Enix's series.
This game doesn't deserve at all the hate it got. Maybe with a different protagonist and title, things would've been very different. But that's how immature the community is.
PshycoNinja
Member
Oh boy...
Dude.... I would love to talk to the real you someday without the hyperbole and backhanded comments about the community. That would be fun.
Press Start and press Triangle.
WanderingWind
Mecklemore Is My Favorite Wrapper
Immaturity is wrapping up your opinion of a game with lazy insults aimed at a group of people who likely have varied opinions. You really need to knock this stuff off, it's really unpleasant.
My problem with the story is that we're supposed to believe that there has been 500 years between XIII-2 and Lightning Returns but it doesn't feel like it at all. None of the characters give a shit about Lightning returning. The argument for this I guess is that no one truly gives a shit and everyone did move on since Chaos first fucked things up so there is no need for this brief ounce of celebration as there is nothing to celebrate.
The biggest thing as well that I care a bit more about is that - SPOILERS REGARDING FANG/VANILLE.....
While I do like that there is no faffing around and everything is to the point, certain aspects I think could have been done better to give that sense of weight in certain story events. Nothing has weight. Even the Temple of the Goddess stuff is very brief and "whatever", as interesting as it is.
The biggest thing as well that I care a bit more about is that - SPOILERS REGARDING FANG/VANILLE.....
Fang and Vanille come out of crystal stasis during this 500 year gap and there is nothing made of it. No fanfare, no major event, nothing. It was a huge deal at the end of XIII and even in XIII-2 just being in crystal form but when they finally come back, there is just nothing. No one gives a shit.
While I do like that there is no faffing around and everything is to the point, certain aspects I think could have been done better to give that sense of weight in certain story events. Nothing has weight. Even the Temple of the Goddess stuff is very brief and "whatever", as interesting as it is.
In some ways I agree, and I think the story actually has potential, but it ends up being told to you like reading a plot summary, except coming from the characters (they call that exposition, I suppose. Yeah, this game is full of it).
There are some moments that I think had weight, with Noel, and I think the events with Snow had the best representation of realistic reactions.
I have a feeling that lack of dev time has made the writers come up with the scenarios very quickly, and so we get a story that has potential, but ended up half baked. There are some cool elements but it ultimately sells itself short.
Kazdane
Member
Apparently yes. All the screens using that function on this thread have the same size.
I'm all in for differing opinions but you need to stop this shit. Whatever respect I still had for you is pretty much gone.
Man, I love this song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06f-iDJzZG8
In general the OST is very experimental with lots of percussion elements which I really like and some beautiful songs like this.
Can't wait to get back. I was too tired and had headache yesterday because the day before I played till 12PM and only slept 4h after that. I also should rather study, right now, arrrgh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06f-iDJzZG8
In general the OST is very experimental with lots of percussion elements which I really like and some beautiful songs like this.
Can't wait to get back. I was too tired and had headache yesterday because the day before I played till 12PM and only slept 4h after that. I also should rather study, right now, arrrgh
Man, I love this song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06f-iDJzZG8
In general the OST is very experimental with lots of percussion elements which I really like and some beautiful songs like this.
Can't wait to get back. I was too tired and had headache yesterday because the day before I played till 12PM and only slept 4h after that. I also should rather study, right now, arrrgh
The percussion on this one is nuts. And the song sounds super heavy on nice headphones.
The OST is seriously blowing me away still, and I've been listening for months now.
Also really loving this one at the moment. That guitar line is just so catchy.
Yeah, music is great, even if a lot of it is rehashed. The music really does help carry this series.
I feel like this one is also one of the best on the OST. Just the way the notes are layered near the end is really amazing. Really minimal instrumentation, but it's just used so well.
And all the songs in Yusnaan really make the city come alive.
And all the songs in Yusnaan really make the city come alive.
WanderingWind
Mecklemore Is My Favorite Wrapper
One of the best parts of not playing XIII-2. Most of this music is new to me! I'm still digging the game quite a bit, even though I did for some reason think time went from midnight to midnight. I think character customization has more than a little to do with me liking LR. It's such a neat little side game.
Plus, hats. Valve knows it, now SE knows it. Hats are the key.
I'm not going to lie, whenever I come into this topic to try to get a glimpse at the things this game does well (at least to see if it really is worth purchasing), the less I want to come in here the more I read your childish, backhanded, juvenile, out-of-context, hyperbole-filled comments. When considering that you have been on the same tune for weeks with no signs of change, there is just no real point anymore.
Mistwalker
Member
This is easily my biggest problem with the game's writing and setup. Square Enix's staff was utterly, completely incapable of imagining the world they set up for LR, and it is ridiculously apparent time and time again as you solve quests.
Whether it's a young boy who asks you to
get his ball
her own tears, partly out of despair for having loved another but being stuck in a young girl's body
How many quest givers bemoan problems they've had for decades, even centuries, only for Lighting to show up and after a few hours of running around, manage to have their lifelong problems fixed? By far the most implausible is the girl in the Wildlands ("A Father's Request" quest spoilers):
She starts to cry because her dad is gone, and just then the flowers in her garden that never bloom blossom in an instant, and just at that very moment a wandering botanist happens to be walking by, spontaneously vomits an explanation that those flowers only bloom every 500 years (holy shit at that timing!) and are said to be proof that "everything will be OK"...then she immediately disappears, having served the most forced wrap-this-up-happy-ending role in any game, EVER. Make the flowers bloom every decade Square Enix, or something. But no.
Going with a 500 year gap was a huge mistake. SE needed to really commit to such a world if that's the supposed setup. Instead it's a normal-ish world full of typical sidequest filler that is ridiculous in its presented form 80% of the time.
This also really echoes my feelings as well. The dialog with Noel is one of the painfully few highlights of the script, and I personally thought Snow showed more emotion in his scenes than the entire rest of the English VO cast all put together, and I'm almost being literal. The main quests are definitely the best content in the game (excepting the second one in the Wildlands) IMHO.
If you have the chance to play with the Japanese voices, I implore you to do so. They can pull the whole "Lightning lost her emotions" garbage all they want, the English acting is the most soulless performance I've seen in recent memory. Even when there are supposed to be jokes and glimpses of life in the dialog, NOTHING comes out of Ali Hillis' mouth that is not full of weary resignation.
Like I said in an earlier post, Lightning Returns is defeated by its premise, whether it's the countdown clock, required questing, or the supposed half millennium that everyone in the world has lived through before we show up. Which is a shame, because they do make an effort to wrap up the whole saga, give some screen time to all the classic characters, and explain the mythology behind Nova Crystallis post FFXIII-2 monkey wrench.
Finishing this post on a positive note: the combat and challenge were refreshing and enjoyable, and the customization options were a blast to play around with too. If you like tinkering with mechanics, you'll enjoy the gameplay of LR if nothing else.
DarkChronic
Member
Bingo. Easily my biggest issue with the story so far. I met an "old" character last night and the character proceeded to treat Lightning like they saw each other that same morning.
Having some decent fun with the game, at least. But it bugs me that S-E set up a really cool world with some cool mythology and just failed to capitalize on ANY of it.
The last boss is really hard, I finished all the side missions and I have the ultimate weapon but still I can't stagger it, I'm using Aerora (have Aeroga too) flamestrike, heavy attack, blitz, and Icestorm to stagger but no use, I can use EP to slow the time like 9 times but still I can't stagger it.
I wouldn't be so sure! HAHAHAHAHA!!
Alright, I think I'm done with the FF XIII saga now
(taken from my iPad)
FF XIII : http://i.imgur.com/fBGL7L4.jpg?1
FF XIII-2 : http://i.imgur.com/5GiEsXv.jpg?1
LR : FF XIII : http://i.imgur.com/bXdO3cx.jpg?1
Time to platinum : http://i.imgur.com/CFe4cGc.jpg?1
The story was good enough but there is still so much stuff they don't talk about. I guess the next step for me would be to learn more about the lore of FF XIII.
(taken from my iPad)
FF XIII : http://i.imgur.com/fBGL7L4.jpg?1
FF XIII-2 : http://i.imgur.com/5GiEsXv.jpg?1
LR : FF XIII : http://i.imgur.com/bXdO3cx.jpg?1
Time to platinum : http://i.imgur.com/CFe4cGc.jpg?1
The story was good enough but there is still so much stuff they don't talk about. I guess the next step for me would be to learn more about the lore of FF XIII.
MissDeviling
Member
Bought this even though I told myself to wait for bargain bin prices. Perhaps my expectations were super low, but I'm having a grand time with it. I used the JP voices, so I didn't have to listen to Hillis's monotone performance. The gameplay is precise, almost annoyingly so with the timing of guards (I try to perfect guard most of the time, though that can be riskier than safely holding guard button down). Would have preferred a wider window to guard, e.g. Platinum games. Waiting for ATB bars to load is really, really aggravating though, and getting thrown in the air takes too long. It just doesn't feel slick, rather sluggish and clumsy. Walking sucks, too, and sometimes I can't see clearly to react quick enough in battle (e.g. how fast the Aero is travelling to guard). But the clumsiness of the system makes me highly alert in battle, so it does work in some ways.
Outside of battle, sidequests are horribly written for the most part (enjoyed the Chocobo one, though), but at this point I don't expect much from the team. Despite horrifying textures, Luxerion and Yusnaan are a joy to explore, something I haven't felt in an FF game since XII. I get lost, there are treasures in little corners, NPC interaction, and lots to discover. The worst thing about the exploration though is the time limit. No matter what people say about there being enough time to do everything, I like taking my sweet-ass time to explore, and I feel pressured in my first runthrough. It just isn't fun to race against the clock.
I feel very ambivalent about the game, but ultimately it carries much more interaction and customization than its predecessors, and that's enough to make it the most fun of the three for me.
Outside of battle, sidequests are horribly written for the most part (enjoyed the Chocobo one, though), but at this point I don't expect much from the team. Despite horrifying textures, Luxerion and Yusnaan are a joy to explore, something I haven't felt in an FF game since XII. I get lost, there are treasures in little corners, NPC interaction, and lots to discover. The worst thing about the exploration though is the time limit. No matter what people say about there being enough time to do everything, I like taking my sweet-ass time to explore, and I feel pressured in my first runthrough. It just isn't fun to race against the clock.
I feel very ambivalent about the game, but ultimately it carries much more interaction and customization than its predecessors, and that's enough to make it the most fun of the three for me.
Impeccable
Member
Nice work, I made it a semi-random goal with FFXIII that I was going to Platinum all FF games.
I'm scared to death of FFX and FFX-2 but so far so good.
(I'm only 5 - 6 hours into LR)
robotzombie
Member
Is it worth it playing this game with a guide and trying to do everything the first time around? Or should I just go in blind and work on things on a second playthrough where you can upgrade everything?
If that is the case, about how long would a first playthrough last?
Also, is normal "normal", or should you really start on easy?
If that is the case, about how long would a first playthrough last?
Also, is normal "normal", or should you really start on easy?
I actually never platinumed any of the XIII games. I think I'll probably replay all 3 in a row and do that at some point. LR might be the first I platinum.
I just always get pulled in 100 different directions. Lords of Shadow 2 soon, Donkey Kong in like 3 days, Bravely Default sitting unopened on my desk, Dark Souls II and FFX/X-2 HD next month :/ life is rough.
Even this decision, is ultimately up to you. I've seen some people who literally just collect the gifts from Hope at the beginning over every day and sleep in the inn and instantly start new game + so they have Heartstealer and White Mage and a few other garbs, as well as well as arise and access to the equipment forge.
I've seen some people that max as much as possible on the first playthrough.
I've seen people who go in blind on the first, then fine tune it on the 2nd.
I think if you truly go for max everything though, including access to Ultima, it will take two playthroughs, even if you go for max completion.
And the difficulty is up to you. I'm playing on Normal, with a guide. The first boss was easy for me on day 2. I'm not short of EP at all, and have already knocked 3 species into extinction, playing 20 hours in just the two days primarily due to chronostasis. Other people have a lot of trouble with it and prefer easy mode. I'm definitely going for Hard on new game +.
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
1. I did it a mix of both, I played through the game at my pace, but found myself having finished all 5 of the 'main quests' by day 6 of the in-game timer. I had done a bunch of quests as well, and rather than just sleeping off the remaining days and rush for the ending, I looked up the guide on gamefaqs to find the quests I was missing, or the one's that had strict timing requirements that I couldn't figure out without the guide.
2. My first run through lasted somewhere around 16~ hours.
3. I played on easy, most of the game was manageable, but some fights (like a certain chapter 3 boss) were still very hard, and the final boss is a battle of endurance with multiple forms without any chance to rest or restock in between.
robotzombie
Member
Thanks, this helped a lot. Only 16 hours on a first run is good, I was hoping the game didn't take too long the first time around so that I wouldn't have time/want to play it over again. I think I'll start blind and see how I do on easy mode, then dig in for a second playthrough
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
I haven't looked back on my save file in a while, but at most it must've been 18-ish hours, I dont' remember this game taking as long as XIII or XIII-2 took. Even after doing most of the quests, I still had to sleep off the final few days in the inns to get to the ending act.
Normal is a good challenge, so if you like challenge then go normal. Not sure about easy. But my normal playthrough is at about 32 hours far and I'm pretty close to the end. I'm still going to do the secret dungeon and then beat the game. I'm sure I'll put another handful of hours into it.
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?
Hint; up, up, up in the air!
Orniletter
Banned
There's another side quest with a cat, that's all I'm saying. They definitely have some funny ones, and I was laughing at that traveling botanist off to write her research papers. So random lol.
jacob armitage
Banned
Well start of day 9 of my first playthrough, i'm almost worried i budgeted my time a little too well. I'm done all main quests and side quests for everywhere except for the dead dunes, and have 50 canvas of prayers done. I suppose i should just dedicate my time to polishes a bunch of those off for the last few days?
Should have spread out my time with them a bit more haha. It actually got to the point where i was running around looking for quests before checking a quest guide and i only had one or two i'd missed in each area.
EDIT: Also, if anyone has any tips for the side quest What Rough Beast Slocuhes i'd appreciate it, i faced him once but was doing nothing so i just ended up escaping, i didn't have too much trouble with the Chaos Chocobo eater but this fellow, yikes! I'm sure there is something simple it?
Should have spread out my time with them a bit more haha. It actually got to the point where i was running around looking for quests before checking a quest guide and i only had one or two i'd missed in each area.
EDIT: Also, if anyone has any tips for the side quest What Rough Beast Slocuhes i'd appreciate it, i faced him once but was doing nothing so i just ended up escaping, i didn't have too much trouble with the Chaos Chocobo eater but this fellow, yikes! I'm sure there is something simple it?
jacob armitage
Banned
EDIT: No idea how that edit turned into a double post!
Orniletter
Banned
I think I´ll just play LR as a parody/ deconstruction of the genre
when the price has come down....a lot
I'm like 20 hours in. I hate the time system. I hate the garb system. I hate the quest system. I hate the combat.
But I'm really really really liking seeing the characters I loved throughout the series. The Snow scene was so good and made playing the game (which I don't actually like doing) worth it.
If there are more moments like the Snow one I think months from now I will look back on this really fondly as I did FFXIII-2. I didn't like the systems in that one either but what stays with me is the story/characters, not the systems.
I do wish Hope wasn't a child again though... I really liked older Hope from FFXIII-2.
But I'm really really really liking seeing the characters I loved throughout the series. The Snow scene was so good and made playing the game (which I don't actually like doing) worth it.
If there are more moments like the Snow one I think months from now I will look back on this really fondly as I did FFXIII-2. I didn't like the systems in that one either but what stays with me is the story/characters, not the systems.
I do wish Hope wasn't a child again though... I really liked older Hope from FFXIII-2.
CrimsonCrescendo
Banned
.