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

Shinta

Banned
Just got my shipping confirmation finally for the collector's edition. I'm definitely looking forward to it. And Bravely Default tomorrow to tide me over until it gets here. Not bad.

I don't get this.

Snow was dumb, but the man was honest, and he was loyal to Serah, he loved her and went to the end of the world for her, hell he even gave up and cursed himself again to find the one person that she missed the most.

I will never understand how people can honestly call for Serah to cheat on a man who gave any and everything to see her returned and happy.

Yeah, I agree. Snow was supposed to be unlikable on purpose at the start of the game. That's why Hope hates him, and the audience kind of gets a bad first impression. But over time, I thought he did enough to make amends. He never seemed to fully forgive himself, and spent all of XIII-2 off doing stuff too.

And they wisely avoided making Noel and Serah a romantic relationship. It was refreshing to see them just be comrades and friends, instead of a stupid love triangle.
 

BocoDragon

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
It is interesting how they just refer to "God" in this game. How would they have handled that in the 8/16-bit era? :p
 
I agree with all this. I had no problems with the couple. Snow gets way too much of a bad rap.

Eh. The love story between these too is way too sappy for me and they have zero on screen chemistry (at least Serah and Noel have some on screen chemistry). Don't get me wrong: Snow's an idiot, but he's a kind-hearted idiot. Cut out the "Hero" crap and take Serah away, and I can pretty much put up with his character. He's well-intentioned, kind, will do what ever it takes for those he loves and cares about (hell, he'll go out of his way for complete strangers most of the time), etc. He just ain't the brightest tool in the shed.
 
Just got my shipping confirmation finally for the collector's edition. I'm definitely looking forward to it. And Bravely Default tomorrow to tide me over until it gets here. Not bad.



Yeah, I agree. Snow was supposed to be unlikable on purpose at the start of the game. That's why Hope hates him, and the audience kind of gets a bad first impression. But over time, I thought he did enough to make amends. He never seemed to fully forgive himself, and spent all of XIII-2 off doing stuff too.

And they wisely avoided making Noel and Serah a romantic relationship. It was refreshing to see them just be comrades and friends, instead of a stupid love triangle.

Eh, that just made Hope seem unlikeable to me. At no point did I ever think Snow was to blame for Hope's mother's death.
 
What's so silly about that? I've found it very touching, helps that I love Gods & Dramas. Plus the visuals when the "light shows up in the darkness" is pretty dramatic and cool, staged perfectly. That's how I see a God calling your name in a Greek story :D

I'm gonna love this game if all the game is told this way. That single scene was way more emotional that everything I've seen in ARR after that cool fmv opening. Toriyama knows how to impress with visuals/cutscene direction.

Sometimes I wonder to myself if your character or if your for real. Posts like this don't help.
 

Beth Cyra

Member
Eh. The love story between these too is way too sappy for me and they have zero on screen chemistry (at least Serah and Noel have some on screen chemistry). Don't get me wrong: Snow's an idiot, but he's a kind-hearted idiot. Cut out the "Hero" crap and take Serah away, and I can pretty much put up with his character. He's well-intentioned, kind, will do what ever it takes for those he loves and cares about (hell, he'll go out of his way for complete strangers most of the time), etc. He just ain't the brightest too in the shed.
They did as comrades maybe, nothing though romantically. The combined call to have her cheat on her fiance on top of trying to force a female into a relationship with her male partner was terrible.

Don't get me wrong, I hate Serah with a fiery passion, but if Toriyama has done anything right, it's that he hasn't forced Lightning or Serah into a relationship simply because there is a male they share the lead in a game with.
 
They did as comrades maybe, nothing though romantically. The combined call to have her cheat on her fiance on top of trying to force a female into a relationship with her male partner was terrible.

Don't get me wrong, I hate Serah with a fiery passion, but if Toriyama has done anything right, it's that he hasn't forced Lightning or Serah into a relationship simply because there is a male they share the lead in a game with.

Never said I agreed with SerahxNoel (it's a deep friendship) or the whole "pairing bingo" game fans play with Lightning simply because "SHE SHOULD BE WITH SOMEONE!!!!". I was just merely commenting that I didn't like SerahxSnow very much either due to poor execution. Or Serah for that matter.
 
Lol.

"I think we should start seeing other people. It's not you. It's God."

Well in the Ultimania Toriyama said
“Personally, I would rather not have Lightning belong to anyone. But if Lightning were to form a relationship for someone, that person would need to possess abilities which surpass those of a regular human.”
 

Beth Cyra

Member
Never said I agreed with SerahxNoel (it's a deep friendship) or the whole "pairing bingo" game fans play with Lightning simply because "SHE SHOULD BE WITH SOMEONE!!!!". I was just merely commenting that I didn't like SerahxSnow very much either due to poor execution. Or Serah for that matter.
Wasn't really calling you out so much as I was using your post as a jumping point to one of the things that I hated most that came from XIII-2.
 
Well in the Ultimania Toriyama said
“Personally, I would rather not have Lightning belong to anyone. But if Lightning were to form a relationship for someone, that person would need to possess abilities which surpass those of a regular human.”

I know.
I get the feeling he said that more as a way to avoid the whole "Once she knows the love of a man, she no longer needs to be strong" cliche (a cliche I hate with a fucking burning passion)

Anyway, let the crossover pairings BEGIN!
 

Shinta

Banned
Don't get me wrong, I hate Serah with a fiery passion, but if Toriyama has done anything right, it's that he hasn't forced Lightning or Serah into a relationship simply because there is a male they share the lead in a game with.
Serah's actually my favorite FF protagonist in the entire series. I only know one other person who feels that way lol.

I just thought her dialogue made her feel more like a real person as opposed to most FF characters. She had cool weapons and costumes, and my favorite voice actress. She had some really great moments with Noel and Caius in Valhalla and the dream worlds. And that ending was insane.

Noel and her just had a cool vibe going for that game. Just two normal-ish people getting shit done. Not a lot of heavy drama from either, unless it was very justified.
 

Beth Cyra

Member
Serah's actually my favorite FF protagonist in the entire series. I only know one other person who feels that way lol.

I just thought her dialogue made her feel more like a real person as opposed to most FF characters. She had cool weapons and costumes, and my favorite voice actress. She had some really great moments with Noel and Caius in Valhalla and the dream worlds. And that ending was insane.

Noel and her just had a cool vibe going for that game. Just two normal-ish people getting shit done.

Okay, I can't lie. A part of me thinks your insane for loving Serah.

That said, I feel you on the Noel love, aside from Fang and Sazh he was the best part of the XIII games to me.
 
Wasn't really calling your out so much as I was using your post as a jumping point to one of the things that I hated most that came from XIII-2.

It's all good.

Personally, I think Serah cheating on Snow would be one of the most spiteful things Serah could possibly do. Break up with him? That's fine (no one should ever be locked in a relationship against their will). Cheat on him behind his back after all he's done? Fuck no. He deserves better than that.
 

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?
Wait, Hope is back to his younger self in this?!
 

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?
you get lightnings costume from 13 and 13-2 if u have save files from those games and no they dont have to be completed.
So all I have to do is start both games and save at the first save point and I should be able to get the LR costumes right? Can someone confirm?
 

Zafir

Member
I'm with ya, I found XIII-2 to be almost pure trash. Noel was good, and they had one or two nice adjustments to the battle system, but overall it was fucking garbage. Never more have I hated a character more then I did Serah.

I will be playing FF XIII-3 only for Fang, if it wasn't for her I would be skipping this thing entirely.
Same really.

I still need to finish XIII-2 consequently. Really dunno if I can be arsed though. How long does it even take to complete? I think I put about 10 hours in already.
 

Koozek

Member
At this point I'll really just play it for the battle system. I couldn't care less about the story. I don't even feel the need to complain about the XIII series anymore.
I'll lower my expectations and just enjoy the game^^ Can't be disappointed that way. Worked for XIII-2, too. It was decent, nothing spectacular, but I still had fun and could even appreciate some moments that were focused on Noel's backstory.
I'm looking forward to witness Lightning's journey to F
araway Lands :D

I'm just happy that this game's finally out of SE's marketing focus and it's going to be FFXV's turn! Or at least I hope so... let a man dream :(
 
Well in the Ultimania Toriyama said
“Personally, I would rather not have Lightning belong to anyone. But if Lightning were to form a relationship for someone, that person would need to possess abilities which surpass those of a regular human.”

Toriyama is
the real GOD of FF13
if you think about it.

Now you understand the real meaning behind his comment.
 

RS4-

Member
So all I have to do is start both games and save at the first save point and I should be able to get the LR costumes right? Can someone confirm?

If I still had 13 and 13-2 I'd test it for you. As it stands, I have both costume sets unlocked from the saves.

I am not enjoying this game at all. I'll give it more time, maybe it'll pick up
 

Caffeine

Gold Member
So all I have to do is start both games and save at the first save point and I should be able to get the LR costumes right? Can someone confirm?
according to many sources online and some jap players.
RMMpuYG.png
 
On the topic of Snow and Serah, I always thought that coupling felt insanely forced and bizarre. It didn't help that seeing them side by side with Snow being this massive guy with Serah looking about the size of a 14-15 year old didn't help matters. They never had any chemistry at all as far as I was concerned.

I usually don't care for ___x___ types of setups that aren't canon (ugh, the XIII HopexLightning stuff was so gross), but I actually did think Noel and Serah had a lot more chemistry, and I could see them romantically involved. Maybe it's just the fact that I liked Noel a lot more than Snow, lol.

Speaking of the music in the XIII-2 ending, I probably would have been a little sad about
Serah's death
if not for the incredibly happy sounding song playing at the time. It totally ruined the somewhat somber mood of the scene.

Kitase should go back to directing, and if Toriyama has a role at all, he should do the same thing he did in FFX (Event Director). Toriyama can make some decent looking cutscenes/action, but make him stay away from the writing/story itself.
 
On the topic of Snow and Serah, I always thought that coupling felt insanely forced and bizarre. It didn't help that seeing them side by side with Snow being this massive guy with Serah looking about the size of a 14-15 year old didn't help matters. They never had any chemistry at all as far as I was concerned.

I usually don't care for ___x___ types of setups that aren't canon (ugh, the XIII HopexLightning stuff was so gross), but I actually did think Noel and Serah had a lot more chemistry, and I could see them romantically involved. Maybe it's just the fact that I liked Noel a lot more than Snow, lol.

Speaking of the music in the XIII-2 ending, I probably would have been a little sad about
Serah's death
if not for the incredibly happy sounding song playing at the time. It totally ruined the somewhat somber mood of the scene.

Kitase should go back to directing, and if Toriyama has a role at all, he should do the same thing he did in FFX (Event Director). Toriyama can make some decent looking cutscenes/action, but make him stay away from the writing/story itself.

Fuck LightningxHope. Their relationship was always Older sister/Younger brother and/or mother/son and both the XIII/XIII-2 Ultimania confirm this (and the XIII-2 ultimania confirms that Hope borderline hero worships Lightning, so even if they didn't have the sibling/parental dynamic, the relationship would still be messed up). This doesn't even mention the whole "Hope is well underage in XIII and he's back to having a 14 year old body in LR".

I also agree with the whole "SerahxSnow has absolutely no chemistry", though Serah and Noel give off too strong of "this is a deep friendship and nothing else" vibe for me to go with SerahxNoel.

In regards to the ending music, I'm sure it was supposed to be a Juxtapose. It just... didn't work all that well for me.

Toriyama is a great concepts guy, he just can't execute worth a damn. So yeah, keep him around for the concepts he comes up with, keep him out of the writing side of things.
 

Darkmakaimura

Can You Imagine What SureAI Is Going To Do With Garfield?
I didn't see it posted anywhere but was it the length of the game? 20 hours or more? Does the 360 version take up 1 or 2 discs? I was still surprised that the 360 version of XIII-2 only had one.
 

Nohar

Member
I didn't see it posted anywhere but was it the length of the game? 20 hours or more? Does the 360 version take up 1 or 2 discs? I was still surprised that the 360 version of XIII-2 only had one.

I heard the game was 30 hours long, give or take a few hours depending on your dedication to do sidequests, and not taking into account New Game+. No idea about the number of discs though.
 
LR Spoiler:


Okay, so apparently "I have no emotions" to the writing staff means that Lightning oscillates between completely monotone and emotionally out bursting every so often. The VA direction is all over the place and none of this is remotely consistent.
 

Kagari

Crystal Bearer
LR Spoiler:


Okay, so apparently "I have no emotions" to the writing staff means that Lightning oscillates between completely monotone and emotionally out bursting every so often. The VA direction is all over the place and none of this is remotely consistent.

They really need to do something about that in future releases.
 

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?
I seriously need this in my blood

Right now

SEVEN FUCKING DAYS

I will play the shit out of this, probably doing a 50 hour session.
 

Nohar

Member
I honestly don't know if I'm hyped for this game or not. On the one hand I can't wait to have fun with the new combat system, which seems to be more interesting than the paradigm shifts, and I know the OST will be a pleasure to listen to, but on the other hand I expect to roll my eyes several times at the characters and at the nonsense of the story.

Oh well, my expectations are rather low, and I know what to expect (kinda), so I guess I can't end up too disappointed.
 

Shahed

Member
I finished the demo and posted the boss score to the Outerworld. Is that all that's needed to unlock the garb because I never got a message saying I'd get it. Unless it'll come later
 
LR spoiler:



Oh... Lumina is gonna be so fucking redundant for anyone who paid the least bit of attention in XIII, XIII-2, and the novellas, isn't she?


And someone who understood the Japanese version, please spoil this for me
How long are they gonna do the whole "Lumina is Serah" thing? Cuz they really are laying it on thick right now, even though I know Lumina is actually a younger Lightning.
 

Kagari

Crystal Bearer
LR spoiler:



Oh... Lumina is gonna be so fucking redundant for anyone who paid the least bit of attention in XIII, XIII-2, and the novellas, isn't she?


And someone who understood the Japanese version, please spoil this for me
How long are they gonna do the whole "Lumina is Serah" thing? Cuz they really are laying it on thick right now, even though I know Lumina is actually a younger Lightning.

It's mentioned a few times... honestly I stopped paying attention until the final reveal because it was already cringeworthy.
 
They really need to do something about that in future releases.

I mean, everything about this game seems inconsistent, and I'm only 4 hours in so far. From the story to the voice acting to the graphical quality. It's very off putting.


It's mentioned a few times... honestly I stopped paying attention until the final reveal because it was already cringeworthy.

Ugh. There are so many interesting places they could have gone with this, and they chose the most boring way to go about it.
 

Nohar

Member
I mean, everything about this game seems inconsistent, and I'm only 4 hours in so far. From the story to the voice acting to the graphical quality. It's very off putting.

At least we can download japanese voices for free during the first two weeks, so I guess that's a plus.
On the other hand: seriously, japanese voices as paying DLCs? Seriously? This kind of thing should always be available for free.
 

Kagari

Crystal Bearer
I mean, everything about this game seems inconsistent, and I'm only 4 hours in so far. From the story to the voice acting to the graphical quality. It's very off putting.




Ugh. There are so many interesting places they could have gone with this, and they chose the most boring way to go about it.

It was obvious the development staff they put on the game was quite small... and I have to wonder what sort of QA process went on because... well, you probably already know.
 
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