I was planning to open a new thread, but I can't since I'm a junior.
so I will put my review in this thread, I hope there isn't a second OP or something.
Who wanted another sequel of Final Fantasy XIII ? almost everyone, except for the one who actually like XIII-2 (which is much better than the sequel). This is the first time that Final Fantasy game get a second sequel in the same decade and the same generation, and for the first time.. this Final Fantasy didn't used all power of PS3, and X360 like the first one who made the X360 cough for being too much powerful.
Forget almost everything you know about the battle system in FFXIII, cause this one pretty different, the combat system in Lightning Returns called Amazing ATB, and it's absolutely not any kind of Turn-Based RPG, the game been influenced by corporate previous acts like Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII, and Birth By Sleep which made the combat 10 time better than ever, and also got the concept of Legend of Zelda Majora's Mask (I never played it but they all saying it's the same idea), and also have the MMORPG games quests.
The game story is taking place after 500 years of the previous one (one hell of a time skip) but don't worry everyone looks the same and no one has grandchildren , because of something random Serah and Noel did the world has drowned in chaos and everybody stopped aging and the most important in the story the you'll start the game with only 13 days left till the end of the world, Lightning who somehow return and become the SAVIOR and save people as much she can.
Okay.. the story is not much to expect is so stupid for a company that gave us deep stories in their previous games and when finish the game you'll be like : did they just made another Dante's Inferno with a pink-headed female? Did they wrote the story in like 10 minutes?
The team who worked on Lightning Returns is the laziest team of all time, they all most copied the previous monsters in FFXIII, FFXIII-2 and put them again in this game, and also Nomura was so depressed of being kicked out from FFXV that he only.. only designed new looks for Lightning and Snow, and the rest are the same.. except for Vanille, she bought one hill of a cap (yay)!, I don't say that the soundtracks is awfull, but actually is not.. Yes this first thing I will praise in this review, the soundtracks the used in this game is manifest, except they're belong to FFXIII, and FFXIII-2, I'm telling you.. The most laziest team of all time the game actually don't a completely new soundtrack, but only like 10, and the rest is has been taking from the previous FFXIII, and also the NPC, they're pretty much the same, and you'll memorize their face after doing all this quests.
When I say laziness, I mean the Graphics in this game, oh god the CG looks better than ever, but the real-time is a complete disaster get ready for all kind of pixels and texture in this game. Yes I repeat it's from the same creators who gave us the deep detailed graphics and game environment in 2010, as for fan who waited the game since it been announced in September 2012 it'd be fine if the game been delayed for more progressing, it would be finer by me if this game was on PS4 and X1 even. But No! they were in such a rush and gave us the game too early. Toriyama and Kitase should be kicked out.
Say Goodbye for Cocoon and GranPulse cause they're longer exist no more.. there's what left of Gran Pluse and for a reason it's called Nova Chrysalia "do they ever get tired of all these names", and it contain four areas like Luxerion: the gothic-themed town with the homeless people and saints that don't donate a shit. and Yusnan : the city that is full of drunk people who celebrate all night long just because the world is going to end. And Wildlands: which is an expanded version of Archlyte Steppe but with more grass and trees and It doesnt contain Adamantortoise which would be amazing if they did. And The last is: The Dead Dunes: a desert full of temples the will make you want to check if you have an Alzheimer. All four locations was fun and good to explore and do quests, and believe me you talk with people more than ever for clues for your quests, which is what FFXIII don't have.
For the Gameplay.. welp you have 07 days left on your screen, the days will not decrease if you did the main quest, and you 5 main quests which make it 13 days, don't know how but it is and I don't have much of a mathematics brain and time to explain why. You have three kinds of the quests : Main Quest, and Side Quests, and Canvas of Prayers. Everytime you complete a quest you'll get an amount of HP, Attack, Magic that will made you stronger this is the only you can upgrade Lightning not by killing enemies, and what they're existed for? They drop thing or two that helps you to complete the quest, the game won't contain any kind of XP or CP, doing quest is the only way to upgrade. If you were a MMORPG addicted you'll love doing the side quests because it's really addicting, more than 100 quests and like Open-World games, some of the mission only exist in a limited during, there quests you can only do it in night for example. But if we going to speak about the Main Quest I'd say it's good enough, but the game gives the worst way to start your first main quest, the first main quest in the game is you to find 4 codes number in a city you barely knew anything about it yet. That quest made some of people confused and the other ditch the game because of it. Sure square know the best way to start things.
Oh you waiting for me to say something about the game.. okay here we go. Lightning Returns combat system is the best so far, addicting, hard, sexy, and evolutionary for an Action RPG, you three schemata's you'll get to design each one of them by choosing garbs, weapon, abilities, etc.. and during battle every schemata will have an ATB gauge that will make the total three ATB gauges, every schemata will have 4 abilities you'll get to put whatever you want, the thing is with 3 ATB gauges and different 12 abilities you'll have the best Non-Stop combat system since you were bored in the previous two games of waiting the ATB system to be refilled. Of course the stagger strategy still exist and this time the enemy will be staggered only by knowing right element, that mean you'll press R2 for Libra a lot not like the old times. And the game contains EP's that make you stops time, and do limit break, or slow the time during the battle, limit break etc..
Will the game been also influenced by Dark Souls like they said and like what I've experienced, the battles with simplest enemies will kinda hard in the beginning, and also the game have dragons and titans, and also everytime you do quest the soul of the person will got to lighting (doesnt that remind you of Dark Souls), and also you'll have a stamina gauge only during exploring. And there's something I really like about the enemies, they're extinct-able. After defeating too many of the same monster.. you'll see a purple version of it that's mean is the Last One, The Last Ones are more powerful which will give you more challenge.
So.. maybe I mentioned bad things more than the good things, the game is pretty good when you consider that it doesnt have a story for god sake this RPG not Interactive Drama. The music is good, and for the graphics.. think of like it was a late PS2 game, and you'll be satisfied. But the most important is the Battle system that have a great potential in the future
What I liked :
+ Amazing combat system
+ No linearity .. at all
+ Fun side quests
+ Big multi-environment maps
+ The CG's cut scenes is beautiful than ever
+ Good Soundtracks.. but not original
What I desliked :
- Awful real-time
- Awful story
- Unclear hints and stupid beginning
- Hope, and dialogues
10/8
#LightningReturns needed more time to be developed, and it's quite fun game if you didn't give a shit about the story content, and keep pressing the skip button, and it's a good game that gone wrong because of the stupid decisions of Toriyama and Kitase.
