Lightning Could Appear in Future Final Fantasy's

[Gearhead mk2]

Honestly... I see nothing wrong with this idea. Don't get me wrong, Lightning is a pretty bad character, but the core idea behind her is interesting, I liked her FFXIII era design, her voice acting is pretty good when she's actually allowed to emote, and her abilities and tech could make for some great action sequences and gameplay mechanics. If they actually put some talent and effort into her, I'd be happy to see her again because she could be great. Maybe they should just hand her over to Platinum Games. It worked wonders for Raiden, and having tried the demo for Lightning Returns, I could imagne her as a Dante-style spectacle fighter star.

 

[Zeraki]

And the Western gaming community responds with a collective groan.

Such a terrible, unlikeable character.

Most people still remember both Cloud and Tidus, and those characters were first introduced in 1986 and 2003 respectively.

Not sure if that was a typo or not. Final Fantasy VII came out in 1997. Final Fantasy as a series didn't even exist in 1986. The first game came out in '87.

Also, FFX came out in 2001(but at least you were in the right decade with that one).

 

[Dalisclock]

Haven't you had enough of ruining Square Enix and Final Fantasy Toriyama?

YOUR MIND ISN'T REALITY.

I think he needs a chart.

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0rxwdAhBX1r7wuo7o1_400.gif

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

Don't count on it.

Most people still remember both Cloud and Tidus, and those characters were first introduced in 1997 and 2001 respectively. Lightning is constantly being held up as "the female Cloud", so she's very likely to be immortalized in much the same vein as those two were.

I very much doubt that. She'll probably be remembered in the same vein as Squall; an annoying protagonist who SE tried to prop up as the next big thing only for the character to burn out a few years later. And if XIII-3' sales are any indication, apparently Lightning just isn't as big of a selling point as Toriyama wants to believe. It's pretty much over for her time in the spotlight

 

[KingdomFantasyXIII]

Don't count on it.

Most people still remember both Cloud and Tidus, and those characters were first introduced in 1997 and 2001 respectively. Lightning is constantly being held up as "the female Cloud", so she's very likely to be immortalized in much the same vein as those two were.

I very much doubt that. She'll probably be remembered in the same vein as Squall; an annoying protagonist who SE tried to prop up as the next big thing only for the character to burn out a few years later. And if XIII-3' sales are any indication, apparently Lightning just isn't as big of a selling point as Toriyama wants to believe. It's pretty much over for her time in the spotlight

I don't think so. Zack Fair is the number one FF male character in Japan, and his game Crisis Core sold NOWHERE near as much as FF7 did (2.57 million in one year). Hell, Cloud Strife is the number 2 male FF character in the franchise and his face doesn't sell products equally as much as FF7. Sales don't equal popularity. Besides, we still have yet to see the yearly sales of Lightning Returns. Initial sales don't really mean anything other than "oh look some people got hyped for a product".

From what I have seen in actual character polls in Japan, Lightning ranks up highly in the top 3 spot. Remember how phone games are huge in Japan? Well, this could help you understand:
http://www.siliconera.com/2014/01/06/final-fantasy-airborne-brigade-players-vote-yuna-popular-heroine/

As you can see, Yuna has over 48,449 votes while Lighting has 26,860 and Tifa has 25,623. Despite what a couple 10-200 people on the internet say, the votes of people in real life kind of count more and even outweigh that of the internet.

 

[Stg]

The fact this idiot is the same hack who utterly butchered the Parasite Eve franchise, and is one of the key members on the "Final Fantasy Quality Assurance Team" (I'm sure his standards are VERY high...), only fills my fangirl heart with rage and loathing.[/QUOTE]

I love you for this sentence. Parasite Eve was my favorite series on the PSX and I cannot count the number of times I played through PE2 only to find the 3rd Birthday a laughable and massive disappointment. At that time, I didn't know who was responsible, but over the years I did some research and it's greatly disheartening to know that this is the same guy.

 

[james.sponge]

The fact this idiot is the same hack who utterly butchered the Parasite Eve franchise, and is one of the key members on the "Final Fantasy Quality Assurance Team" (I'm sure his standards are VERY high...), only fills my fangirl heart with rage and loathing.

Well people who made SquareSoft great in its prime jumped the ship when Enix bought the company didn't they? It's not surprising SE never capitalized on success and cult following of games like Parasite Eve, Xenogears or Vagrant Story, they were blinded by FF cash cow ready to be exploited.

I wouldn't be surprised if PE returned as FPS

Parasite Eve was my favorite series on the PSX and I cannot count the number of times I played through PE2 only to find the 3rd Birthday a laughable and massive disappointment. At that time, I didn't know who was responsible, but over the years I did some research and it's greatly disheartening to know that this is the same guy.

PE games on PSX were so good, that replayability rate

Lot of folks seem to think that she's not all that popular.

Prepare to be disappointed by humanity once more.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning_%28Final_Fantasy%29#Reception

In 2010, she was ranked as the 34th most popular video game character in Japan in a Famitsu poll.

Out of all the Final Fantasy XIII cast, Lightning was voted as the most popular character in a Microsoft poll.

In a VideoGamer.com's listing of the best ten Final Fantasy characters, Lightning was sixth with the writer Yin Poole finding her interesting in the course of the game despite still finding her similar to Cloud.

In 2011, IGN ranked Lightning among the best Final Fantasy characters, saying that she demonstrated that "a delicate balance can exist between strength and tenderness, even in the midst of her incredible acrobatic feats."

In GameZone's list regarding the same subject, Lightning was eighth owing to her visual appearance as well as the character's determination which made her "one of the strongest female leaders of the Final Fantasy series."

Cheat Code Central also listed her as one of the top ten "badass" women of video games for her independence that distances her from previous Final Fantasy heroines.

Lightning also ranked second in AfterEllen's list of the "hottest" video game characters.

In Game Informer's list of top ten heroes of 2010, Lightning was ranked eighth and praised for her as the only protagonist in Final Fantasy XIII who seemed capable of taking on the corrupt government of Cocoon and that her no-nonsense approach to her mission made her the game's standout hero.

In 2013, Lightning was voted the favorite female Final Fantasy character in an official poll by Square Enix, and was also ranked twice in lists by Complex as the 19th greatest Final Fantasy character and the 39th greatest heroine in video game history.

Professional journalists and game developers have also ranked her high among important female video game characters, with her coming third in a list of top female characters in an RPG or JRPG during a panel at PAX Prime 2013.

According to several sites out there, she's considered a great character, super hot, and an important standout among female video game characters....despite, realistically speaking, being absolutely none of those things.

Never underestimate humanity's capacity to drop the bar lower than you thought possible.

Thanks for that, had no idea humanity can be that dumb. On a serious note let's think about it for a moment gaming press is so easily manipulated these days I wouldn't be surprised if they decided Prophet from Crysis is the most iconic character in the history of video games.

As for the people I would blame marketing, as FF games became more and more expensive they had to be pushed in the media to meet sales expectations it's not surprising characters from newer games are more recognizable than more compelling characters from previous instalments. Who will remember characters like Locke and Setzer when Cloud was the one to sell cellphones.

 

[Spartan448]

The whole FF13 series had ONE good character. ONE. And it WASN'T LIGHTNING.

Honestly, I'm on the verge of loosing all faith in Square at this point.

 

[busterkeatonrules]

Goddammit...she really is Toriyama's waifu at this stage isn't she?

You called it.

"She refuses to dress up as Lightning, I accidentally called her Lightning a few times. We both have made mistakes."
-Toriyama, on why his relationship with his girlfriend is failing.

Seriously, there will never be another decent Final Fantasy as long as this guy is in charge of it.

 

[rosac]

Hmm. She isn't very memorable, although this could depend on when you joined the series. For me personally, Zack Strife, Cloud, Cecil (Final fantasy 4) and tidus are the main protagonists I'll remember. I'm really wanting to try FFXIII when I get a cut price PS3 though (waiting for the post ps-4 drop still), just to see if it's really as bad as people say!

CAPTCHA: Sacred Cow

Alrigggghty then

 

[seditary]

I'm not surprised Lightning is winning polls.

Until the HD FFX/X2 release, the only mainline Final Fantasy games in the past 10 years were 12 and the 13 titles.

 

[SlightlyEvil]

I'll just put it this way: It's never a good sign if the main debate among fans of your still-running series is whether it peaked 20 years ago or 17 years ago.

 

[Kopikatsu]

It's like people have completely forgotten that FF4 was the first trilogy of the FF series. (4, Interlude, After Years)

 

[Sateru]

I'm rather dismayed that they feel inclined to force feed us the damn woman. There is no real redeeming quality about her. I stopped playing FFXIV partly because of other issues, but I absolutely refuse to go back onto it because of the fact that they keep pushing her onto us. I really wish they would just give up on her and move onto another universe, another collection of characters, and let us all forget the travesty that was FFXIII

 

[Lunar Templar]

and with people like this in Square it makes me wonder how Bravely Default managed to turn out to be good instead of the boring, uninteresting train wreck that was FF13 and its necessary sequels.

 

[BeeGeenie]

It's like people have completely forgotten that FF4 was the first trilogy of the FF series. (4, Interlude, After Years)

Those "sequels" came out almost 20 years after the original, so it's not the first. Heck, FF7 had more spin-offs released in 2 years than FF4 had in 2 decades. Not that it matters, I think the bigger issue is that some stories are worth expanding, and others (FFXIII) need to die in a fire.

 

[KingdomFantasyXIII]

It's like people have completely forgotten that FF4 was the first trilogy of the FF series. (4, Interlude, After Years)

Those "sequels" came out almost 20 years after the original, so it's not the first. Heck, FF7 had more spin-offs released in 2 years than FF4 had in 2 decades. Not that it matters, I think the bigger issue is that some stories are worth expanding, and others (FFXIII) need to die in a fire.

Or how about instead not expand on any FF number title at all? FF10-2 didn't help, FF7 compilations didn't help, FF13 sequels did help, FF4 After years didn't help.

The real problem is that the company is expanding their games instead of moving onwards. The number titles are not the problem, the sequels are.