Lightning Returns in a Shorter, More Action-Oriented Final Fantasy

[OniSuika]

Final Fantasy XIII was a disaster, no argument. it was 40+ hours of undiluted suffering.

I will readily admit that 13-2 was a far better game however. I picked it up when it came down in price and put a good 100 hours into it. Kinda regret not having picked it up earlier. The combat is far more engaging, the characters more likeable, and a back story to actually care about. It drops pretty much everything 13 set up, and it's clearly for the best.

So remembering 13-2 fondly, I'm actually looking forward to this. I like to thing Square have a handle on what they're doing by now. At least it can't be as bad as 13 was

 

[Adon Cabre]

Square Enix has also changed the combat system significantly, making fights far more active. The ATB gauge from the other Final Fantasy XIII games makes a reapparance, but the way it's used is rather different here - instead of inputting commands via a menu, abilities are assigned to buttons on the controller, and players will be able to move freely around the battlefield rather than being rooted to the spot. Some areas of battle will reportedly be timing-based as well, though whether this is just a synonym for "quick-time events" or will allow for something deeper is unclear at the moment. To allow players to better concentrate on the more active system, Lightning will fight by herself.

This is a HUGE step in the right direction in terms of gameplay. I think I'm gonna look forward to an FF13 title for once.
It looks like Square Enix is starting to do things right, with Theatrhythm and this promising game.

Very important information. YOU CAN save a game based off of combat. I'm not as dull-witted or skeptical as a few Yathzee-esque commentators here. Final Fantasy 13-3 should be great -- and for more than just third times the charm.

Beside looking beautiful, this particular trilogy has very slowly (but in all departments) been moving in a progressive nature back to... well, fun.

For starters, the plot is easier to understand. We're given the plot in 4 words: doomsday in 13 days. Wasn't that easy Square Enix? They've finally learned simplicity.

I don't want Final Fantasy to be an MMO, or much of an RPG. It needs to tell a good story, and it needs to have strategy-based combat. Hopefully, shorter game means more fluid and less frequent monster fights with ones that matter more to the story line than to fill in gaps from A to B. Hopefully, quests are more relative to the story and less about buffering a game with hours -- which, we just learned will be shorter, so it looks to me like they've begun removing all of the fluff.

Celebrate these changes everyone!

 

[Rad Party God]

Sounds like Majora's Mask. I don't think many people will be happy to hear this news

Gah, ninja'd right there, in the first post.

But yeah, I second this, it reminds me a lot of the Majora's Mask concept (and my favorite Zelda). I haven't played any of the Final Fantasy XIII games, but this third game actually sounds quite interesting and it could be a good game if Squeenix can pull it off properly.

 

[Verrenxnon]

Dirge of Cerberus meets Majora's Mask?

 

[Adon Cabre]

I hope the timer mechanic doesn't spoil this title. I would probably really enjoy the Atelier series if it weren't for timed objectives. The thing is, time management has almost always been a big part of that series' challenge. To just shoehorn in a new type of challenge into an established series is a major no-no. Imagine if Activision announced that in order to be successful in the next CoD you would need to utilize RTS skills.

I remain optimistic that they know what they're doing, but I'm keeping an eye on the details as they emerge for sure. The one ending thing doesn't make any lick of sense at all.

At least the plot is only 4 words: doomsday in 13 days -- I don't know about you, but that's a revolutionary concept for recent Final Fantasy games.

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

Well I'm intrigued and interested enough to give a shit, and I will definitely get this when it does come out. I liked the first two games, the second one more than the first, and the whole doomsday clock thing sounds pretty damn cool.

But, I guess I'm not one of the cool kids bashing Square here, d'oh well.

 

[Mortamus]

I used to love this series but I'm really really REALLY tired of what Square Enix does these days.

Number 1: Remaster FF7 for current gen graphics. It's the only thing most of us asked for when you gave us the Tech Demo, and face it, you'd make a stupid amount of profit from it.
Number 2: Stop announcing stuff! Finish a game before you start working on the next one!
Number 3: Give us Kingdom Hearts 3 already. Seriously. We've waited long enough.

 

[tangoprime]

So they're going to drop all pretenses and make Final Fantasy an action game now? Intro: Press X to jump the shark. That is all.

 

[Callate]

How can you make a game centered around a Doomsday Clock that only has one ending, and it's a happy one?

EDIT before I get stormed with "obviously, dumbass" comments: Yes, I know some people don't regard "death" as an "ending", whether that death occurs because you lost a battle or because a timer ran down. Still, most deadline-based games put enough work into the deadline-centered portions of the story that such a "clock rundown" should indeed qualify as an ending, albeit a bad one. And if the game works in such a way that it may be difficult to go back sufficiently far through saves to make major changes that prevent that clock rundown, that's a bit different than switching out your equipment so a particular monster doesn't stop you.

 

[Kopikatsu]

Okay, I knew Lightning was popular, but I didn't realise she was that popular!

Hang on:

The game's conclusion will apparently mark a happy ending for Lightning's story, but despite the supposed replayability there will only be one ending. It's not quite clear yet how Square Enix intends to make replays worthwhile, but at a base time of between 13 and 26 hours this certainly looks like it will be a much shorter Final Fantasy experience.

What.

So the game ends when time is up. There is only one ending. Does that mean that, if I just leave the game sitting around for 13 hours, basically doing nothing to stop the end of the world, I'll get the same ending as someone who does absolutely everything possible to save the world? And that this ending will be 'a happy ending for Lightning's story'?! If that's the case, either Lightning is perfectly happy with the world ending, or the world is apparently perfectly capable of saving itself!

Also, I, for one, do not mind the Majora's Mask-esque timer game mechanic, so long as they are clever about implementation - don't overly punish people who take their time, and make sure that replays feel nothing like each other.

(Edit: Also - two sequels for FFXII, yet no more word on the Deus Ex scene? Come ON Square Enix!)

No, not really. When the timer runs out, you have to fight the final boss. If you did nothing for the duration of the game, then I imagine that you're going to have a hell of a time managing it.

 

[RJ 17]

First thought: God I hate time limits.

Second thought: Who the fuck puts a time limit into a god damn RPG?

Third thought upon reading the complete article: Shouldn't this be an expansion and not a game unto itself?

Fourth and final thought: Wait a minute, I stopped caring about this franchise YEARS ago...why'd I come to this topic anyways?

Oh yeah, because it's just further evidence to put into my already bulging "Square's Shitty Ideas" folder. I can sympathize with the younger crowd that see FF 1 - 6 as being before their time so they picked them up in some anthology pack, but (at least dealing with my personal circle of friends who grew up on the classic FF's) all the "old-school" FF fans I've spoken with agree that everything after 9 has been a downward spiral of one shitty game with shitty ideas tacked onto it after another. Though personally, I take it farther and include 9 into the official death of the FF series.

 

[Adam Locking]

Imagine if Activision announced that in order to be successful in the next CoD you would need to utilize RTS skills.

I now imagine myself buying a COD game for the first time ever.

OT: I may actually pick this up, I pulled an all-nighter on XIII and got stuck about 15-20 hours in and havn't cared enough to retry it, so a shorter game would be a godsend!

 

[Kopikatsu]

Second thought: Who the fuck puts a time limit into a god damn RPG?

Half-Minute Hero?

 

[loc978]

Spoiler: snip

First thought: God I hate time limits.

Second thought: Who the fuck puts a time limit into a god damn RPG?

Third thought upon reading the complete article: Shouldn't this be an expansion and not a game unto itself?

Fourth and final thought: Wait a minute, I stopped caring about this franchise YEARS ago...why'd I come to this topic anyways?

Oh yeah, because it's just further evidence to put into my already bulging "Square's Shitty Ideas" folder. I can sympathize with the younger crowd that see FF 1 - 6 as being before their time so they picked them up in some anthology pack, but (at least dealing with my personal circle of friends who grew up on the classic FF's)

all the "old-school" FF fans I've spoken with agree that everything after 9 has been a downward spiral of one shitty game with shitty ideas tacked onto it after another. Though personally, I take it farther and include 9 into the official death of the FF series.

My friends and I tend to take it further than that. The series peaked at VI, shifted focus and started spiraling down at VII, tried pandering at IX, hit rock bottom at X, and has been burrowing into the ground ever since. I think it's close to hitting magma now.

The march forward for gaming technology pretty much sounded the death knell for this franchise back in 1997. I'm still amazed people have been buying it. My breaking point was X... and that was after giving 'em a couple of chances after the first unconscionably shitty title of the series (VIII. At least II had an excuse).

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

it's a Final Fantasy game written and directed by Motomu Toriyama, all hope is lost. The guy is the worst writer at Square and has NO talent for directing either. It baffles me as to why he keeps getting put on projects.

 

[Trishbot]

"Lightning will get a happy ending"...

Did they just outright TELL us that the ending is happy? Doesn't that ruin a lot of the surprise?

I mean, what if the ending wasn't happy? We wouldn't know. Hell, Final Fantasy X's ending was insanely bittersweet. Final Fantasy VII's ending caused debate for nearly a decade. Can you imagine the directors going "Hey everyone! Final Fantasy X's ending is kinda SAD!"

Also... Lightning HAD a happy ending already... in Final Fantasy XIII. If they had just let her well enough alone, she'd have been just fine and dandy.

You know who DIDN'T have a happy ending in FF13? Fang and Vanille. What about them? Are they still frozen as crystals for all eternity? Do they not deserve a happy ending far more than "punch my friends" Lightning ever did?

Ugh, I hate this franchise so much. Now it's become an action game, devoid of a playable roster of quirky personalities skilled in a variety of areas, funneled down a mandatory timer that rushes you along so you can never really enjoy yourself.

I mean, at least Majora's Mask gave you the option to rewind time, Chrono Trigger had multiple endings, and even Dead Rising had multiple endings based on when the timer ran out. But this has ONE ending... and it's a HAPPY ending.

I think I'm just going to pull out my copy of FF9 or FF6 again and enjoy a good old-fashioned RPG with a beloved cast of likeable characters in a great world with great personalities and great old-school, turn-based combat with deep RPG mechanics and 70% less magazine supermodels as cover girls...

... Rant over.

 

[Notsomuch]

I don't care about this character, Lightning, and weather or not she returns. Also why would they just straight up say that the game has a happy ending?

 

[littlewisp]

I hate timers. No, wait, let me rephrase that.

I loathe timers.

Sometimes I like to get up and go make myself some food or wander around the house to see what my fiance is up to. Sometimes I just want to play the grind-out-levels game, or mess around with minigames. I barely enjoyed Majora's Mask, and that was with the constant rewinding or fast forwarded. Don't make me do it again.

Oh wait! You can't make me do it again. More money in my pocket!

 

[ScrabbitRabbit]

Imagine if Activision announced that in order to be successful in the next CoD you would need to utilize RTS skills.

Erm, well, actually... [http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/723361/black-ops-2-gameplay-details-revealed-rts-elements-branching-story-and-more/]

Maybe December really will be the end of the world...

 

[Lunar Templar]

Square Enix has also changed the combat system significantly, making fights far more active. The ATB gauge from the other Final Fantasy XIII games makes a reapparance, but the way it's used is rather different here - instead of inputting commands via a menu, abilities are assigned to buttons on the controller, and players will be able to move freely around the battlefield rather than being rooted to the spot. Some areas of battle will reportedly be timing-based as well, though whether this is just a synonym for "quick-time events" or will allow for something deeper is unclear at the moment. To allow players to better concentrate on the more active system, Lightning will fight by herself.

This is a HUGE step in the right direction in terms of gameplay. I think I'm gonna look forward to an FF13 title for once.

cept .... Parasite Eve did it first, back in the late 90s .... with both PS1 games >.> so, nothing new here