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Lightning Returns: FINAL FANTASY XIII PC |OT| Light Eternal

HTupolev

Member
Is this game hard? Can you play this at a relaxing pace?
LR isn't "hard" per se, but the global time system basically ensures that a first pass through the game won't feel all that relaxing. You need to be in particular places at particular times, and there's a global time limit. The game has a reasonable design for iterative NG+ing, but the first playthrough (when you don't know what you're doing and aren't sure where you stand in terms of finishing in a single cycle of the game) isn't going to feel relaxed.

On easy mode, with lots of chronostasis spam, you can keep the actual timing pressure pretty lenient though.
 

Hikami

Member
It was already posted, but this 16-bit retrospective from Square Enix is probably the best and quickest way to catch up on the salient plot points from XIII/XIII-2.

At the very least it'll make any detailed plot summary less intimidating.
Well that was entertaining to watch but that ending just left me confused lol.

Thanks, that answered my questions from the other video. Bring on Lightning Returns.
 

HeelPower

Member
Is this game hard? Can you play this at a relaxing pace?

The battles themselves are definitely harder than both predecessors by quite a bit.Its easily the hardest FF game.

You gotta understand how to fight the enemies in order to beat them properly,especially if you start NG on Normal.

And the fights are rewarding mechanically.
 

TheSeks

Blinded by the luminous glory that is David Bowie's physical manifestation.
Hopefully S-E uses the profits for FFXIII-4 or Lightning Returns 2 since she's so popular.

ಠ_ಠ

Am waiting for the PC port revelations. I want to see how
shitty
the third time out is given Square
didn't
improved from the horrendous port of FF13-1
and 13-2
.
 

LegendX48

Member
Any guesses as to how this'll run compared to the previous two ports? I played a bit of this on PS3 but kinda stopped after a while.
 
I really hope Lightning will return in a new game on the eighth generation of consoles (I would even be more than okay with them adding her to FFXV, the lineup is really bland atm). Feminist icon and pastel haired queen imo.
 

Menome

Member
Okay, I didn't really like XIII aside from the combat system, but thought XIII-2 was the best Final Fantasy I'd played since IX.

How does Lightning Returns stack up to my slightly skewed tastes?
 

Mabufu

Banned
Okay, I didn't really like XIII aside from the combat system, but thought XIII-2 was the best Final Fantasy I'd played since IX.

How does Lightning Returns stack up to my slightly skewed tastes?

XIII-2 is amazing. Skewed tastes are good.
 

Falk

that puzzling face
I think I've seen everything from hate hate hate to like like like to hate like hate to like hate like and every other possible permutation.

i.e. you're on your own.

For what it's worth, the story doesn't quite take itself seriously and the you can make a case for the gameplay being the best ATB/real-time hybrid out of the franchise.
 

Koozek

Member
I think I've seen everything from hate hate hate to like like like to hate like hate to like hate like and every other possible permutation.

i.e. you're on your own.

For what it's worth, the story doesn't quite take itself seriously and the you can make a case for the gameplay being the best ATB/real-time hybrid out of the franchise.
Thisss.
 

Menome

Member
I think I've seen everything from hate hate hate to like like like to hate like hate to like hate like and every other possible permutation.

i.e. you're on your own.

For what it's worth, the story doesn't quite take itself seriously and the you can make a case for the gameplay being the best ATB/real-time hybrid out of the franchise.

Fair enough. I'll pick it up once I'm done with SOMA this week then.

(Is Snow less of an insufferable douche, or should I brace myself for more of the same?)
 

Lanrutcon

Member
I think I've seen everything from hate hate hate to like like like to hate like hate to like hate like and every other possible permutation.

i.e. you're on your own.

For what it's worth, the story doesn't quite take itself seriously and the you can make a case for the gameplay being the best ATB/real-time hybrid out of the franchise.

In a world where FFXII doesn't exist, sure.
 
Fair enough. I'll pick it up once I'm done with SOMA this week then.

(Is Snow less of an insufferable douche, or should I brace myself for more of the same?)

I think Snow improved as the franchise went on.

I hated him in 13 but by Lightning Returns I liked the guy.

When I replayed the first two games on PC I liked him a lot more, perhaps knowing where he ends up makes his arc more tolerable.
 

Rising_Hei

Member
XIII-2 is amazing. Skewed tastes are good.

XIII-2 was 75 % fillers tho and the ability to level up as much as you wanted made things too easy... I also hated the bleed system

And it wasn't conclusive ending up on a massive cliffhanger -_-
 

Mabufu

Banned
XIII-2 was 75 % fillers tho and the ability to level up as much as you wanted made things too easy... I also hated the bleed system

And it wasn't conclusive ending up on a massive cliffhanger -_-

But it has Academia 400AF.

Everything about the game is worth once you reach it. Best town/city in any RPG ever.
 

Falk

that puzzling face
In a world where FFXII doesn't exist, sure.

"you could make a case" isn't exactly the same as typical GAF "the best ever" hyperbole.

FFXII exists. You could also make a case for THAT being the best ATB/realtime hybrid.

Why get so defensive?
 

HeelPower

Member
"you could make a case" isn't exactly the same as typical GAF "the best ever" hyperbole.

FFXII exists. You could also make a case for THAT being the best ATB/realtime hybrid.

Why get so defensive?


FFXII is obviously the better overall game ,but LR's battle system is on another level.

Its systems in and outside of battle are far more engaging than XII's gambit system.
I still remember seeing the Toriyama conference with roses lol

I need not post anything about it.lol.
 

Falk

that puzzling face
FFXII is obviously the better overall game ,but LR's battle system is on another level.

Its systems in and outside of battle are far more engaging than XII's gambit system.

Well, that's besides the point I was making. My original post was basically along the lines of "Lightning Returns' battle system is up there, you can make a case for it"

"Not in a world where XII exists" is baffling as a reply to that. XII exists, so you can't actually make a case?
 

Ryker

Member
Finally I get to see how this whole debacle ends! Been waiting for this one on PC. The PS3 version is like 15 bucks used, so I've been tempted quite a few times. The DLC is the main reason I decided to wait for this version and I'm glad to see its all here sans the Aeris costume. ;-; Maybe someone will figure a way to add it and/or activate it down the line. What a great time to be a pc leaning RPG-gamer!
 

TheTux

Member
I need not post anything about it.lol.

Are you trying to erase it from your brain? HAHA

imaginebeinginthataudience.jpg
 

Dr Dogg

Member
It will be interesting to see how this port measures up. Whether Square learned some lessons after the original XIII ports, or if we are in for more garbage.

Well good to see you're more optimistic than I. Then again a pessimist is never disappointed.

Saying that I'm still struggling through XIII and XIII-2 on PC and while I have finished both of those on PS3 and ditched Lightning Returns I've go so much shit going on at the moment that 'moar gaems!' is not really the answer.
 

Parsnip

Member
What issue with xbone controllers? If you mean the driver thing that was a global bug with Windows 10 that could be fixed by reinstalling the driver. Microsoft really messed it up somehow. Maybe it was fixed in an OS update by now. Was there a different issue?

Not that that excuses the poor state of the ports. Can't believe they never bothered to fix the frame pacing issues.

Afaik the "fix" wasn't to reinstall the driver, but to install a different driver entirely. That aside, it only works if you use xbone controller as a wired controller.
With the wireless dongle it's impossible.
I don't think your assertion that MS messed it up is accurate, more than likely is that 13 and 13-2 don't use xinput or dinput, but some kind of homecooked weird thing that behaves kind of like xinput but isn't really one. Just a guess though.

The weirdest thing about the problem is that in every affected menu where the controller seemingly dies, you can just hammer LT for a few times to resurrect it. It's nuts.
 

JJShadow

Member
Really looking forward for this one. I beat FF XIII in PS3 (one of my favourite games), but I never finished XIII-2 (played for 10-15 hours I think). Should I go again for FF XIII-2 and complete it before this or may I simply watch the cutscenes in youtube in order the understand the whole story?
 
FFXII is too slow (thank god for IZJS) and the proper way to play is actually making gambits do everything for you.

Combat is not the strength of XII

I disagree. The gambits are a unique and interesting way to build complex AI that works much better than your average party AI in an RPG (especially games like Ni no Kuni), but the game never "plays itself", and most significant fights (hunts and bosses) require you to still make a bunch of decisions on the fly, because the gambits really can only do so much, and are much more suited to a decision you'll always make (like, enemy weak to fire -> use fire-element spells).

What the gambits did do, IMO, is highlight just how silly random (and for these purposes, random means the unimportant fights) encounters are in RPGs. You could throw together a gambit system for, I'd say, 90% of JRPGs, and it'd be perfectly functional for most fights. To me, that right there shows you how intellectually and developmentally lazy these kinds of fights are, and I'd love to see more games say "You know what, let's just excise this element from the game entirely."
 

Fdkn

Member
I disagree. The gambits are a unique and interesting way to build complex AI that works much better than your average party AI in an RPG (especially games like Ni no Kuni), but the game never "plays itself", and most significant fights (hunts and bosses) require you to still make a bunch of decisions on the fly, because the gambits really can only do so much, and are much more suited to a decision you'll always make (like, enemy weak to fire -> use fire-element spells).

What the gambits did do, IMO, is highlight just how silly random (and for these purposes, random means the unimportant fights) encounters are in RPGs. You could throw together a gambit system for, I'd say, 90% of JRPGs, and it'd be perfectly functional for most fights. To me, that right there shows you how intellectually and developmentally lazy these kinds of fights are, and I'd love to see more games say "You know what, let's just excise this element from the game entirely."

Last time I played the only inputs I had to do manually for endgame were ressing fallen party members (because gambit slots are limited and the battles stop themselves when your character dies so why bother with a slot there) and using limit breaks when I needed them. It's not a flaw, I actually had fun 'programming' the IA to be reliable on its own.

We're going OT anyway, the point is that I think LR battle system is stronger than the one in XII.
 
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