I am a big fan of the Final Fantasy series of games and have finished most but not all of the numbered games. I have finally gotten around to playing Lightning Returns on PS3.

Final Fantasy XIII has mixed reviews. Personally it is one of my favorites. I think it came out in a time when open world games were the big thing, and it didn't really deliver in that category. I enjoyed XIII-2 as well. XII-2 and Lightning Returns have more freedom to move around the "world" to try and remove the linear feeling from the first, but I still think the first is the best of the three.

I think this trilogy has a great cast, music and visuals. Each of them has a similar but different combat system.

I've completed the first 5 chapters of Lightning Returns, which I think only leaves me with the ending as far as the main story goes. I have about 5 days left of game time before that happens to do remaining side quests. The time mechanic in this game had me stressed out a little at first because I wasn't sure how to manage it, but it turns out its not as bad as Hope makes it sound when you first start the game (and how he kind of nags you about it throughout).

Has anyone else played through the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy? What do you think about the three games?

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Re: Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
By: Ganiman to All on Wed Aug 28 2024 01:18 pm

Final Fantasy XIII has mixed reviews. Personally it is one of my favorites. I think it came out in a time when open world games were the big thing, and it didn't really deliver in that category. I enjoyed XIII-2 as well. XII-2 and Lightning Returns have more freedom to move around the "world" to try and remove the linear feeling from the first, but I still think the first is the best of the three.

Long time fan of Final Fantasy here as well. Played ever since the first one on the NES back when I was about 12 or 13. This was a fun series to watch grow and evolve over time, with each installment introducing something new. Some good, some bad.

I think FFXIII deserves a lot of its criticism. My main issues with the game are: the stats and character growth don't feel earned; everything just kind of happens on a schedule based on where you are in the story, the story itself is highly convoluted with important story elements tucked away in the game's datalogs; making your audience go searching for key plot points is a bad way to tell a story, and the gameplay isn't very engaging; I don't recall many battles that required input from me beyond pressing A or waiting a little longer to press A. Then there's the equipment crafting/upgrading process... My memory gets a little fuzzy here, but it seemed like my party's original gear was what I stuck with the entire game, and everything else I found was crap. I'm pretty sure I was able to inflict massive amounts of damage just my upgrading my original stuff a little bit, so I never bothered seeking out different weapons or armor.

I don't want to totally dump on the game, because there were some legitimate times of fun I had with it. It was the first game I bought for my XBox360, and it was fun to play a new Final Fantasy game again at the time. I just wish the world was a little more realized with things to do and places to explore.

I do agree that the two sequels that followed it were weak. I played XIII-2 about a decade ago for a couple months, got stuck, and bored, and never picked it back up. Similar experience with LR.

Maybe this winter I'll try to replay FFXIII with a fresh perspective after I set my gaming area back up, and finally give the other two a chance.

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