Lightning Returns: Fintal Fantasy XIII - Review

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII successfully reinvents the series' combat, but forgets why we loved these characters.

[Kranitoko]

I love how 6 years later IGN still haven't fixed their title 😂

[luismelendez]

I guess I'm one of the few that legitimately likes Lightning as a character. The others don't really compel to me much, and feel underwhelming. But I've always liked Light as a protagonist, she has a little more heart than some FF protagonists in the past, in my opinion. I really enjoy the gameplay, and I love the music+scenery. But, it's not for everyone. Ah well, to each their own.

[boomboominroom]

I always knew this wasn't Final Fantasy. It's Fintal Fantasy. Thanks IGN. 

[BadWordHater]

People who actually over-all like any of the XIII games as a game and don't hate on them because of them being different and having bad characters, UNITE! I mean really, JUST because something is different, doesn't mean it's bad. It just means you're not used to it. I mean really, for everyone who hates all of the XIII games, if the first FF game you played was one of the three XIII games, you would probably have liked it. It's like comparing an emerald to a diamond. If you've had the diamond, the emerald just seems bad. But done the other way around, once you've had the emerald, you realize both are really nice. It's not the best metaphor, but it's the concept that matters. Basically, I just think people have been spoiled from playing previous Final Fantasy games to see any of the XIII games as even decent games.

[shebzydon]

The ending of this game is one of those endings that leaves you content and tearfully happy. Could not have asked for a better ending to the series.

[iDESofJAY]

Looking at the comments section, I'm more than ever determined never to trust game reviews from anyone, be it critic or the general opinion. A scary amount of the comments are just nonconstructive jabs making fun of the game instead providing constructive criticism which, in the long run, would be much more beneficial to game developers to know exactly what we want out of a game. 

Maybe if you guys spent less time saying "This game is a joke" and "Let FF15 be FF"s salvation" and instead provided helpful comments like "The story was weak at points a, b, and c. The gameplay could use improvements at this area..." then maybe you would see better quality Final Fantasy games.

Then again, this is YouTube. As a whole, constructive criticism is not the community's strongest point. 

That's a shame.

[LossOfEternal]

I never knew it was spelled 'Fintal' Fantasy

[MysticalGaming]

Despite all the reviews and people who don't like FFXIII I have enjoyed this trilogy for the most part. I can say proudly Lightning is one of my top 10 favorite game characters. I've already logged 6 hours in Lightning Returns and have loved every moment of it. Maybe I am just easy to please or easily content ... either way I enjoy a lot of the features LR offers. My favorite part is I can have Light's outfit from the first game which is a nice nod to fans who have been playing FFXIII since 2010.

Hate it or not this is the end so everyone who hates on FFXIII can rejoice while those of us who did enjoy this trilogy can at least enjoy one last game which I feel (from the 6+ hours I've logged already) is done well overall and leaves us satisfied. Even if the ending turns out to be a little disappointing I don't think I will be too upset because for me the real ending was FFXIII anyways. This game is an added bonus where I can play as Light 100% of the time and customize her outfits and weapons.

It's a fun game for me so regardless if the haterade flows strong on the interwebz it's not raining on my FFXIII parade.

EDIT: I'm now 17+ hours into Lightning Returns and still love it a ton.

EDIT: (3/27/2014) Just beat the game. My first playthrough was about 47 hours on normal mode so it was a rough ride. However, it was well worth it. I never felt bored in this game despite the fact when I usually play RPG's I tend to lose interest quickly. Furthermore a lot of reviewers complained the Lightning in this game talks monotone and doesn't act like a human ... well just beat the game and you'll see why trusting a reviewer to judge a game is always not a smart choice.

In the end I highly enjoyed the FFXIII series and Lightning Returns was a wonderful end to the trilogy. I feel the dark ending of FFXIII-2 sucks much less now that the ending of LR really plays off of it giving you (the player) the satisfaction you deserve after spending probably 200+ hours across all 3 games. This won't be some dreary Mass Effect 3 ending where everyone gets mad, that's all I'll say about it.

[ablaco]

unfortunately ign doesn't know how to spell "Final". How ironic 

[xTGE]

Alright so i honestly don't see why people have so much fucking hate for this game? To me (who owns and has finished all of them to the very day) I find that the XIII games are by far some of the most visual stunning and well thort out games in my own opinion. Yes the first one was pretty hard to sit through without getting bored of just the gameplay but the story for it was really good. XIII-2 let you play as sareh and had more free roam options and I loved every second of it and how it had multiple endings. And now lightning returns has a lot of new features with the schema, none of this turn by turn stuff and the game kept me on the edge of my seat, mainly when fighting some of the boss fights. Yes some of the writing is a little cheesy at times but lumina and lightning are fucking awesome. I finished it in 29 hrs my first run though with 60 side quest and 48 canvas of prayers quest done and quite a few characters you meet were pretty cool. Regardless of what this reviewer says it is a good game if you can get your head out of your ass and stop living in the past and dwelling onFF 7&8. I'd give it an 8.5/10 and I'm a diehard FF and KH lover. Btw the ending cutscene before and mainly after the credits are by far the most beautiful fucking things I've seen and any video game and animated movie

[charlesgallegos]

Did they really misspell Final? Omfg! Great start.

[underdogmage]

i'm a very hardcore final fantasy fan, i do miss turn base battles, but i really don't understand the hate ff13 gets. imo they great games, old geezers are just so protective of thier traditions. don't listen to reviews and create your own opinion. that is what gaming is all about. nowadays the internet is full of tubers that criticize games and people just seem to follow thier opinion. it wasn't like this at all back in my day. we just go to gaming stores, look at the art, buy it, play it and allownthe game to surprise us.

[heartlessoni]

Lightning mentioned this MANY times. Shes no longer human. She mentioned how she felt NOTHING after bumping into her little sister. Which is also reason for her rather lack of emotion and monotone sounding voice. I already found it hilarious when she popped out with jokes since she was so...Lightning about it. lol
Also, understand that the cockiness of Snow or the comic relief of Sahz (or Sazh) is long gone, why? Well their souls are lost in the darkness. Would you be able to smile if your kid was in a fucking coma for years and years? Or as you watch the world end with you feeling powerless? No, i think not.

I gotta say I had a lot of fun with the game. Wayyy more fun than ff13-1 thats for sure. Of course it could have been better. Its could have been longer, we could have played as all the characters as they fell into turmoil. After all this isnt just Lightning Returns, this is the last of a trilogy. Some fans, if any, lol would have liked to know a little more of their favorite character and would even like to play as them. Hell, I gotta say would have loved to play as Fang as I'm a fan of hers.

The graphics could have been better and lands bigger as well, for more adventure and side quests. Maybe if the production was given more time, it could have been a lot better.

Why 13 days? Well duh, its farewell to the FF13 series. That's not a secret. lol

I liked it. Major improvement from its prequels and not many do that. Not many games become better. This one did and EVERYONE knows that.

Give it a chance. 8.5/10 indeed. :)

I agree with many people here, stop living in the past with the other FFs and just enjoy it for what it is. its OWN game.

[thegooseman]

IGN can block people for the Naomi Kyle comments but can't fix the title?

[Pokechao]

"Fintal Fantasy"
Stopped trusting this review there

[TeddieSage]

I find it odd that the reviewer forgot to mention that this game happens five hundred years in the future, which explains why some characters feel so different.

I personally didn't feel like the characters weren't good, I thought they were okay. Since this is the conclusion of the plot and there were a lot of shipping fans out in Japan, I guess I can understand why the ending wasn't satisfying for most gamers who already finished the game.

Some elements of this game are meant to be open-minded, I'm guessing. It's like Square-Enix wanted people and newcomers to start with Lightning Returns... but to tell you  the truth, they'd be screwed if they started there.

XIII is kinda necessary to meet the characters, while XIII-2 is the bridge that connects both games. I'm disappointed in this trilogy as a whole, but that didn't stop me from enjoying them.

I think 7 on 10 is a fair score, considering it's not everyone who liked this trilogy.

[luitsatrap]

The story isn't so bad, it has it's ups and downs, but the gameplays makes up for it. Plus, it's a true RPG, there's lots of things to do througout the game's story, the map's 4 regions and it's dungeons are enough, and kinda big. And the customization (overall, not just the suits) it's pretty deep. It's a really fun game to play, and it's got good length (about 60 hours for me), having a New Game + too.

[PSspecialist]

Sometimes I feel like westeners just can't comprehend Japanese story-telling. As long as the action is fine I'm buying it and I'll probably enjoy it on a story level as well. All the negatives shot towards the story were vague and subjective crap. 

[BadWordHater]

Hey everyone, Lightning Returns is the 3rd most popular game on gamefaqs. The people who hate the game can argue that it's below Bravely Default, but that's still pretty good considering how much people hate it.

[khaliquefields]

the amount of butt-hurt in the comment section is tragic. people act like this game ruined the saint that is final fantasy, come on guys get real