170°

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII: In-game Screenshots and Details

GC: "Square Enix has released some new screenshots and details on Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII."

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gamechup.com
Smurf14050d ago

I wonder if this game will actually turn out to be good. Based on these screenshots the Sand Dunes part looks really sweet!

BldyShdw4050d ago

From what I've gathered the 1st wasn't great but the 2nd was better so there is actually a chance this could be great...at least I hope

4050d ago
LAWSON724050d ago

No ffxiii-2 is a mess compared to any ff i have ever played. It felt rushed and had a very short story with pointless exploration and side quests. At least ffxiii had good characters, voice acting(except vanille sex sounds), decent battle system that had potential in more complex battles.

Jonmau54050d ago

I am not the biggest fan of Final Fantasy games but one thing that I love about them is that they ALWAYS have stunning visuals and these shots prove that, that trend is set to continue.

Smurf14050d ago

The sliding mechanic sounds great but I don't know how big the level actually is. I don't want to get hyped for the game though because it always ends up being underwhelming.

CLOUD19834050d ago ShowReplies(4)
trenso14050d ago

The game looks to be interesting wish it was releasing earlier this year

despair4050d ago

Does is still have a countdown timer? If so then this is a no buy for me, I never like being forced to rush through a game, or limited in what I do, especially an rpg (or similiar) type game.

Irishguy954050d ago (Edited 4050d ago )

I for one, am extremely happy someone is finally trying the whole time mechanic thing. No one has the balls to try it besides CC2 with the Witcher 2 when they locked off content depending on choices, fundamentally changing the game and making a real RPG for once. And of course SE who are the ones doing it/.

RPG =/= Exploration game. If you don't want FFXIII-3 because of a new mechanic then fine, I for one am very interested do to this. And I hated 13 and 13-2 so it's weird for me to be interested in it. It's ambition honestly.

I ask 'Why should the progress of a games world depend on only the Player character?' Why do the4 stormcloaks or Dark brotherhood not do anything or go to war until the Player character decides to? I want time to become a part of games especially RPG's where your suppose to be playing the part of someone in a living world.

This game gives you '13 days' to explore the world and try to solve the world ending, you can succeed and fail. That in itself makes this game interesting.

despair4050d ago

thing is I get how some people like games like this, but its annoying to me. I don't want to worry about time while I'm exploring an area, or in a town, or if I leave my game to answer a call. I have no problem with as the game progresses the time to the end of the world gets closer(with different stages in the story). But to force the game to have a countdown clock on an RPG is ridiculous.

RPG might not be exploration game by definition, but they cannot say it will have open areas, full towns and then say "oh we're giving you 13 days (each day is relatively short) and then its game over." Its nonsense that forces the gamer to not enjoy the game but fight the mechanics.

Its very different what they are doing here to what you said, its not like the world changes dynamically as time counts down and its not like choices that lock out parts of games like Witcher 2 (awesome game btw). Its about limiting the time I can spend in a game. In Witcher 2 I could still spend 10 hours in a town taking my time, doing sidequest, roaming, talking to people, crafting etc. without worrying that I'm using up my days.

Timed aspects of games should stay with challenges and not be part of the main game mechanics. Its an archaic implementation and unless they make it the greatest form of a countdown ever (which it wont be) or like Majora's mask where you can rewind time (which it won't have), then its going to be like what dead rising was for me, a fun game that forces me to hurry for no good reason and thus is not very enjoyable, and I will not spend 60 buck on that.

KaBaW4049d ago

If we are talking about the same thing, I liked Dead Rising because of that.
It gave you a certain amount of time to decide what to do.
And, if you chose not to do those things in that time, they were gone.

Which, of course, makes your miss things and changes the game, some.
Obviously, allowing some sense of replayability, as well.

Show all comments (32)
280°

The Final Fantasy XIII Trilogy Deserves a Remaster

Final Fantasy 13 was first introduced to us back in 2009, almost four years after Final Fantasy 12 was released, and fans had been eagerly anticipating the next installment. But when it finally arrived, there were mixed reactions, including complaints about its linearity, the lack of towns and NPCs, and the limited control over the characters. At the time, Square Enix kept its game production behind closed doors and didn't take in a lot of feedback — especially from Western fans.

The game has been revisited by many different Final Fantasy fans since then, and some, like myself, have come to love it again. Almost all staple entries in the series have found their way to modern consoles, so it's about time that the FF13 trilogy gets a remaster

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dualshockers.com
shinoff2183323d ago

I've been thinking about this. I agree. While I really disliked it at first I never played it again. After hating ff15 so damn much I just think it can't be worse then 15 and if I'm not mistaken atleast it's turn based. I need more of that in my life.

nitus10323d ago

I actually finished FFXIII and on the second playthrough found I actually liked the game.

Actually I have liked most of the FF games (I have not played FFIX unfortunately) and I do agree with you with regards to FFXV. Graphically IMHO FFXV is excelent but for some reason I just could not get enthusiastic in playing it.

As for "turn-based", I prefer active and real time although to be fair "turn-based" is a real plus especially when confronting a difficult protagonist. I found this to be especially the case when playing FFXXII where you could switch rapidly between "turn" and "active" although having a resonable knowledge of simple Boolean Algebra is IMHO essential when playing this game.

322d ago
Levii_92322d ago

Ridiculous comment, first of all i think you should replay 15, second of all that game is 10 times better than the XIII games especially the royal edition. And third .. turn based combat is a dying (almost dead) style of gameplay and i personally wont miss it at all so don’t act like that is some sort of big plus because XIII has it.. it is not.

jambola322d ago

Somebody needs to learn about subjective taste

shinoff2183322d ago

Ff15

Sucked imo. I don't need to give it another try. Last time was the 3rd time and I had 34 hours into it. It just wasn't good imo

Chriswynnetbh322d ago

How is turn based dying or almost dead? Pokémon is one of the biggest RPGs in the world and is and has always been turn based. To some it is a plus especially when it comes to FF since the first 10 of them all are and are arguably better games than any FF to come after

CDbiggen322d ago

XV was rubbish, but understandable given the development hell. That overworld for me is the biggest example, so strangely designed and empty. And parts of the story awkwardly cut for DLC, most egregious being that prompto part where he's like "I'm a clone", or whatever he was (it was that forgettable), and the other guys basically shrugging it off.

Tapani322d ago (Edited 322d ago )

Turn-based is alive and well: Pokemon, Dragon Quest, XCom, Civilization, Homeworld, Age of Wonders, Total War, Original Sin, Baldur's Gate, Warhammer, Yu-Gi-Oh, Company of Heroes, Wasteland, Pathfinder, Disco Elysium, Octopath Traveler, Chained Echoes and many, many more great games, both new and old, franchises and new IPs are selling well, reviewing well and sequels are coming.

If you don't play the game, maybe the turn-based has just died in/for you, but certainly the genre has never been so alive as in 2023! Plus, when you look at Final Fantasy franchise, it started going down in quality when it left turn-based combat behind. FFXVI may redeem some of the glory (and FFXIV was great), but the turn-based games were higher rated and deeper in terms of gameplay and had more interesting things to do in the world.

DarXyde322d ago

I'd say Persona 5 is one of the best of the best games in a couple of decades.

I don't think you manage that with a dying gameplay format.

shinoff2183322d ago (Edited 322d ago )

Levii92

Turn based is way funner imo then just some hack n slash rpg. I like both but prefer turn based.

Far as dying I doubt it. It's also kinda funny cause the best final fantasy have been turn based. Ff still to this day can't top ff6 through ff9. Interesting.

Far as someone who brought up persona 5. I dislike the art style so I've yet to play it but I'd throw dq11 in there. Best jrpg I've played in fkin years. Over a decade.

Last I was a bit iffy on chained echoes because of the sp and no traditional leveling system. I recently bought it. Looks gorgeous, story is fantastic so far, but I cannot for the life of me get over how much I truly hate the leveling system. It's just flat out whack to me. I'm still going to finish it cause unlike ff15 atleast chained echoes doesn't feel like a chore

goldwyncq322d ago

The XIII series (especially Lightning Returns) has far better combat than XV, and you don't need to watch an anime and a movie to make sense of the story.

FinalFantasyFanatic321d ago (Edited 321d ago )

15 was only fun for derping about in the wilderness, at least FF13 had a better story and was more coherent overall (plot, characters, gameplay, world, ect...).

15 was just beautify garbage, so much wasted potential, the Duke Nukem Forever of the FF franchise.

I really loved Persona 5, can't wait for P6 to be announced, I'd love ports of the first few games (we already have P3P/P4G/P5R available on almost everything now).

+ Show (6) more repliesLast reply 321d ago
sadraiden322d ago

People act like XV killed one of their family members. It wasn't the best FF ever, but it certainly wasn't a bad game. You "hated it so damn much"? Chill.

FinalFantasyFanatic321d ago

I agree, FF13 is better than FF15, but I don't think I can play through that trilogy again, I'd rather play one of the older games.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 321d ago
-Foxtrot323d ago

Not really

Let them move on and focus on good FF games

Hofstaderman322d ago (Edited 322d ago )

Thank you. A ton of FFXIII articles recently. Most of the people who like this game are not old enough to have played 4 to 9. Even 10 and 12 are vastly superior to this game. That being said a remaster would then make all the FF titles available on the PS platform.

jambola322d ago

Citation needed
Do you have some kind of official survey of ff 13 fans ages?
Would love a link
Also, all games are available on multiple systems, re released many times
"Not old enough" doesn't even make much sense

shinoff2183322d ago (Edited 322d ago )

That was part of what I was trying to say. I've gave 15 3 try ff13 deserves atleast a second. And like I said I could use some turn based in my life

I've also played through or played all of the ff games starting with ff1 way way way back.

goldwyncq322d ago

"Good" is subjective. I love FFIX but I know many fans who don't like it for the art style and the slow combat.

I_am_Batman323d ago (Edited 323d ago )

Recently replayed them and I agree a remaster would be great. The complaints about linearity are fair, but they only really apply to the first half of the first game and while I agree that it would've been nice to have proper towns, minigames and subquests, it didn't detract from the intriguing story, interesting characters, tactical gameplay and amazing soundtrack in my opinion.

XIII-2 fixes a lot of the issues of XIII and expands on the story in interesting ways. The combat and progression builds on top of the systems of XIII and the nonlinearity and discoverability of secrets is a big inprovement over the original game. It's easily the best game of the trilogy.

Lightning Returns was probably a bit too experimental for it's own good. It tried to reinvent the wheel for no reason. The solo party for most of the game and the outfit based combat felt like a downgrade over XIII-2 combat system. It does have a unique vibe, but the plot kinda goes off the rails and many of the story beats didn't land as much for me as they did in the first two games. The race against time aspect was an interesting idea, but it never felt like it mattered, because it wasn't much of a challenge to manage the remaining time even while doing all the subquests.

Eonjay322d ago

XIII-2 is one of the greatest games ever.

Snookies12322d ago (Edited 322d ago )

XIII-2 is by far the best of the trilogy. Went out of my way to get the Platinum trophy on it. Which is actually a fun one to go for. Didn't take too long, only about 70-80 hours to accomplish. Loved every second of it though.

Youngindy21322d ago

I don't think linearity is a fair critique, when every FF up until that point was fairly linear esp. in the first half of the game. People herald FF VII(including the remake), but it is just as linear as FFXIII was. The linearity complaints came at a time when open-world games were just starting to become a thing and people thought every game should be open-world, but now that every game is, people now want more linear experiences. Go Figure.

shinoff2183322d ago

Ff10 was pretty linear to. Haven't played through all of 13 but 10 was linear as fk until the end

I_am_Batman322d ago

Totally agree. I never fully understood why 10 was so universally praised when it had many of the same design philosophies xiii is criticized for.

CDbiggen322d ago (Edited 322d ago )

I felt the same for the most part except the LR combat system. I thought it was an upgrade on the party of three system the previous two games had as now you had more control over your moves with different sets being an L1/R1 click away, and could move the single character around in battle and attack limbs or tails of certain enemies, or reduce the distance between you and an enemy you're after saving ATB.

I_am_Batman322d ago

LR combat certainly has it's merits. I would've preferred it if it wasn't tied to the costumes which can make Lightning look quite ridiculous and out of place sometimes though.

But mainly I would've preferred to see an evolution of XIII-2 systems. Since they are so different it's obviously just a preference. Can't really compare them objectively.

CDbiggen322d ago

Yeah I get ya, and I can totally see why the costume part got to people. I'm someone that doesn't care what the character looks like as long as I'm happy with the stats (looking at Xenoblade). LR to me is just one of those odd games that I can't help respect for mixing things up, even if the outcome wasn't the best lol. But yeah too different to compare.

sadraiden322d ago

Why would a remaster be great? They exist in HD, on a console that is still compatible with modern televisions, and you just replayed it.

I_am_Batman322d ago

I replayed them on my PS3. I just think it would make sense for those games to be more accessible to Playstation gamers, which is where the majority of the modern FF fanbase is (due to the exclusivity deals of VII Re and XVI).

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 322d ago
gold_drake322d ago

yes.
remaster collection.

not sure why the hell we never got one.

sadraiden322d ago

Just dying to give SE money for nothing eh?

gold_drake322d ago

i enjoyed the games.
so it wouldn't be for "nothing".

Show all comments (75)
170°

Why The Final Fantasy XIII Trilogy Has Some of The Best Music In The Series

As we celebrate Final Fantasy’s 35th anniversary, let’s look back at the underrated soundtracks of the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy.

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game-grooves.com
goldwyncq480d ago

It really does. Caius’ theme is still one of the best villain themes ever.

SeTTriP479d ago

Barthandelus is a great boss theme to.

Snookies12480d ago

Come on... Even haters of Final Fantasy XIII have to admit the soundtrack really was great. There are some parts of the OST that stand out among even Nobuo's work.

CrimsonWing69479d ago

The battle themes are pretty amazing, man.

gold_drake479d ago

sat what you want about the games, but the soundtrack has always been good.

MehmetAlperTR479d ago

Agreed... Legendary Nobuo Uematsu was not involved with FF13.. So that has got terrible musics.

jambola479d ago

so any game without no Uematsu has terrible music?

MehmetAlperTR479d ago (Edited 479d ago )

@Jambola nope... But in PS1 era we played FF7-8-9 and in a PS2 era FF10... They were all involved with Uematsu San. We grove up with him and his musics.. SO FF means, him and his music to us.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 479d ago
-Foxtrot480d ago

It's alright but I mean with so many other FF games it's not even in the top 10 for me

You just can't beat IX, VII, X and my personal favourite VIII when it comes to music

Even the theme song sucks, instead of just having an English version of the Japanese theme they got X Factors Leona Lewis to do the song which didn't sound like FF theme song.

FinalFantasyFanatic479d ago

Yeah, that ending song was terrible, I'll never be able to fathom why that was chosen, it feels so out of place with that game.

RedDevils479d ago

Lol is was my wtf moment.

SoulWarrior480d ago

I agree, regardless of the general consensus of the game itself, FF rarely lets down when it comes to the music at least.

porkChop480d ago

Nah. VIII has the best music in the series. IX is a close second.

Hofstaderman480d ago

Yes; eyes one me, man with the machine gun, waltz to the moon, the oath, maybe I’m a lion…FF8 has the best music in the series by far. I have the original OST, the orchestra arrangement, the piano arrangement, the Black Mages tracks and a few other albums. My four disc original OST is my pride and joy.

ManMarmalade480d ago

I agree on VIII. I've started growing really fond of X's lately.

GoodGuy09480d ago

Music was pretty good yes. Pretty much all FFs do even the crappy ones lol.

Show all comments (40)
180°

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII Steam Version Patched for Some Reason

After about five years since the last patch was released for Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII Steam version on PC, Square Enix released a new patch today.

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infinitestart.com
Sephiroushin1010d ago

Probably because it didnt work on some amd gpus, same goes for FF13!

antikbaka1010d ago

what about Nier Automata...

vergilxx31009d ago

Read the article maybe?
It clearly says they updated Nier too

gold_drake1009d ago

i find it sich a waste that they didnt release them on the ps4.
i know alot of ppl dont like 13, but 13-2 is amazing ha.

DeathTouch1009d ago

I love 13-2. Addictive battle system, Serah and Noel are pretty cool, the story is a bit all over, but it can be endearing, the villain is interesting and the ending is somber. Good game!

gold_drake1009d ago

ahh the music, dont forget the music! haha

autobotdan1009d ago

They are 4k enhanced on Xbox One X and Xbox Series X

solideagle1009d ago

13-2 battle system was great. Collecting monster and upgrading them was fun. I liked FF X-2 gameplay as well because of monsters.

rpvenom1009d ago

Interesting.. I am one of the few I guess who actually enjoyed 13.. never tried 13-2 though.. maybe I should give it a shot.

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