There are gonna be some spoilers here, but i used them cause its the only way i found to be able to explain my points about this game, hope this review helps you.
Final Fantasy XIII had the potential to be the best Final Fantasy game, with a concept such as " a world rule by God like machines, harvesting human to do their biding and whether they succeed or not they fate is sealed" you would expect to see tragedy and share a few tears in a world where slavery and ignorance of it is part of the daily living.
When i heard that the first time playing 13 I was so sorry for the characters, I couldn't imagine how where they gonna get away from this dilemma. But final fantasy 13 takes the concept "fantasy" and it takes it over the top, where everything is possible making the hero's of this game get away from dangerous situation in the cheapest and silly ways ever. EX: last scene of the first game when they all turn into monsters and then for a "miracle" they come back to be human again.
Later was reveal in the sequel that this was Etros doing, but how if Square enix did not plan sequels for this game would have the players known about this?
If this wasn't enough, Square took its great concept and decided to presented on a melodramatic, over the top, annoying way, with character that could have being loved but instead many just hated and just a few seems to care about.
Lightning Returns is no exemption. It takes a lot for granted and expect players to go along with it, no matter how ridicules it is.
The good:
--You can custumize Lighting in many different ways, with many different abilities that can be upgraded. There is a lot to look for in that area.
--Fun game play, the best the 13 series has seen so far.
The bad:
-Lightning the almighty: Square enix has try to make people love Lightning in the past, but here they went a little to far. Not only they made her a God like being so she can be the most powerful FF hero, they made her incredibly wise. Nothing escapes her, she know it all. A character will rise a problem or a question and before the player can ask the question on his mind to figure out whats going on, Lightning is already providing the answer. What happened to mystery and finding thing out for yourself?
--The almighty Citizens: Ok so if you thing lightnings knows it all you will be surprise to find that no matter where you go, people knows you are the savior, they know the world is about to end soon, they know about Bunivelze existence, they know everything and you just have to talk with 3 people in the game to know all there is to know here. GODDAMN!
There is no chance for mystery to develop on this game, to make you want to know whats gonna happens next. And you have no idea why everybody know all of this things.
--BUnivelze: who is this guy? where the hell does he come from?is he "the maker" they talk a little about on FF 13? The ultimate enemy is a dude you know nothing about except that everybody else seems to know him for ever. there is no dungeon or secret place to go and dig more info about this dude and you only see him at then end and pretty much just start to fight him.
There is no build up for that fight, it just happens. (by build up i mean what games like Mass effect did with the reapers, or FF7 did with Sephiroth, or MGS3 did with the Boss, they build up the tension withing the protagonist and the antagonist to the point players coudnt wait to fight the antagonist) Im my opinion even Etro would have being more exiting to fight cause is the name that we heard the most through the whole series.
--Citizens want to die: So the world is ending in 13 day, but the people here dont seem to give a crap. Of course! they have live for 500, thats not natural! they want to rest... So why would i want to save this world when the people on it cant wait to die?
--Odin: In a world where no new live can be conceived Odin is reborn as a chocobo... you see whats going on here? no? How was Odin reborn if no new live can be born? Why is Odin a chocobo if he could have come on his horse form and jump even higher? Hell can even walk in the air!
--Caos: the caos is so many things in this game i can even remember if the caos is a good thing or a bad thing. All i can remember is that is eatable... the caos is eatable... my God. This is an example of square throwing a lot of ideas and not picking the best one, instead using them all. Its just too much.
-- Main story is short as hell, you gonna spend 30 or more doing side quest, that are not epic at all, not even decent enough to make for a good adventure game. Silly side quest that takes away the dooms day feeling this game started with. And even worst grinding. Yep that why this game is so long, it takes hours of your day by making you kill the same monster again and and again and again and again and again and again till you start to day dream about another game that is coming soon.
You can say "well people have being living for 500 years, that's why the side quest are silly case they don't care" . Again why should it? Square enix took every idea they throw in the table and put it on a game, no thinking that maybe some of this idea would contradict each other instead of just taking the best ideas and create a congruent fantasy world like past FF.
--Last one: they are purple... Like they didn't event finish coloring them. And the weapons they drop are just as purple. With such small bestiary couldn't they make the last one at least a little original instead of just painting them purple? or at least the weapon they drop? cause man i didn't like having they purple thing on my back, it was unconformable for my eyes and my sense of reality.
--Snow: why is he a cieth, when he became one ( i saw it he was already one on FF13-2 but what happened?) what was his purpose? Who turn him into one? and if this answers are written on a magazine or something outside the game, then Square is again taking for granted that fans will find this things out, cause i have no idea what is going on with this dude.
--Last ones again: i kill all the the monsters just to find out that you can kill the last one without having to kill all of this monsters on the 13 day secret dungeon... Well my bad, cause in a world that is about to end anyways why did i wasted my time killing them in the first place.
--Hope: why is he a kid, what happen to him?
--No strong antagonists: yea you get to fight Caius again, but why? There is really no reason to go there, he is no even trying to stop you, expect for Noel no one is trying to stop you from your mission. There is no fight to look forward in this game.
You can say that the Caos on Valhalla is reason enough to go and fight Caius, but hey I went there, i fought the guy and Lightning just left the place like nothing she say about how dangerous this caos was on my way to fight Caius was important on the first place.
--Ending: I have no problem with fantasies, i love them and the reason why i love the FF series is because they take me to worlds that are just a delight to explore, but FF 13 series does not know when its too much. The ending in this game is complete nonsense, i mean where did everybody came from? why are they alive on space?
Bonus: Another cheap way square helps lighting get out of trouble is with Serah double, yes its a fake, created by Lightnings mortal enemy Bunivelze, but this fake instead of doing her job, for no reason betrays his master and helps lightning, because the fake "loves her" WHAT THE HELL!?
--Conclusion
They game is final FANTASY, yes, but this is an example of a game going overboard with ideas that are just so simple but ridicules, that are not strong enough or congruent enough to sustain this fantasy game, it just falls apart.
I know im missing some more crap that i found in this game and didn't like but whatever, the point is that this game is disappointing.
I hated 13, i stop playing it, but i decided that i was gonna end it and i did, gave it a change with 13-2 which is not a good game but it has the most sincere characters of the whole series Noel and Serah and play this one, not only to give Square a change but to support them as they have bring a lot of entertainment in my live and good times.
But this is a series that i wouldn't recommend, i have no idea why they made it a trilogy other than they had this plan for the very beginning and just didn't work as they thought it would. If you wanna play this after reading this review and Kevin's my advice is to be patience and wait for price drop.
I don't hate this game, I'm glad it exist, and i hope i has being a experience for square to learn what works and what does not and create great games as they used to do before this one. At the end of the day after 12 FF games that have being so much fun i can give square this one.