Road to E3 - Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII

@acelogan1989 Essentially everything apart from graphics is a step down from previous versions (and in some aspects, many steps down). 

There have been three staples in the Final Fantasy series - Gameplay, Story, and Ambience (by which I mean graphics, music, and 'feel' of a place).

The story was virtually non-existent in FFXIII, indeed, compared to previous Final Fantasies one was left thinking it had just got through the introduction, when it had virtually finished! FFXIII-2 was full of plots holes, and then finished with a spit in the eye of the gamer with the final ending. (There was an 'ending' and then you are encouraged to fully complete the game.) This final ending was so unsatisfactory for a game, that most people were instantly incensed by it. I, myself, gave FFXIII-2 a lower rating than the original, despite thinking that in some ways it was an improvement on the original. At least, for example, they tried to make a story, even if it was full of plot holes.

Unlike previous Final Fantasies the music is instantly forgettable at best, with a few pieces of music memorable only for the thought of "what the 'f' were they doing thinking it was a good idea to do that?" But the graphics are pretty darn good. Final Fantasy has continued its habit of amazing you with how good their graphics are with each game. Doesn't matter how good the previous one seemed to you at the time, their next one will be more realistic. Unfortunately, you feel that they concentrated so much on the graphics they forgot about the actual game itself. Which leads us to the feel of the place. This was an area they desperately tried to alter in FFXIII-2 compared to the original... which will tell you just how bad it was in FFXIII considering all the things they didn't bother to fix. It's... soulless. There doesn't feel like there is any heart to the game. You're left wondering why you are bothering trying to save the world when it doesn't feel like it actually exists in the first place. Like I said, the sequel was actually an improvement in this respect.

Gameplay... Ugh. The less said about this the better. It is without a doubt the worst gameplay in the entire series. There's been 'meh' battle systems before, but none have been actively *bad* in the way XIII is. There is essentially no strategy. What difficulty there is relates only to how fast you can push buttons. And that is only when it comes to the top echelons of the enemies you face. You could beat the entire game practically blindfolded.

There are other aspects I could criticise (for example the... *ahem*... minigames) but I won't. Actually. DLCs are a curse on the modern game. Never buy them. Ever. They don't give you extra content. They take content out of a game and then sell it for more money. 

Essentially FFXIII is a JRPG aimed at those person who don't like JRPGs, and thus their established fan base hated it.

@acelogan1989 never played any at all...

@acelogan1989 FF XIII and XIII-2 are great. XIII is very linear, but fun. XIII-2 opens up bit more and is equally as good. If you like the Japanese style of storytelling then go get these two games. They're really cheap now.

Plus, the combat is the best in the ENTIRE series.

@acelogan1989 No. Don't listen to the haters. Still better than much garbage we've got this generation. But sure, i was as well expecting a bit more.

I have to disagree with you when it comes to ff 13-2. Even though it was no where near the quality of older ff games, I found the story was decent and had one of the best antagonists in any final fantasy. Also I found the ending to be a breath of fresh air for the series.

@MagneticFusion The story isn't ended yet. I MUST know what happens!!

@wexorian We want Versus 13, but apparently Square prefers to give people everything except for what they want.

@bowlingotter It wasn't nearly as good as some people make it out to be either. It was a decent 7.5-8/10 game. FF7-10 were masterpieces.

@bowlingotter 13 wasnt bad, the linearity i could cope with abit as they were fugitives in the story, but 13 -2 was just the worst ive ever played. i bought the dlc for 13-2 coz i tot they would hav some closure, but nope, dun buy the DLCs btw, they suck and they're boring.

@bowlingotter Actually, I must agree that XIII wasn't as bad as people say. Sure it wasn't the best FF, but it wasn't abysmal either. I also enjoyed XIII-2 and it actually felt more addictive than the original, so I am eager to see what they do with XIII-3.

In saying all that though, to me it would have been better if they finished Versus XIII first rather than pumping out sequels for XIII, which are nice, but also not completely necessary.

@bowlingotter I too happen to agree. FFXIII was not that bad at all. I honestly have yet to  play a "bad" Final Fantasy as each experience is different. It's almost cruel to compare each entry to one another for that reason alone. FFXIII-2 was an improvement over it's predecessor in many ways. I'm not all that excited for the latest entry but I am curious as to what has become of Lightning. All in all though I think I would just like for SquareEnix to put more focus in the actual story telling and less into innovation. What made the earlier entries so great to me wasn't voice acting-or graphics-or battle system-but the story telling. That's what drew me into the world of Final Fantasy. The ability to make someone care about a fictional character(s)-will always trump innovation in my book because I-personally-am not looking for a new way to play Final Fantasy-I'm just looking for another Final Fantasy to get lost in.

@bowlingotter Na im right with you i kinda liked FF13 but felt sorta bitch slapped when they made a sequel to it and not finishing up Versus 13( Big Reason i bought a PS3 in the first place).

@kierwinyoung That's basically what Versus 13 was going to be. Just hope that someday it actually comes out.

@Emerald_Scott Well don't let the bad reviews discourage you. Because I have noticed that most people that complained about xiii were old Final Fantasy fans, by old school i mean v, vi, vii and viii fans. The Final Fantasies back then were different in tone and mood. However I have noticed that newer fans of the series who think the old titles are overrated do like xiii alot. I have also noticed J-RPG fans who tend to like these sort of games mainly for gameplay and care not for the characters and story as much enjoyed XIII and also enjoyed the older ones as well. I am an old school Final Fantasy fan meaning I like games like FFVII, VI and V. I also liked games like Xenogears, Xenoblade and Xenosaga.  When I pick up a square title I expect certain elements which I believe XIII lacks and so I hate it, there are many like me, but to you it might be completely different. I would say play XIII and then Play VII, if VII is too much for you due to the graphical inferiority I would say give FF VII crisis core on the psp a shot. See which of the two styles you like. If you enjoy XIII then I assume you would enjoy all XIII sequels, you would enjoy X-2 and maybe even X. If you like FFVII or Crisis Core you will really like the older titles including IV, V, VIII and maybe even IX and X. Or if you are really open minded you might even like all of them. So my advise play XIII and VII and compare. 

@Emerald_Scott FFXIII got a bad rap. It wasn't one of the best FF games but it wasn't bad at all. It does take a while to get rolling, though. It's also worth it to get to FFXIII-2, which improved on a lot of things over the previous game.

@Emerald_Scott Wait for the FF10 HD version that is coming out and buy that one.

@gwokage Lighting IS old .... She looks like an old boring plastic doll and does not seems to have any kind of feelings......Lightining is the most boring character I ever seen....