Lightning Returns is the conclusion of the trilogy, Final Fantasy XIII , the latest entry in the main series of the venerable JRPG franchise. Despite the merit of trying to synthesize new elements in the frame that handled the saga so far, the game suffers from a very poor integration between its mechanism of tense and aspect exploration of history also presents subquests that although they are necessary to complete the story and improve your stats, they become boring and tedious for the neglect and lack of interest in your design.
The plot of Lightning Returns is essentially apocalyptic: 500 years after the end of the previous game, Lightning awakes from their long sleep in a crystal Chrysalia Nova world, doomed to be destroyed in just 13 days. Bhunivelze God, creator of the fal’Cie deities of the previous installments, choose Lightning as the savior of the souls of mankind and as guidance for a new creation. In return, Bhunivelze Lightning promises to revive her sister Serah in their new universe. Hope Estheim, who has returned to being a teenager, now returns as guardian of the cosmic tree Yggdrasil, the only barrier to the Sea of Chaos that threatens to devour the world. Lightning now must work with Hope to save as many souls in the 4 main regions of Nova Chrysalia: the grim LUXERION the Yusnaan hedonistic, and the wilds of Dead Dunes and Wild Lands.
The characters from the previous games (like Snow, Vanille, Noel, Fang and Caius) are back, but have been deeply affected by the situation in Nova Chrysalia, a place with no old age but in which nothing can be born, a kind of purgatory where people expect a new beginning. Besides going in search of his old friends, Lightning will be persecuted and tormented by Lumina, a strange girl with demonic powers capable of controlling chaos and mysteriously like Serah. In broad outline, the story has a flavor heretical Christianity (distantly like Bayonetta ) by the tension between a god and a celestial ambivalent heroine: Lightning is a kind of messiah rebellious acts as the savior of humanity and skeptical eventual enemy of the gods. Gorgeous and very well made cutscenes tell the story of this new conflict, but the problem is that it feels like an addition or prosthesis somewhat inconsequential to the line of events that had handled so far, despite work quite well for those who do not know the other 2 parts and give a welcome conclusion to the adventures of Lightning unnecessarily longer.
If anything characterizes the trilogy Final Fantasy XIII is the variation that you provided in your design scenarios, from the linearity of the first to the second multiplicity of temporalities and almost open world of this latest installment. In this design a timing mechanism reminiscent of titles added as Majora’s Mask : In the beginning you have only 7 days to explore the place and solve its 5 main quests before the apocalypse, but then have an opportunity to extend this period if you meet enough quests secondary. Powers as Chronostasis allow you to pause the flow of time and explore, but overall, as warns Hope, need take care of your time to choose the right plan and what souls give in your search. However, the design of the game and its missions, from enjoying all that the title has to offer in a single game, the downside is not being integrated as naturally as in Majora’s Mask , which lets certain dissatisfaction.
However, the line of the main missions in different cities has elements of temporal constraint due to the time at which certain events occur, this in order to give time to dedicate to much needed side quests that allow you to improve your stats , get money, clothing and weapons, plus the precious energy required Eradia El Salvador Bhunivelze plan. As you may have noticed, the main premise of Lightning Returns reminiscent of films like Wings of Desire or games like Dragon Quest IX: Centinels of the Starry Sky , a messenger of God who tries to solve the small problems of earthly souls. While it is commendable willingness renewal and newness to bet on this system, a regrettable and deplorable defect is the generic design of the side missions, which makes them a nasty load. His boredom could almost make us consider the title a kind of single player MMORPG, ie, zero degree, the nadir of RPG design. Because there is no way to upload your stats by killing enemies, completing all subquests lies precisely design the weakest link.
The combat is a modified version of the system of the previous installments, the Command Synergy Battle, now renamed Change Style-Active Time Battle, incorporating real-time elements. As the name suggests, the essence of this mechanism is the changing styles of battle by the called schemata, ie boxes that you can switch skills with your wardrobe. Each outfit gives access to different configurations of abilities and moves with its own action bar, so you need to go from one style to another to maintain a constant and efficient flow of attacks. Also returns a chance to stun the enemy with effective punches (“staggering”), plus the EP Abilities that allow us to do things like manipulate time are present. There is a slight interaction between the map and the actual battles with the new system starts, in which you can attack the enemy before going into battle to gain a slight advantage. The combat system is solid and satisfying, but unfortunately no use to improve your character and the lone party of this game (which can only control Lightning) is gloomy, monotonous long run.
The graphic is sadly one of the most unequal points Lightning Returns due to the contrast between the magnificent videos that narrate the crucial points of the story and deplorable appearance of certain elements in the in-game, especially the incredibly poor textures. At this point, the game is an aging relic of the previous generation, which certainly hurts a series based on the visual spectacle and presentation of first line that characterizes it. In terms of music there is not much to say: it works and is of high quality, as is often the franchise, although it is difficult to get involved in the distant and cold frame. In conclusion, Lightning Returns framework integrates a solid fighter but lacking utility and unfortunate consequences in its semi-open design decisions. It has a twist that fails to integrate seamlessly with proper apocalypse with a universe that also captures our attention long enough for your salvation excites us. The world of Lightning Returns can be seen as an allegory of the state of the main series Final Fantasy : a showcase of a frozen beings, free from old age but sentenced to a sterile purgatory and hopeless timeout. No doubt this desolate responsible for the franchise’s commitment to deify the cold and cruel muse Lightning, who never quite convince. This is another version of the story of Pygmalion, the legendary sculptor whose only wish was that his creation, Galatea, to life. Too bad this muse never managed to have enough magic for us to love Him also.
