Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII

[OneWingedDemon]

Armor that looks like it might actually *GASP* offer some protection?

 

[Fighter]

^ Knowing their usual designs I'd wait until she turns around.

EDIT: Oh, wait it's fan made. Figures.

 

[Fangu]

Like most of FFVII and FFVIII?

Okay, rephrase that to "too westernized to be XIII." VII and VIII didn't have the pink hair. XIII was much more neo; it had the spacey clothes, the green hair, etc. Now if that's not your cuppa tea, I can understand why you'd want Lightning to look like something out of any West produced game. But look at her pink hair with that very brown outfit. Doesn't it look kinda... clashy?

@concept, it looks a bit less silly than the original design imho, but also more conservative / less daring. Also, lacks flaps for showing off the physics engine in-game,

Yes. FF The XIII series is all about fluent movements, details, elegance, speed. It has that spaced out different style that I love.

What I'm trying to say is, I love even the cookyness of those games because it takes me somewhere else. If I want to watch brown and dirty, I watch Game of Thrones. Which I also love, but it's a totally different universe. Context is extremely important.

 

[Roger]

Okay, rephrase that to "too westernized to be XIII." VII and VIII didn't have the pink hair. XIII was much more neo; it had the spacey clothes, the green hair, etc. Now if that's not your cuppa tea, I can understand why you'd want Lightning to look like something out of any West produced game. But look at her pink hair with that very brown outfit. Doesn't it look kinda... clashy?


Yes. FF The XIII series is all about fluent movements, details, elegance, speed. It has that spaced out different style that I love.

What I'm trying to say is, I love even the cookyness of those games because it takes me somewhere else. If I want to watch brown and dirty, I watch Game of Thrones. Which I also love, but it's a totally different universe. Context is extremely important.

Lightning's new outfit is in a whole new style compared to the original game as it is. They could've just as easily gone in a different direction when designing the Lightning Returns era.

 

[Fangu]

Lightning's new outfit is in a whole new style compared to the original game as it is. They could've just as easily gone in a different direction when designing the Lightning Returns era.

Yeah but I still wouldn't want it to be totally middle age. You can tone down the colors without going totally brown.

 

[Mwynn]

First look of the Dead Dunes. http://www.finalfantasy.net/lrff13/dead-dunes-lightning-returns/

 

[Lex]

“The latest report focuses on the Dead Dunes – the desert location set in the game’s world of Nova Chrysalia. This area is dotted with numerous ruins and Lightning can slide around to explore the landscape. The magazine also reveals a new ability for Lightning – dubbed “Overclock.” This ability can slow down time and is said to be her “ace in the hole” or trump card. The Overclock ability is activated through GP – a new type of point system.

If you look closely, Lightning is fighting some sort of dragon enemy in the sands, and in another screen is wearing what looks like a new outfit.

Screens:

Source.

 

[Cthulhu]

That's a very, uh, interesting outfit, .

Also, I knew Lightning's real name was something French, but speaking it?

 

[Kuja9001]

The Thirteenth Ark?

 

[Splintered]

Pretty sure that outfit is the same outfit we've seen before, although I forget what it's called. The one with the Odin tramp stamp.

The Thirteenth Ark?

That would be awesome. I enjoyed XIII-2 for what it was but they pumped out that game so fast that I felt they could have expanded it more. XIII-2 was a gold mine of unused concept art locations, and I think exploring wtf the arks were would have been awesome. Also not using Eden in Oerba and underwater Lake Bresha is almost criminal because those concepts looked awesome, but oh well.

 

[Blade]

I got this really crazy GUT feeling that Nova Chrysalia is going to be the setting for "Versus XIII"...maybe a thousand years hence from Lightning Returns...but still...

 

[Splintered]

I got this really crazy GUT feeling that Nova Chrysalia is going to be the setting for "Versus XIII"...maybe a thousand years hence from Lightning Returns...but still...

Since my first pet theory was shot down, my new one is like this.

Only except Versus XIII, it's going to be connected to Type-0, because XIII-2's original concept was going to have it connected to that game before they scratched that out.

But if Lightning is going to guide souls to a "new world" then the rebooted world could easily be Type-0 or Versus. I have a feeling that the "happy ending" is Lightning not stopping the end of the world, but securing everyone's soul to be reborn or something. It would be happy but bittersweet.

And a part of me is not sure how I feel about that. I kind of want everyone to go back to their original time, be with their families, and be happy like at the end of XIII. It makes the original game feel sort of... hollow? It's sad to think that Nora spent the rest of their lives waiting for Serah and Snow to come back because they were like family, but they never did. And they probably wondered about their fates for the rest of their lives.

 

[Blade]

Caius says the Chaos flowing out from Etro's gate has the power to "destroy the past", so that 'past' with Team Nora might not even exist anymore...

My theory is all the fragmented bits of the timeline got pancaked into a rift-like simultaneous existence (read: Time Compression ala FFVIII), and anything that survived those events became immortal and got thrust into whatever current era (if it can even be called as such) Nova Chrysalia became.

 

[Splintered]

I think my only issue with that would mean though that potentially everybody no matter what the time, including pre-Cocoon days, would be stuck there was well, and that's a lot of people, plus how would you determine the age they get sent. I suppose there could be some sort of filtering in that somewhere though. Because I honestly like that idea rather than have it at a select time.

Time in general is all kinds of wonky in XIII's franchise. Even in LR where time doesn't exist yet clocks counting down still work, and they already abolished the thirteenth hour because of weird issues with the world ending. I'm not sure if I want to elaborate more to make it have more sense, or that it's so completely silly that instead of trying to define it better, just let them go wild with the concept without worrying to much later on.

 

[Kuja9001]

Caius says the Chaos flowing out from Etro's gate has the power to "destroy the past", so that 'past' with Team Nora might not even exist anymore...

My theory is all the fragmented bits of the timeline got pancaked into a rift-like simultaneous existence (read: Time Compression ala FFVIII), and anything that survived those events became immortal and got thrust into whatever current era (if it can even be called as such) Nova Chrysalia became.

http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Phantom_Village

 

[Mwynn]

Pretty sure that outfit is the same outfit we've seen before, although I forget what it's called. The one with the Odin tramp stamp.

Two more new screens:

Official description of the Dead Dunes:

The Dead Dunes: A lifeless desert within which rests a holy relic.
This region is covered with endless desert sands as far as the eye can see. Within it can be found the shanties which form a base for treasure hunters seeking their fortune in the arid wilderness, as well as ancient ruins said to conceal a divine treasure. Many monsters with a character unique to the area appear in this region, such as the sand swimming fiends of the open desert and the undead horrors that lurk within the ruins.

It's even more possible that that tower in the back of that screen Kuja pointed is the Thirteenth Ark, as it was mentioned in a fragment that the ark was protecting some kind of heavenly vault.

 

[Jiro]

Dead Dunes looks pretty great.

 

[Alex Strife]

"Is that the stolen treasure?" is what she said in that French line.

 

[Drax]

Also, I knew Lightning's real name was something French, but speaking it?

French is rusty, but I think she's saying, "Here it is, the desired treasure?"

EDIT: Ninja'd by Alex. (10 hours ago)

 

[Mwynn]

More screens:

(ooo I like the guy's outfit *ignores what Light is wearing*)

The screens are looking better, huh (and considering these are all LQ ones). I expect the game to receive even more refinements until it comes out.

 

[Blade]

Lightning's real name is "Eclaire Farron" (Claire in the English ver).

Also, this game is reminding me more and more of Legend of Zelda for some reason.

 

[Splintered]

Other screens/english/concept art explained

 

[Kuja9001]

The leader is good ol Snow Villiers.

 

[Splintered]

The leader is good ol Snow Villiers.

Is that the screenshot someone was talking about a "leader?" I heard it might be Snow, but I secretly wanted a half-Cieth'd Snow pop up. Oh well.

They could be talking about Hope, but if she meets them in the Dusty Dunes, it's likely that area doesn't up till later and she meets Hope before that.

 

[Kermitu Kleric Katie]

I hope Snow returns is this game. Sazh better return as well. Those two were my favorite characters in FFXIII.