Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII

[Glaurung]

This romantic idea that the animal kingdom is cruel free I do not know where comes from. Maybe from documentaries about wild life - they tend to focus on the "strong lion" who "quickly ends the antelope after a fair run/ fight", but they never show the ugly side of it.

Or a pride of lions eating a zebra's hindquarters while the poor animal is trying to crawl away from them with its front legs while screeching out of pain :/

“Give Skyrim a run for its money!” by director Toriyama. The degree of freedom offered in the Wildlands will be much higher, where you’ll also get to ride Chocobos to check out various key points of interest.

Scratch the Doomsday Clock and we might start considering that boast a serious business.


By the way, Frangu, your signature keeps distracting me. I gotta play FFXII

 

[Hisako]

“Give Skyrim a run for its money!”

You know... I'm not sure this is necessarily the right design choice - or at the very least, the paragon that Square Enix should be looking to surpass. Skyrim might have a detailed, beautiful world that feels alive but the vast majority of the actual humanoid characters in the game are two-dimensional cut-outs and the questing clearly becomes a series of random parameter generators. To be quite honest, I think Skyrim isn't so much a great game as it is a game that is great at hiding its flaws under a lot of world-building character.

The Final Fantasy games have always been character-centric, and though most have large, overarching worlds ripe for exploration they're very focused and directed in its plot. Skyrim (and the other Elder Scrolls games, for that matter) tend to meander more, and despite the richness of lore some of them really feel more like a very elaborate sandbox with toys to play around in, rather than a world inhabited by people.

I suspect it won't be an issue at all, but I just hope they don't lose sight of LR's characters/NPCs like Skyrim did. Player choice is great, as long as it's still firmly directed as it has been for the past few games. Well, maybe not XIII-levels of directed.

 

[Blade]

Let's put it this way:

If you want a world with endless questing, go play an MMO.

If you want a world that leads to the Final Fantasy and an epic final battle... Well......

 

[Arianna]

I found this article on Nova Crystallis.

Q1: I think that one of Lightning`s most attractive features is her armpit. Is there a costume that will show off this part of her when she does her victory pose?
A1: Something that shows off her armpit..? Well, there are some revealing sets of costumes. I’m sure you’ll enjoy those.

Really?!?!?!? Fuck it!!! At least I was asking a sensible question, like will we see some more fal'Cie in this game; will we get to interact and learn more about the fal'Cie! Gods!!!



Oh yeah, and this one...

Q7: Why is Hope a young boy?
A7: As of now, thanks to the power of the gods Hope has been returned to the form of a young boy.

 

[Kuja9001]

I found this article on Nova Crystallis.



Really?!?!?!? Fuck it!!! At least I was asking a sensible question, like will we see some more fal'Cie in this game; will we get to interact and learn more about the fal'Cie! Gods!!!



Oh yeah, and this one...

I know wasted question on boring or fetish related crap

 

[Splintered]

iirc armpit thing is some stupid fucking forced meme that started awhile ago in gamefaqs that was obnoxiously pushed in annoying threads by some troll. I can't believe it's still around, and people actually went with that. who the fuck is choosing these questions im going to bed.

EDIT: i c u kuja, correcting people on tumblr.

 

[Blade]

Best thing to do is hope that none of the idiots asking those questions are influencing the game designers and giving them... Bhunivelze forbid... "ideas".

 

[Glaurung]

Q7: Why is Hope a young boy?
A7: As of now, thanks to the power of the gods Hope has been returned to the form of a young boy.

My theory gave way to a more interesting subplot (and that's worrying, knowing that I'm just an amateur writer). This "the gods did it" sounds more like an asspull than anything else, unless they are misleading us.

Anyway, "thanks to the gods"? I'm not so sure that Hope would feel that thankful. I, for one, would be really pissed off if someone returned me to 14 when I finally reached adulthood. But hey, that's just me

 

[Arianna]

My theory gave way to a more interesting subplot (and that's worrying, knowing that I'm just an amateur writer). This "the gods did it" sounds more like an asspull than anything else, unless they are misleading us.

Anyway, "thanks to the gods"? I'm not so sure that Hope would feel that thankful. I, for one, would be really pissed off if someone returned me to 14 when I finally reached adulthood. But hey, that's just me

I said on GameFaq the other day:

Women grow, men shrink.

It's in regards to Lightning's larger bust size, and Hope's smaller - everything.

Poor thing's back to puberty, or pre-puberty!

PS: I'm interested in knowing who's who here while also on GameFaq.

Is Elice here? PM me, if you don't wish to say outloud.

 

[Hisako]

the power of the gods

Which is basically the devs' way of saying "We decided that we liked/preferred having Hope as a shota in order to fulfil some random urge". Kk

 

[Cthulhu]

A pedosexual wizard did it?

 

[Blade]

Oh Japan, why must I love and scorn you both at the same time????

 

[Hisako]

But no seriously I think we have to be keenly aware that this shota stuff has been a thing amongst a certain part of the fanbase since the first XIII and lolSquareEnix

I GUESS THEY'RE LISTENING TO THEIR FANS

 

[Glaurung]

Or maybe they didn't want a handsome, 21-year-old man near Light so the fans can still hope to date her

 

[Farron]

Or maybe they didn't want a handsome, 21-year-old man near Light so Toriyama can still hope to date her

Fixed

 

[Mwynn]

*pops up*

Looks like not much news came out while I was away on a trip. I'm expecting the next big batch of new info to come out at the end of this month.

Anyways, it seems like some new photos haven't been shared in this thread, so I'll go ahead and do it.

Good to see that they have made some improvements on the graphics. Bottom one was the old shot we got months ago.

http://lightning-returns-news.tumblr.com/image/57010871049

Opening scene seems to feature Yusnaan.

http://lightning-returns-news.tumbl.../notanotherdave-cant-wait-cant-wait-cant-wait

More Luxerion pics. They're offscreen shots but I can easily notice that the graphics really have been improved.

Also, regarding Wildlands, finalfantasy.net's admin said that he saw more forests and dungeons in the brief snippet he saw in the Press demo, so I'm looking forward to seeing those.

 

[Blade]

One thing that always bothered me is FFXIII's text and menu fonts.

Whilst the rest of humanity owns an HDTV, I'm stuck with a 19-inch Benq Flatscreen Monitor that can only display things in Composite which is very bad for anti-aliased stuff, or things that are "just so big" that you can barely read them.

This wasn't as much of an issue in XIII-2, but I hope they fix much of the problem in LR.

 

[Lex]

^That's the same with most games on the PS3 or XBox though. Since I don't have an elgato I need to use the old composite cables to stream in Standard Definition and it's ugly as sin. Graphics look fine but text is almost unreadable on any game. You really need to be playing PS3 games in HD these days.

 

[Arianna]

Good to see that they have made some improvements on the graphics. Bottom one was the old shot we got months ago.

Is it me or is that (at least part?!) of the Lindzei fal'Cie symbol on the fence???

 

[Kuja9001]

 

[AvecAloes]

Is it me or is that (at least part?!) of the Lindzei fal'Cie symbol on the fence???

I think that might be a bit of a stretch, honestly. Seems like just a generic shape to me.

 

[Alex Strife]

Somehow, I really like those clothes. But sadly, they won't really fit anywhere in terms of background, other people, etc.

Shame, because I really like that "Feudal Japan" look in games, when it's well done enough.

 

[Mwynn]

You may find this a bit more fitting with the game's environment, then.

Spoiler

Lightning Returns: two new costumes revealed

The Vajra Bodhisattva and Fushikaden.

Two new costumes and accompanying equipment Lightning can wear in Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII have been revealed.

Vajra Bodhisattva (HMV and Lawson special favor)

Vajra Bodhisattva (Costume) – The armor of a wise ruler who honored the heavens and loved his nation, and stuck to the ways of benevolence in a world of wars.
Treasury Palace (Weapon) – Forged as a prayer to the Gods, it was once the cross-shaped lance of a ferocious monk unparalleled in spearmanship.
Warrior’s Return (Shield) – A robust shield covered with a rivet of steel, it is said that it could deflect even a knight’s assault.

Fushikaden (Original Soundtrack first-run bonus)

Fushikaden (Costume) – Fighting as though in a graceful dance, the flowers of a turbulent time fly as you battle in a noble woman’s armor.
Direct Heart Shadow (Weapon) - Standing to face the invaders, protect the nation to the end with the sword of a noble woman.
Charming Folding Screen (Shield) - Like an ancient song composed of a dream-like spectacle, this is a brilliant shield.

For fans ordering the Japanese version of Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII through retailers HMV / Lawson, they’ll be able to get their hands on a new set of items — the Kongo Bosatsu armor and a spear and shield to accompany it. The Fushikaden outfit can be obtained by pre-ordering the Lightning Returns soundtrack, and several samurai outfits will also accompany a pre-order.

Fushikaden and Kongo Bosatsu come together and with a third samurai costume as a pre-order bonus for Lightning Returns in Europe, but specifics for North America have not yet been revealed. However, by pre-ordering today through participating retailers, you will get a Cloud Strife SOLDIER outfit and Buster Sword.

 

[Arianna]

I think that might be a bit of a stretch, honestly. Seems like just a generic shape to me.

It could be.

 

[Lex]

OK so how the hell is this game going to end?

Credit where it's due, never in my life have I predicted the end of a Final Fantasy game - ever. Since it's the end of the trilogy, we can expect something big right?

I'm kinda worried we're gonna do a time-loop back to the end of XIII, but I suppose I wouldn't mind too much as long as Fang and Vanille were unfrozen and the characters remembered everything (assuming it was well written enough). Don't see how they could do that with the crystal pillar though. Thoughts?