PowerGamers

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII is a console action role-playing video game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Released on November 2013 in Japan and set for release on February 2014 in Europe and North America, the game is a direct sequel to Final Fantasy XIII-2, concludes the storyline of Final Fantasy XIII, and forms part of the Fabula Nova Crystallis subseries. Lightning Returns employs a highly revamped version of the gameplay system from the previous two games, with an action-oriented battle system, the ability to customize the player character's outfits, and a time limit the player must extend by completing story missions and sidequests. The story takes place five hundred years after the previous game's ending; Lightning, the main protagonist of the first game and a key character in the second, awakes from a self-imposed hibernation thirteen days before the world's end, and is given the task of saving the people of the dying world, including former friends and allies.

Development of the game started in early 2012, shortly after the release of XIII-2, and was unveiled at a special 25th Anniversary Event for the Final Fantasy series in September that year. Most of the previous games' key creative minds and developers returned, and it was developed by Square Enix's First Production Department. The development team wanted the game to bring a conclusive end to the story of both Lightning and the XIII universe, and also wanted to address criticisms leveled against the last two games. Lightning Returns built upon the gameplay basics of the previous games, while adding new content such as a more action-based combat system, an open world that players could freely navigate, and a mechanic wherein the game's events took place within a certain period of time.

 

Gameplay

The player directly controls the character Lightning through a third-person perspective to interact with people, objects, and enemies throughout the game. The player can also turn the camera around the character, which allows for a 360° view of the surroundings. The world of Lightning Returns, as with Final Fantasy XIII and its sequel XIII-2, is rendered to scale with the character, who navigates the world on foot. In one of the areas, the player can use chocobos, a recurring animal in the Final Fantasy series. The in-game clock runs continuously during normal navigation, with one in-game day equating to one hour in real time. The timer starts out at seven in-game days, but can be extended to a maximum of thirteen days. The timer stops during cutscenes, conversations and battles. Lightning can also pause time using an ability called Chronostasis. The player is able to freely navigate the game's open world layout, explore towns and country areas, and accept quests from various NPCs. The game features four difficulty levels: Easy, Normal, Hard and Super Hard, the latter two of which are unlocked after first completing the game. There is also a New Game+ option, whereby players can start a new game while carrying over their equipment from a previous playthrough.

Quests are directly linked to Lightning's growth: as she completes quests, her stats are boosted, with the main story quests yielding the biggest boosts. Many quests can only be obtained at certain times, since the real-time build of the world means NPCs are in constant movement, and only appear in certain places at a given time. Lighting can also accept quests from the Canvas of Prayers, a post board found in all the main locations. Upon completing NPC-given quests, Lightning is rewarded with a portion of Eradia, spiritual energy retrieved when a person's burden is lifted. Every day at 6 AM game-time, Lightning is drawn back into the Ark, a location where the in-game clock does not progress. Once there, Lightning can give her gathered Eradia to a tree called Yggdrasil and extend the game clock by a set amount. She can also restock on supplies and collect new equipment. Another feature in the game is Outworld Communication, a feature where players can take photos and share them, along with their personal stats and battle scores, on Facebook and Twitter.