Pressure's off: What Square can accomplish with Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
This is a column by Kat Bailey dedicated to the analysis of the once beloved Japanese RPG sub-genre. Tune in every Wednesday for thoughts on white-haired villains, giant robots, Infinity+1 swords, and everything else the wonderful world of JRPGs has to offer.
It's been a long, strange ride for Final Fantasy XIII. From long delays and substantial disappointment, it has lately seen its stock fluctuate wildly between the improved reception afforded Final Fantasy XIII-2 and the rumors of Final Fantasy Versus XIII's demise. Now Square Enix has a chance to make its definitive statement on the series with Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII - an ambitious sequel that defies the accusations that Square is only out to squeeze a few more dollars out of its expensive engine.
As 1UP's extensive preview points out, this is pretty much Lightning's show now. The battle system has been completely rebuilt to showcase her specific talents. The rest of the cast is out, and so are the battle menus. Lightning Returns isn't quite a full-on action RPG, but it looks pretty close. The only real holdovers are the omnipresent Active Time Battle gauges that moderate the use of each of Lightning's moves, which are mapped to the face buttons on the controller.
It's a move that will prove divisive as always, but I can't hate the reasoning behind it. The pressure's off. Final Fantasy XIII is very much a known quantity. If this is truly to be the grand finale for an already-controversial set of games, why not be as experimental as possible?
It's been a long, strange ride for Final Fantasy XIII. From long delays and substantial disappointment, it has lately seen its stock fluctuate wildly between the improved reception afforded Final Fantasy XIII-2 and the rumors of Final Fantasy Versus XIII's demise. Now Square Enix has a chance to make its definitive statement on the series with Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII - an ambitious sequel that defies the accusations that Square is only out to squeeze a few more dollars out of its expensive engine.
As 1UP's extensive preview points out, this is pretty much Lightning's show now. The battle system has been completely rebuilt to showcase her specific talents. The rest of the cast is out, and so are the battle menus. Lightning Returns isn't quite a full-on action RPG, but it looks pretty close. The only real holdovers are the omnipresent Active Time Battle gauges that moderate the use of each of Lightning's moves, which are mapped to the face buttons on the controller.
It's a move that will prove divisive as always, but I can't hate the reasoning behind it. The pressure's off. Final Fantasy XIII is very much a known quantity. If this is truly to be the grand finale for an already-controversial set of games, why not be as experimental as possible?
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