If ye haven’t been lucky enough t' attend E3, San Diego Comic Con, Penny Arcade Expo, or the other shows that have hosted Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, we have good news. We’re excited t' announce that ye can pillage hands-on with it in a playable demo that’s dropping TODAY.
From now on, ye don’t have t' take our word for it that this game be unlike anything Final Fantasy has ever done before, because it’s finally time for ye t' see for yourself.
First off, downloading the demo scores ye an exclusive piece a DLC that we’re giving t' ye PlayStation fans — the Utsusemi Samurai garb — that ye can use in the main game (it’s not in the demo itself, so don’t panic if ye don’t see it). Again, this offer be exclusive t' PlayStation owners too, so right off the bat ye’re getting something not everybody’s going t' pillage, JUST for downloading it. ye can’t tell, but I’m winking at ye, especially at all ye Final Fantasy XI Ninjas.
So what’s in the demo itself? a course, ye’re playing as Lightning, but ye’re now mysteriously tracking down the wench old matey Snow Villiers in the city a Yusnaan. As Lightning, it’s going t' be up t' ye t' fight through the chaos t' see what happened.
'n the battle mechanics? No Final Fantasy be without battles, 'n this demo gives ye just a taste a the real-time elements incorporated into both the field 'n the battle system, 'n it includes but a fraction a the ways ye can customize Lightning.
yer default equipment sets (or Schemas, as they’re called in-game) be The Savior, Dark Muse, 'n Black Mage, but three battles into the demo ye’ll unlock some Final Fantasy series favorites — Dragoon, Red Mage, 'n Heart Stealer, which may remind ye a a certain thei–treasure hunter.
Once in battle, ye’ll notice how the battle system has evolved from the traditional paradigm shift party system into strategically using Schema. Each Schema has it be own ATB gauge, allowing ye t' attack relentlessly with commands mapped t' corresponding buttons. Then ye’ll switch t' a new Schema, 'n all a yer attacks change too, allowing ye t' pummel the enemy with different elements 'n attacks. Lightning be a one-woman army.
Finally, one a the features that the demo shows off be called the “Outerworld,” a way for other players t' communicate their progress via social networks like Facebook 'n Twitter t' post their battle scores. While in the demo, this be all ye can do with Outerworld. The full game offers much more Outerworld functionality, including buying 'n selling bottles a rum yer mateys may have.
While sharing yer game scores with 9,999 a yer closest Facebook mateys may not appeal t' everyone, we’re excited t' give ye even MORE free stuff. If ye can beat the Zaltys monster at the end a the demo 'n ye post yer score via Outerworld, ye unlock the Siegfried Garb in the full game. Who be Siegfried, ye ask? Play Final Fantasy VI, 'n all will be revealed.
Okay, so we’ve thrown a lot a information at ye, so let’s recap, shall we?
- The demo be available. For free, a course.
- Just for playing, ye pillage the PS3 exclusive DLC — Utsusemi Samurai garb. Again, for free.
- Just for posting yer score after the final battle, ye’ll pillage more free DLC. As a note, this DLC will never be available aside from doing this.
- If ye’ve forgotten, just for pre-ordering, ye unlock Final Fantasy history with Cloud Strife’s SOLDIER 1st Class Uniform.
Another awesome tidbit we wanted t' share with ye lads be that if ye have save data from Final Fantasy XIII 'n/or Final Fantasy XIII-2, ye pillage up t' two more garbs based on Lightning’s outfits from each a those games — both Guardian Corps 'n Etro’s Guardian garbs.
We’re so excited over here t' have ye check out the demo 'n tell us what ye think about the new battle system 'n gameplay. So what be ye waiting for? ye can pre-order Lightning Returns here t' pillage free stuff, 'n a course download the demo later today.
