Final Fantasy XIII-3 Lightning Returns Review

The following article was contributed by KSI Barrykinz. The News Team thanks him for his contribution and is open to future contributions from anyone in KSI. Thank you!

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Final Fantasy XIII-3 Lightning returns was one of the biggest let downs in this Final Fantasy franchise from a convoluted battle system to a mediocre, almost horrid script writing that makes me wonder what is Square Enix thinking. Are they thinking?

Lightning Returns starts 500 years after the events of Final Fantasy XVIII-2 with the rose headed protagonist awaking into a world being taking over by Chaos. Bhunivelze, the higher being that exist in the Final Fantasy XVIII universe conveys to Lightning that the world has thirteen days left and a new world will be created. Ita??s Lightninga??s job to save as many souls in those thirteen days and offer them to the world tree.

She is assisted on this mission by no other than the worst character Square has ever created, Hope. To top it off, he is back as a pestering boy as he was in the first series.

These three games have changed so much that the only things that connect them together are the character models and the garbled story. Goodbye Paradigm. Goodbye Crystarium. Goodbye conventional leveling up. Goodbye grinding.

The battle system now revolves around custom made schemata that change your assigned skills on the fly. Square lifted one of the best things from Final Fantasy X-2 and threw it into Lightning Returns. As you change your schemata, lightning changes her garb, weapon and accessories.

The story is broken down into five main quests instead of chapters in this game to initially be completed in seven days. Little known to you, completing the side quest will unlock up to thirteen days. The leveling up in this game levies more to the completionist and only gives you stats boosts once you finish a quest.

One of my favorite things to do in a Final Fantasy game is to explore a?-h to find those random encounters that give me those rare drops, but in this game seems to discourage that by design. Certain areas of the map are open from certain times in the 24 hour clock, thus making you decide what quests and areas to explore at certain times.

Four out of the five main quests are available at the start, opening up the game for you to complete it in any order that pleases you, or even all at the same time.

Okay leta??s address something that has bothered me throughout this game. The character development in this game is the worst Ia??ve ever seen. I felt more emotionally connected to Crash Bandicoot than I did any of these characters.

Ita??s been HUNDREDS of years and Lightning is the same. Sure you could say shea??s been in ice. Sure. Ia??ll give you that. What about Hope? Same old hope. Snow is just as angry as ever. And Sazh.. I mean Sazh is as lost as ever. When do people grow? Surely not in this series. You might find more development if you read fan-fic.

This game left me with a bad taste in my mouth. After dropping 50 hours into it, I felt that I got nothing in return. Thankfully this is the last in this series. It makes me skeptical on any further releases of Square. It makes me not even want them to release Final Fantasy XV. Let it stay vaporware and let my mind create the kind of Final Fantasy game I long for.