[17/01] New Lightning Returns Trailer and Screens: Lumina and Noel Featured

[The Welsh Paddy]

I'm waiting to hear news of certain development team members being arrested on grounds of paedophillia. I know she's only a computer game character, but it's still disgusting.

 

[Squid]

i like how people complain that too much emphasis was put on graphics in XIII but when the graphics get worse people complain more. game looks alright, not gonna look too far into it since i literally Give No Fucks right at this moment, but i'll laugh if it turns out to be a solid and enjoyable game.

They did spend too much time on the graphics in FFXIII that they forgot all about making a good story and a good game and good characters. Fans have complained enough about it that they should know better. But now that we know they can do graphics that amazing why would we want them to go backwards? Stick with the good graphics AND come up with a good story, I mean, how hard is that? Really??

Apparently quite hard.

 

[AuronX]

I'm still rather torn on this, personally. Action gameplay mechanics mixed with traditional Final Fantasy elements worked great in Dissidia, so I have faith that SE is capable of making a similar system for this game. I'm not worried about the graphics because all we've seen so far is early alpha/beta stuff--the finished product will be far more polished. But at the same time, I am concerned about the art direction, which neither fits in with the XIII series nor Final Fantasy as a whole, and I am concerned about the storyline, which right now feels like a mish-mash of characters that don't belong together anymore.

There's just enough going for it that I still think this could be a good game. However, I waver between confidence and doubt...guess we'll just have to find out with this one when it releases.

 

[Martel]

Are they SERIOUSLY going to stick with the chessboard tile floor design? Tell me, is the Red Queen going to be in this game as well?

Also, correct me if I'm wrong here - or don't, because I know I'm not - but didn't we already have a game with the vague objective of saving Serah? Isn't she DEAD now? Way to go, Lightning. Embark on a mad quest to resurrect your dead sister whilst the world ends around you. Nice to see that there has been some real character progression since the last instalment: now they're selfish, as well as being stupid. Bravo, Square Enix.

The battle system doesn't fill me with confidence, either...it looks like they just swapped the interface around a bit. Hopefully that'll mean that they've done away with those ridiculous Western gameplay elements that included in XIII-2 - quick time elements in a JRPG, now REALLY - but it looks like this will be another "Mash X frantically to win...or just let the auto-battle do all your work for you" affair. Couldn't they inject at least a little strategy into this system by now? They've had two bloody games to toy with it!

Paradoxically, I like Lumina: just when I thought they couldn't possibly outdo Serah in terms of obvious jailbait, they go and prove me wrong. I have to acknowledge that as a pretty impressive accomplishment...albeit a shallow one, because she's probably going to be some insane reincarnation of Serah, or the future daughter of Lightning and Hope...or Snow and Serah. Or Noel and Serah, just for kicks. Or maybe a clone created by Caius Ballad, who got sick and tired of all this crap and decided to seek his fame and fortune somewhere else...like in the next FFIV port. Who knows. Whatever the case may be, it'll be predictable and not particularly original, because it's FFXIII, and some narrative that actually makes sense or a plot twist that doesn't revolve around something convoluted that is never fully explained is far too much to hope for. I also have to wonder if she's ever impaled anyone on those spiny things sticking out from her shoulder...who the hell designed this fashion?! I know gothic fashion sometimes involves spiky things, but I've never seen anything THAT outrageous. Wouldn't a simple dog collar have sufficed?

Excitement all around, then. One can only wonder what the hell Noel is doing in all of this. Why he wants to kill Lightning I can understand (Who doesn't? I'm pretty sure even Serah wants to by this point) but why he's even relevant anymore is beyond me. How he was even relevant to begin with is beyond me. This is shocking, but I miss Sazh. At least he had a Chocobo in his afro...a Chocobo that grew up to be a slut. Oh, Square Enix. Why you do this?

 

[Linnaete]

Something something Lightning has to free the darkness from people's souls, something something Noel infected by the darkness within him (that Chaos thing), something something he thinks Lightning is an imposter of the real Lightning or something or another.

Kingdom of Lightning Returns: Final Creed XIII. Dear God.

And small bit of trivia. The guy who did FFIX's designs did Lumina's design. Not that it makes much difference because it looks like it was an attempted emulation of Nomura's style anyway.

 

[Razberry Knight]

The series just feels like its trying to be simething more. This game seems like itll be redious as you play one character and not having any party members. I initially had some hope for this but now i sense its just a bad sequel.