Final Fantasy XIII - 3 : Lightning Returns

Overview

Final Fantasy XIII - 3 : Lightning Returns (shortened to FF:LR from here on out) is the third game set in the universe of Final Fantasy 13. Being in the same universe it has everything you could expect from that meaning we have returning characters, expanded stories and returning areas. The game has many similar features to all other final fantasy games (And more to the two preceding games,) but it also has a lot of newer features which fits in nicely with the older features.

Story 7/10

This game follows on from the previous two games and is set just before the world is going to end. Lightning is once again the main protagonist and her role is to collect peoples souls so that when god Bhunivelze creates a new world free of chaos the souls may populate that world. Lightning must battle through the chaos, against old friends and some new ones to free their souls. The world Itself only has 7 days remaining but it is going to take 13 days for the new world to be ready. Can lightning make it in time? Can she keep the chaos back for long enough? These questions will be answered throughout the game.

The story in itself is a pretty good story but it is much to short, there is only a handful of missions in the main story although they are good there isn't enough which is where the problem is and why this doesn't get a higher rating.

Depth 9/10

FF:LR is full of things to do and a lot of customisation from the equipment you wear (Swords,shields and attacks) to the clothes that you wear (And the colour of them.) Every piece of equipment is useful in its own way and gives you a lot of choice with what you would like to do. Combine this with allowing three different 'outfits' in battle which gives a total of 3 swords, 3 shields and 12 attacks there is nearly an unlimited amount of different combinations you can make out of these. Admittedly not all of these combinations will be effective but it allows you to play the game the way you want to.

The next thing I'm going to talk about is the amount of missions in the game. There is four different areas in the game with each area having its own main quest, side quests and canvas of prayer (basically a monster material hand in mission board.) Between these you have about 20-30 missions per area with varying difficulty (Ranging from one star to three stars) and each giving you its own reward. This means you have well over 100 quests to do and only 13 days to complete as many as you can! You will have to prioritise some quests over others and that choice is all yours, would you rather go monster slaying or help find some medicine for a sickly father? That is your choice.

Addictiveness 7/10

FF:LR takes a bit of a stumble with its addictiveness as many of the side quests are either gather these materials or kill these monsters until you have enough of their items. This in itself makes the game quite repetitive without having a second run but there are also quite a few redeeming factors into having a second run at the game as well, one of them being an unlock-able hard mode after completing the game for the first time. Another reason to replay the game is to change the order you complete the game. Seeing as you get stronger the further you progress the game you may find some enemies or bosses too easy and you would like to fight them whilst weaker to see what it would of been like. Another reason to replay the game is to try out a number of different outfits and attacks you may not have used on your first play-through.

The reason this only got a 7 and no higher is that there is a lack of enemies. Most of them are either similar to each other or there is too few of them. There is approximately 40 unique enemies in the game so you will be fighting the same ones over and over again through the game which can get boring quite fast.

Graphics 6/10

The graphics of FF:LR are nothing special and a lot of them are re-used models from the first two Final Fantasy 13 games which have been around since 2009(JP) and 2010(INT) so the models are outdated by 3 years. This may not seem like a long time but in 3 years we have had a lot of technical advancement in models and it really shows if you compare it to other games that come out at the same time. The game would have got lower scores if it wasn't for the spectacular look of some of the backgrounds and the cutscenes.

Sound 9/10

What can I say about the sound of FF:LR other than it has a great soundtrack and both English and Japanese voice acting. On the subject of voice acting it may seem that it shouldn't be that big of a deal but a lot of players like to keep the game as similar to how it was originally as possible and keeping the original voice acting is rare and allows you to know how the game was in its first form. The accompanying soundtrack of the game has a lot of tracks from the previous two games which are in high quality but it also its own soundtracks which are all of high quality and memorable. The sound effects in FF:LR are also of high quality and are crisp. The only reason this doesn't have a 10 is that if you got the game late there is a DLC price on the Japanese voice acting.

Difficulty 5/10

FF:LR has three modes of difficulty easy, normal and hard. The easy difficulty is really good for people who want to get into gaming, for people who are that good at games and anyone who wants to just play for the story. This is as you have no penalty imposed on you for dying, more rewards for killing enemies and no downside. The normal difficulty is a little harder making you waste 1 hour in-game time for every loss in battle and only normal rewards in battle. Hard mode has a step up with giving enemies a boost in all of their stats and give extra rewards but at a lower item drop rate.

Most of the enemies in FF:LR have a note you can buy for them which show all of their weaknesses, strengths how to stagger them and what they drop. This cuts down on how hard enemies are as you know how to fight them and how to beat them quickly. If you combine this with the fact that most enemies are of an easy nature and are very predictable it makes for very little trouble.

The only reason I can justify giving it a 5 is that there are a few enemies in which you can struggle with even with knowing their weaknesses and strengths but none are too strong as to cause a problem that can't be solved by leaving the area for a while until you get a little stronger.

Overall 8.5/10

Overall FF:LR is a good game in its own right, it is fun to play the difficulty is good even if set just a little bit to low. The game has its faults as with most games but none of these can subtract from the fact that FF:LR is a game with solid foundations and it continues to build of the success of the final fantasy franchise.