Lightning Returns: With a Whimper

This is disheartening. But nevertheless I'm looking forward to playing this. I really feel like Square put a lot in to this game. Just like when XIV came out, they took the criticism seriously and made an awesome game with a realm reborn. Even though XIII had criticism, I loved it, and they still produced an excellent sequel in my opinion. Can't wait to play this one.

I hope this is a wake-up call to STOP MAKING LIGHTNING GAMES.

Lawl they already decided this would be the last one. XD

Now it's time to make THUNDER games, with Lightning's long lost and forgotten twin sister of purple hair and an even more bad attitude.

Originally Posted by Del Murder

I hope this is a wake-up call to STOP MAKING LIGHTNING GAMES.

Yep.

Wait, has she really been a staple for ten years? Absolutely time to move on.

I don't mind making Lightning titles stop as long as making titles with her in the story does not stop, so basically Final Fantasy XIII can continue for me. Like all Final Fantasys.

Originally Posted by Sephiroth

I don't mind making Lightning titles stop as long as making titles with her in the story does not stop, so basically Final Fantasy XIII can continue for me. Like all Final Fantasys.

You mean like more Dissidia games? I'm on board with that.

Originally Posted by Lone Wolf Leonhart

Originally Posted by Sephiroth

I don't mind making Lightning titles stop as long as making titles with her in the story does not stop, so basically Final Fantasy XIII can continue for me. Like all Final Fantasys.

You mean like more Dissidia games? I'm on board with that.

That would not be the story but a non-canon crossover like Kingdom Hearts that has some "canon-like" elements in it (like the Warrior of Light walking to Cornelia at the end of Dissidia to show the beginning of Final Fantasy - "And so their journey begins" but without the three other characters). I am talking about Final Fantasy XIII itself. It just does not need to be called "Sexy Workout with Lightning" or anything. Not that I mind though, I like the Sexy Workout Edition that Final Fantasy XIII-3 is.

Honestly I didn't think the XIII story merited so many sequels. The story line just seems very all over the place Throwing all these ideas together on a wall and saying it's ART! I'm so over lightning but i'm going ot get the game regardless cause i'm interested in the combat.

STUNNING!

And so it ends. Guess fans grew tired of this one real quick. I liked 13 fine enough, but I never really played 13-2. May be they'll do better with 15.

I'm interested:

Would people be interested in more of this world and their characters if old features like the old battle system (FF-IX or X) the Overworld map, exactly the same kind of random battles and all that reappeared?

I don't think it was the battle system that made people dislike the game, I think it was more along the lines of poor story and lack of fun minigames in the initial game that doomed the sequels. FFXIII-2 was generally liked by the majority that played it and got much better reviews than the first game.

As for the sales, it's not a surprise, surely? I mean, did anyone actually expect the third game in the series to do better than the second? I think after the second dropped from 1.5m to 500,000 then the third one would be expected to drop down to about 250,000. Maybe that's just me.

I can't see how "poor story" is something that can be generally taken as reason. Both 1 and 2 have a story that focusses heavily on the emotions of the main characters and the impact of their actions (L'Cie, Noel, Caius, Yeul, et cetera). I would have been disappointed if the story ended with Serah in that dead-like state, yes but since the story continues I am okay with it - yet I don't know how it ends.

The first and second one actually should have had for me what I mentioned, then there would have been nothing to complain, except a variety of sidequests like you mentioned, I forgot that and a team that you can control.

You have to remember that such criticisms are down to individuals. On the whole, though, I know many felt the story in the first game (along with linearity, lack of sidequests, and yes, to some extent the battle system although many said that was the only thing they enjoyed) was very lacking. I'm one of them. Don't get me wrong, I liked the characters, but a story is still required to really get you into the feel of the game. I don't think Barthy's rampage ranks remotely close to the likes of Kefka, Kuja, Sephiroth, Shinra, Sin or even Garland, to be honest. He did nothing for me. I felt the premise of the Cie'th/l'Cie/fal'Cie was awesome and I felt they buggerd up how well they could have played out the story, but that's just me. I know a lot of others felt the ending was very "deus ex machina".

Yes, I know it is down to individuals but I don't understand that if you take some relevant aspects and directly compare them. More is mentioned below.

The focus is on the main characters, you liked that as you said and how they were shown you just could not feel with them or the story.
Actually Barthandelus is exactly like Kefka, Sephiroth and Kuja. He took the main characters and said "okay, now do that for me" (opening the Cave to the Sealed Gate/the Gathering Place, calling his subconsciousness, then make him handing Sephiroth the Black Materia, a Gulug Stone from Oeil Vert, et cetera, Garland, Mateus, X-Death, Ultimecia were also like that; other villains but they are not the main villains so I don't count them). About the Deus ex Machina - I can see how people think that, but the story actually predicted Ragnarok already and that people already transformed into it and to an extent pretty much everything is a Deus ex Machina when the characters don't succeed with their own power. The lifestream destroying Meteor was also one then. Final Fantasy villains are always too powerful. I think the characters getting help from others or other aspects from their world is just fair and since it has been used often it is not even a real Deus ex Machina but something to expect to happen.

Don't get me wrong, I also have aspects that I think of as a pity.

Although I am slightly interested in the game, and am going to buy it, this doesn't surprise me at all.

I thought FFXIII's story was ok. There was a distinct lack of strong NPCs and too much focus (no pun intended) was on the main cast. But otherwise it was fine, had some interesting characters and twists, and not my main gripe of the game.

FFXIII-2's story was awful. Noel was a great character, in fact I liked him better than any of the FFXIII cast, but the rest was a mess. To do a time travel story right, you have to be very careful, and this felt like it was just throwing things in here and there for effect and with no real reason. FFXIII characters were showing up left and right with no purpose or explanation. The world had no fluidity to it, and was just a bunch of disjointed locations. Caius was a boring villain whose true purpose was never quite clear. Serah was a nothingburger. All that could have been ok, if the story was wrapped up in a decent ending or if not decent at least something with finality. But instead we got a 'To Be Continued' screen with some really vague scenes, and really after that I couldn't care less what happens to those characters or world.

I would have been more interested in FFXIII-3 if it was its own self-contained game and not in the the FFXIII franchise. I am so tired of this story and its characters, and I have no desire to see the story concluded, because it is become a huge pile of poop.

Originally Posted by Shorty

Originally Posted by Del Murder

I hope this is a wake-up call to STOP MAKING LIGHTNING GAMES.

Yep.

Wait, has she really been a staple for ten years? Absolutely time to move on.

What? Didn't the first one come out in like 2010? How is that anywhere near ten years?

It came out in 2009 and 2010, but development began in 2004.