Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII detailed in Famitsu
Lightning's (one) happy ending will be told.
September 4, 2012 / 11:58 PM EDT / (@salromano)

Famitsu this week has plenty of new details on Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, Square’s newly announced conclusion to the Lightning Saga. Find the lot below.

  • The game is currently 30 percent complete.
  • This is the end of Lightning’s story, and will have a happy ending. Unlike Final Fantasy XIII-2, it will not have multiple endings.
  • Final Fantasy XIII was story-driven, and Final Fantasy XIII-2 was player-driven. Lightning Returns is “World Driven,” meaning the world in constantly in motion.
  • One day in the game world is equivalent to one or two hours in the real world.
  • The game is designed to be played through multiple times.
  • It will not take several dozens of hours to clear a single playthrough.
  • Your items might carry over if you challenge the game after a “bad ending.”
  • Due to the influence of chaos, people from Final Fantasy XIII-2 have stopped aging and are still alive.
  • Novus Partus is composed of two natural terrain continents and two urban continents.
  • Instead of choosing commands in battle, you will assign abilities to buttons.
  • The battle system is close to an action battle system, however, the ATB gauge still exists.
  • Because Lightning is the sole party member, players can have greater concentration in battle.
  • Lightning can move freely in battle. But there is also some sort of time influence.
  • Lightning has become considerably more lovely.
  • The world could end before the 13 days are up, resulting in a “Game Over,” depending on your actions.
  • Defeating enemies and clearing quests will increase the world’s life expectancy.
  • At the same time, helping certain people could decrease the world’s life expectancy.
  • Lightning will come across serial murders in the city.
  • Lightning can hide behind obstacles.
  • There are many clocks around the city showing the constant movement of time.
  • Hope will provide Lightning directions via a communications device.
  • Battles can carry out in just about all operations.

Thanks, Game Nyarth.

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  • Jackle

    I think it sounds very interesting. I’m looking forward to seeing the gameplay. I just don’t like that you don’t have party members and that once again Hope isn’t playable.

  • Locksus

    I’m not really sure if I like the sound of this one. It’s kind of a mixed bad for me as Final Fantasy has always been about having a wide cast of characters and following their relationships with each other and getting to know each one of them.

    That said, Lightning is my favourite characters from the XIII and XIII-2 (still haven’t finished it yet. To be honest, it’s kind of a dull game and less interesting than XIII but I’m still going to finish it so I get to know what happens to Lightning, Serah and Noel).

    I’m kind of disappointed that Lightning will be the only playable character this time around.
    “Lightning can hide behind obstacles” that line reminded me heavily of The Last Story so maybe the battle system could be like in that game, who knows?

    I haven’t been commenting much lately but it seems like every Final Fantasy/SE related article’s comment section is about FF versus XIII. While I understand the frustration of waiting for this potentially awesome game, whining and petitions aren’t going to change the fact that SE WILL show the game when they feel the game is good enough to be shown to the public.

    To my understanding the game is going through some heavy changes, mainly adding more CGI cutscenes and utilising the Luminous engine.

    Personally, I can’t wait for it but meanwhile I’m going to put my mind away from that game and play dozens of other awesome games.

    I wanted to say something else too but I got a short blackout of memory, though I feel it wasn’t anything that important.

     

    • Malcolm Reynolds

      Yo Locksus…been awhile.

      I think if you look at LR: FF13 like its supposed to be a normal FF game you will be disappointed.

      Look at it like a mashup of Brave Fencer, Majora’s Mask, and Kingdom Hearts and I think you’ll have yourself a blast with another fun game from the fine folks at Square!

      I agree with your sentiments on the VS13 comments.

    • Kobracon

      I look at it as a spin-off, and as I’ve said in other threads, I applaud a spin-off that dares to try new things. Whether it’ll be good or not is up to debate. Take FFX-2 for example. I’ll be the first to say that I actually liked it. 
      The dress system was an interesting way to implement the job system and switch seamlessly in battle. The story had its problems and we only had 3 characters to play with (one of them being totally new and never really explained….to this day, I STILL don’t know who Paine is…)

      FFXIII-2 was an interesting test with time and a pokemon-esque monster catching thing. And now LR is total Action RPG.

      P.S. Good to see ya again, Locksus :D

      • Locksus

        Thanks, man :) Yeah, I’ve been playing XIII-2 a little more lately and to be honest the game has gotten better as I’ve made progress in the story. It makes much more sense now that it did in the beginning and I love the fact that I am offered more freedom than in FFXIII even though XIII’s story is still more compelling but Caius is definitely a good villain imo!

        I hope Square will show a new trailer ASAP so I could see how the gameplay looks like ^_^

  • Kazziyan

    I finally figured out what that last bit meant:

    “Because the motion for both Lightning and the monsters has increased, the variation of battles will be plentiful.”

  • transgojobot

    “Lightning has become considerably more lovely.”

    LMBO! *That’s* one of the game’s important ‘new details’?

    • Kazziyan

      If you read the extended interview, they are talking about the games visuals.

  • Kobracon

    Hmm….so far it sounds like FFXIII meets Dead Rising mechanics. The whole time things.

    And it makes sense that ppl don’t age. Considering how badly we effed up Time in XIII-2…

  • SirRussell

    omg i cant wait. well ill have to

  • http://twitter.com/DaveBivens David Bivens

    Got to the second to last bullet. Dammit, why is Hope in this game again? 

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