‘Lighting Returns: Final Fantasy XIII’ strikes balance between ‘awesome’ and ‘letdown’

“Final Fantasy XIII” has to be the most polarizing of all Final Fantasy titles. Punishing criticisms about the game’s linearity and oddball roster of characters did not stop developer Square Enix from releasing a sequel in 2011, however. And now, four years after we first met Lightning, Snow, and Vanille, we have the final game to round off what has essentially become the first Final Fantasy trilogy.

 

But with “Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII”, does the series go out with a thunderous bang? Or does it cackle and wheeze like a broken-down machine on its way to the scrap yard?

 

 

Countdown to extinction

 

“Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII” takes place five hundred years after Final Fantasy XIII-2. You play as the eponymous Lightning, who awakens from her crystal sleep to become the chosen one of God. As the Savior, your task is to guide people’s souls into the new world that God will be preparing for them after the current one ends in thirteen days.

 

Thirteen days. Yes, despite the fact that a majority of gamers do not enjoy having their leisure activities bogged down by such temporal restrictions, “Lighting Returns: Final Fantasy XIII” has a countdown clock.

 

Which in turn means that, if you wish to complete as many quests as possible, you cannot waste one minute of game time. And it’s imperative that you finish those quests; “Lightning Returns” is a challenging game, with some extraordinarily difficult boss fights, and the only way to level up Lightning so that she’s strong enough to even survive these battles is by completing those quests.

 

This is perhaps the biggest dilemma with “Lightning Returns”. The magic of RPGs has always been about the freedom to explore beautiful, fantastical worlds, to revel in the bizarreness of their cultures, history, and lore. And to its credit, “Lightning Returns” does offer four, huge, distinct realms which you can experience in a nonlinear fashion. Sadly, the time pressure nullifies whatever freedom this nonlinearity promises you. With the timer constantly ticking, you will find yourself dashing from one location to another, the world and its people a dizzying blur as you race through quests at breakneck speeds.

 

Even more rage quit-inducing, the game offers absolutely no clue that the aforementioned bosses get stronger as the days advance. I had a strategy in mind, of finishing the lesser quests first, and saving the bosses for much later when I’m powerful enough to face them. Obviously the strategy failed, and I had no choice but to reload older saved games just to salvage my playthrough. Not only is this an extremely cheap tactic on Square Enix’s part, it also forces you to complete the main quests in a specific order, lest some boss-specific deadline pass you by, and said boss becomes impossibly, infuriatingly tough.

 

Having an in-game clock does have its merits. For one, we have a day-night cycle, which affects everything from event, character and quest availability to the frequency of monster spawns. But the attention to detail doesn’t end with the rising and setting of the sun.

 

There’s a musician playing beautiful music on a street corner. There’s a farmer going about his daily business. There are fireworks in the night sky. Dogs and cats roam the streets. All this helps reinforce the illusion that the world is dynamic, alive, and lived-in – which makes it more of a shame that we have so little time to enjoy it all.

 

 

 

 

The dead-eyed angel and other mannequins

 

“Lightning Returns” slows down to tell its story, mostly via pre-rendered cut scenes. And through these, we also get to know our game’s major characters.

 

First off, there’s Lightning, a pink-haired lollipop who speaks in a robotic monotone, and who also happens to be completely emotionless. So, regardless of the situation, she always has the same, blank expression plastered on her face. Listen up, ladies, Lightning is letting us in on her secret – the answer to her flawless, wrinkle-free skin!

 

The truth is Lightning just isn’t very likeable. You get the feeling the game is trying so hard to convince us how badass she is that it forgets to create a believable, relatable character. Just take a gander at some of the cringe-worthy, “tough guy” claptrap she randomly blurts out during battle:

 

“Ready to face the angel of death?”

 

“The light of your soul is mine.”

 

“Do you dream of death?”

 

“Do you want to dance with me?”

 

No, I don’t want to dance with someone who sounds like she had just jumped out of a bad 80s glam rock music video and who has the emotional range of a goldfish, thank you.

 

Sadly the other main characters aren’t any better. When they’re not as dull and dead-eyed as Lightning, they’re excruciatingly annoying. A perfect example would be the seeming villainess, Lumina, who prances around like a spoiled brat on her birthday, and who quickly succeeds at being a source of irritation for both Lightning and the player.

 

Perhaps we’ve just been spoiled by games with better-written, more three-dimensional characters. Today, it’s just not enough that characters look or sound “cool”, or have a “badass” attitude. Even classic video game celebrities like Lara Croft had to evolve. And though there have been plenty of wonderful, well-rounded characters in past Final Fantasy games; “Lightning Returns” is evidence that Square Enix is still hung up on pretty boys and girls with more style than substance. Perhaps it’s time Final Fantasy grew up, too.

 

 

Combat, schemata, item collection… oh joy!

 

As dismal as the game sounds, “Lightning Returns” actually gets a lot of things right.

 

Combat is a thrilling, addicting rush, one that will keep you on your toes and asking for more. It has you managing Lightning’s three “Schemata”, which are basically different fighting styles that you can swap on the fly in the heat of battle. Each “Schema” can have up to four abilities, and each ability requires the consumption of a certain amount of ATB (a quickly-regenerating resource) to perform. It may sound simple on paper, but in reality it’s a mad mix of timing, strategy, and a complex game of rock-paper-scissors, as you figure out which Schema and ability work best in a particular situation.

 

A Schema is visually represented by an elaborate costume. You start out with the default “Equilibrium” garb, but dozens of others can be obtained in a variety of ways. For example, the elegant “Midnight Mauve” is a reward for solving a quest, whereas the risqué “Rhapsody in Rose” can be purchased from an in-game shop. The rarer ones have to be downloaded, including the mud-splashed Tomb Raider reboot garb, and the dress belonging to Final Fantasy VII’s venerated flower girl, Aerith.

 

The Schemata are fully customizable, so you can change everything from the color of the garb and the abilities they allow Lightning to execute, to the armaments she wields and decorative accessories she dons. Because there are literally hundreds of items to gather, and every ability can be upgraded, the customization possibilities are endless. Tinkering around with all these toys is loads of fun and never gets old.

 

 

 

 

Another aspect of the game that shines is questing. Main quests are as deep as they are varied. They will take you to every corner of the world, have you plunge down labyrinthine dungeons and battle hordes of monsters in lush, verdant forests. Unfortunately, the side quests are not always as enjoyable. Many fall into the standard “fetch quest” or “errand girl” category, but there are a number of remarkable exceptions.

 

Storm’s end

 

“Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII” is a flawed game, but one that nevertheless manages to entertain. If you can take it for what it is – an exciting romp through majestic fantasy locations with a pretty yet bland, expressionless lead – you will have a great time.

 

But if you’re looking for something more, such as a meaningful story filled with characters that resonate with you, then give this one a wide berth. You’re better off playing an older Final Fantasy title. – TJD, GMA News